A Magistrate’s Court was established at Middelburg on 22 November 1855 (Government Gazette No 2668 dated 27 November 1855, Proclamation dated 22 November 1885).
A signal’s post, with a pilot boat and crew, was established at Knysna in 1818 after the river Knysna was proved to be a safe port.
It was, however, only in 1881 that Knysna was proclaimed a Free Port and considered fit for importation and exportation according to section 15 of Act No 10 of 1872.
Mr J Campbell acted as Examining Officer in Charge of Customs as from January 1881 and was appointed Sub-Collector, Examining Officer and Warehouse keeper on 19 December 1881.
The Resident Magistrate and Civil Commissioner also held the position of Collector of Customs.
On 7 September 1954 the Knysna Harbour was withdrawn from the jurisdiction of the South African Railways and Harbours Administration.
In January 1874 the separate forest conservancies of George, Knysna and Tsitsikamma were amalgamated under a Conservator of Forests for the entire Midland Region who had his headquarters at Knysna (John Phillips: The Forests of George, Knysna and the Zitzikama, p 99).
In 1895 an Assistant Conservator in direct charge of the Gouna and Main Forests was appointed to assist the Conservator. On 21 April 1898 with the transfer of the Conservator to the Transkeian Conservancy, the Assistant Conservator was appointed Acting Conservator and, in February 1899, Conservator (John Phillips: The Forests of George, Knysna and the Zitzikama, p 106).
As from 1 April 1932 when the Department of Forestry was reorganised, several forestal districts such as George, Concordia and Storms River, which had fallen under the control of the Conservator of Forests, Midland Conservancy, Knysna, were established as fully-fledged conservancies (Annexures to Votes and Proceedings of the House of Assembly, UG 37 – 1932, p 6).
The Municipality of Kimberley was constituted by Griqualand West Ordinance No 7 of 1877 dated 27 June 1877.
In 1994 Kimberley became part of the Northern Cape Province. It forms part of the Sol Plaatje Local Municipality, one of five local municipalities that falls under the Frances Baard (previously Diamantveld) District Municipality.
A Magistrate’s Court was established at Molteno on 29 December 1893 (Government Gazette No 7567, dated 29 December 1893, Government Notice No 1260, dated 28 December 1893).
WH Read was appointed magistrate with Jojo, chief of the Xesibi tribe in August 1878 at Endambeni, later Mount Ayliff (General Directory of Cape of Good Hope, 1880, page 434). A court of the Resident Magistrate was established for the district of Mount Ayliff in October 1886 (Government Gazette no 6791 dated 26 October 1886, Proclamation no 174 dated 25 October 1886). For practical reasons the documents pertaining to the period prior to the establishment of a magistrate’s court for the district of Mount Ayliff are kept with this archives.
The Magistrate was also appointed as Native Commissioner as from 1 October 1928 (Government Gazette no 1734 dated 26 October 1928, Government Notice no 1865 dated 26 October 1928).
A Magistrate’s Court was established at Nqamakwe on 1 October 1878 (PJ Venter: Government Departments of the Cape of Good Hope 1806 – 1890, p 294).
On 26 October 1928 the Magistrate of Nqamakwe was also appointed as Native Commissioner (Government Gazette No 1734, dated 26 October 1928, Government Notice No 1865, dated 26 October 1928). The designation was later changed to Bantu Affairs Commissioner.
After the attainment of self-government by the Transkei, all records of government offices subsequent to 1 November 1963 were deposited in the Transkeian Archives Depot in Umtata (now Mthatha Archives Repository)
The establishment of the office of Resident Magistrate at East London commenced when Colonel GH MacKinnon, Chief Commissioner of British Kaffraria, was appointed Justice of the Peace for the Port of East London and the district thereof on 3 March 1848.
In a letter dated 9 March 1848 the Colonial Secretary, John Montagu, informed MacKinnon as to the reasons for making the appointment: “His Excellency’s chief object in appointing you to this office, is to enable you to try and adjudicate cases of infringement of (the Spirit and Wine) Ordinance …” The Colonial Secretary informed MacKinnon that he would exercise the same powers as if he had been appointed Resident Magistrate without the inconvenience of being tied down to certain fixed court days.
However, Colonel MacKinnon’s presence was continually required at Kin William’s Town and he accordingly requested that a resident Justice of the Peace be appointed for East London. MacKinnon’s request was sympathetically received and Major Smith, the officer commanding Fort Glamorgan, was appointed to the office. Major Smith’s tenure in office was of short duration, and on 20 November 1848 the Colonial Secretary informed Captain Edward Rooper that he had been appointed resident Justice of the Peace in the place of Major Smith who had left East London. On 1 January 1849 Rooper was appointed Resident Magistrate.
In 1856 the magistracy was included as part of the separate dependency of British Kaffraria. British Kaffraria had been declared a separate Dependency of the Crown on 23 December 1847. The port of East London, however, was annexed as part of the Cape Colony by proclamation dated 14 January 1848. The Port was only restored to British Kaffraria on 9 July 1859. There appears to be some doubt therefore as to validity of the inclusion of the East London Magistracy as part of British Kaffraria in 1856.
The East London Magistracy remained part of the independent Colony of British Kaffraria until March 1865 when the British Kaffraria Act was passed. In terms of this Act British Kaffraria was annexed to the Cape Colony.
In December 1865 M Jennings was appointed Civil Commissioner and Resident Magistrate for East London.
