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“According to an Amended Report of the Committee appointed on 21 July 1854 taking into consideration as to places where additional Civil Commissioners and seats of Magistracy should be placed, the Governor of the Cape Colony, acting under the powers vested in him by the Act ‘For Amending and Consolidating the Laws relative to the Courts of Resident Magistrates, 1856 (Act 20 of 1856)’ , erected, constituted and established a Court of Resident Magistrate at Knysna, and declared the boundaries of the district to be as follows – On the west by the Swart River, on the North by the Outeniqua Mountains, on the East by the boundaries of the division of Uitenhage and on the South by the ocean”. The first Civil Commissioner and Magistrate was James Fichat.

On 28 February 1887 a Special Justice of the Peace was appointed at the Millwood Gold Fields in the district of Knysna. Patrick Fletcher was appointed the first Special Justice of the Peace. In the same year a Periodical Court to be held by the Magistrate of Knysna was established at Millwood. During August 1916 a Periodical Court to be held by the Magistrate of Knysna was established at Plettenberg Bay.

A magistrate’s court was established at King William’s Town in British Kaffraria on 1 September 1852 (GH23/21 General Despatches, 20 September 1852, pp 158 – 159). On 17 April 1866 British Kaffraria was annexed to the Cape Colony (Government Gazette Extraordinary No 3788 dated 17 April 1866, Proclamation No 30 dated 17 April 1866).

On 26 October 1928 the Magistrate of King William’s Town was also appointed as Native Commissioner and an Additional Native Commissioner appointed (Government Gazette No 1734 dated 26 October 1928, Government Notice No 1865, dated 26 October 1928). On 27 April 1929 criminal jurisdiction was conferred on the Additional Native Commissioner (Government Gazette No 1784 dated 30 May 1929, Proclamation No 118 dated 30 May 1929).

On 4 September 1878 British sovereignty was declared over the port and tidal estuary of the St John’s River (Government Gazette No 5837 dated 6 September 1878, Proclamation No 68 dated 4 September 1878), and on 3 October 1878 a magistrate was appointed at Port St Johns (Government Gazette No 5845 dated 4 October 1878, Government Notice No 865 dated 3 October 1878). On 15 September 1884 Port St Johns was annexed to the Cape Colony (Government Gazette No 6530 dated 16 September 1884, Proclamation No 215 dated 15 September 1884).

The Magistrate of Port St Johns was also appointed Native Commissioner on 26 October 1928 (Government Gazette No 1734 dated 26 October 1928, Government Notice No 1865 dated 26 October 1928).

In 1882 the Republic of Stellaland came into being and on 20 September 1882, the town of Vryburg was established.

Initially the judicial power was exercised by the “Bestuur” and “Krijgsraad”, but on 1 March 1883 the Volksraad appointed a Landdrost temporarily at Vryburg. On 26 June 1883 Gerhardus Bodenstein was appointed as permanent Landdrost, and a clerk, who was to be public prosecutor, Post and Storesmaster, and a Messenger of the Court was appointed too. The Landdrost had jurisdiction in civil and criminal cases not exceeding £37.10 and three months imprisonment.

When British Bechuanaland became a Crown Colony in 1885, a Court of Resident Magistrate was established in Vryburg to exercise jurisdiction and authority within the District of Stellaland on 6 October 1885. Mr Abraham Faure Robertson was appointed Civil Commissioner and Resident Magistrate; Mr Scholtz, Chief Clerk, and Assistant Resident Magistrate, and Mr Baxter as accounting clerk.

The boundaries of the District of Vryburg were defined as follows in the year 1893: “The Resident Magistrate of Vryburg shall exercise jurisdiction and authority within the territory bounded by a line drawn from the north-eastern beacon of the farm Langerman, thence along the western and southern boundaries of the District of Mafeking, … until the Transvaal Border is reached, then in a southerly direction along that Border until the northernmost beacon of the Taung Native Reserve is reached, thence in a westerly and northerly direction along the southern and western boundaries of Districts No 5 and 6 of the Division of Vryburg, as defined in Proclamation No 20 BB, until the southwestern beacon of the Motito Native Reserve is reached, thence along the eastern and northern boundaries of the said Reserve, and along the northern boundaries of the Native Reserve Keang and of the farms Koboga, Masilibitsani, Crayfield, Longhirst, Deorham, Clapham and Melrose, until the Mashowing River is reached, thence along the Mashowing River to its junction with the Molopo River, thence in an easterly direction along the Molopo River until the northeastern beacon of the farm Langerman is again reached”.

A Court of Special Justice of the Peace was established at Morokwen in the District of Vryburg by Proclamation No 219 BB of 26 June 1895 and abolished on 11 September 1899. Mr RO Styles was appointed Special Justice of the Peace and Issuer of Process to the Periodical Court Morokwen on 13 May 1897.

A Periodical Court was established at Morokwen by Proclamation No 217 BB of 21 June 1895 and held sittings once every two months until September 1899.

Amongst the documents of Vryburg there are some records of proceedings of the Court of the Landdrost of Stellaland from 1883 – 1885 that were retained in the group, owing to the continuity of the papers.

The records of the Justice of the Peace, Morokwen; the Deputy Registrar of Births and Deaths; the Registrar of Brands; the Inspector of Native Reserves; the Secretary of the Vryburg Hospital and the Gaoler of the Vryburg Gaol were found in the group and owing to some relationship between these offices and the Magistrate’s office, their records were included in the inventory.