Town Clerk, Municipality Kimberley
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.
Magistrate and Bantu Affairs Commissioner, Taungs
A magistrate’s court was established at Taungs on 6 October 1885 (Government Gazette No 6654, dated 7 October 1885, Proclamation No 3BB, dated 6 October 1885). On 1 July 1896 Taungs was incorporated into the magisterial division of Vryburg (Government Gazette No 7810 dated 28 April 1896, Proclamation No 149, dated 27 April 1896). CR Chalmers was appointed Assistant Resident Magistrate at Taungs on 1 July 1896 (Government Gazette No 7825 dated 19 June 1896, Government Notice No 568, dated 1 July 1896). He served in this capacity until Taungs was re-established as a separate magistracy on 13 February 1899 when he was appointed the new magistrate (Government Gazette No 8104, dated 21 February 1899, Proclamation No 68, dated 13 February 1899. Chalmers’ re – appointed was recorded in the same Gazette, Government Notice No 169, dated 20 February 1899).
The magistrate of Taungs was also appointed Native Commissioner as from 1 October 1928 (Government Gazette No 1734 dated 26 October 1928, Government Notice No 1865, dated 26 October 1928).
Taungs was incorporated into Bophuthatswana on 5 December 1977.
A Special Justice of the Peace was appointed at Sutherland as from 20 November 1879 (Government Gazette No 5965 dated 7 November 1879, Proclamation No 134 of 1879).
On 1 June 1886 a Magistrate’s Court was established (Government Gazette No 6735 dated 25 May 1886, Proclamation No 77 of 1886).
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.
A periodical court to be held by the Magistrate of Kenhardt, was established at Pofadder on 28 September 1923 (Government Gazette No 1344 of 28 September 1923; Government Proclamation No 207 of 1923).
A Special Justice of the Peace was appointed at Pofadder on 26 February 1943 (Government Gazette No 3158 of 26 February 1943; Government Notice No 385 of 1943). According to the records the periodical court was presumably abolished in May 1960 and the post of the Special Justice of the Peace upgraded to that of Assistant Magistrate.
For the period February 1943 – May 1960 criminal and civil cases heard by the Magistrate of Kenhardt in the periodical court at Pofadder are filed with those heard by the Special Justice of the Peace of Pofadder.