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In 1872 the Cape Government commenced the construction of railways under the control of the Public Works Department. On 1 January 1873 the Railway Department was constituted and works of construction were proceeded with vigorously. A Secretary to the Department was appointed in the person of H Beard who was the immediate head of the whole Department. On 2 August 1873 WG Brounger was appointed Railway Engineer.

The Department was divided into three divisions, Cape Town to Wellington (including Wynberg), Port Elizabeth and East London to Queenstown. In 1875 the position of Secretary was abolished and the Railway Engineer now acted as a consulting engineer in the Colony. By this time, each of the three divisions, which eventually became known as the Western, Midland and Eastern Systems, were headed by Resident Engineers who were stationed respectively at Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and East London.

The Department was from 1875 – 1880 practically without a head. By an order dated 13 May 1880, a select committee was appointed to consider the management and working of the Colonial Railways. Resulting from the report of this committee, a General Manager of Railways was appointed on 16 December 1880. On the pensioning of Brounger in May 1884 the post of Railway Engineer was abolished and a new post of Engineer-in-Chief was created. In addition to the General Manager’s office and the Engineer’s Department, the Locomotive, Traffic, Accounting, Stores, Education and Refreshment Departments functioned within the organisation of the Cape Government Railway Department.

The Department was also responsible for constructing and working railways in the Orange Free State until 1 January 1897 when these lines were taken over by the Government of the Orange Free State. As a result of an agreement between the Cape Government and the Bechuanaland Railway Company, the Rhodesia System came into existence. This line extended between Vryburg and Mafeking. The South African Railways and Harbours administration was established in 1910 when the four colonies amalgamated to form the Union of South Africa. The final merger of the independent colonial railways took place in 1916.

The Department of the Commissioner of Crown Lands and Public Works was created in terms of Act No 1 of 1872 on the introduction of responsible government. The first head of the ministerial department was C Abercrombie Smith was appointed on 1 December 1872.

As from 16 December 1872 “… all communications on the following subjects, such as have heretofore been addressed to the Honourable the Colonial Secretary, shall in future be addressed to the Honourable the Commissioner of Crown Lands and public Works, such as:
Crown Lands and Forests
Roads
Bridges
Harbour Works
Jetties
Public Buildings
Light Houses
Railway Works
Telegraphs
Public Stores …”

Further duties connected with immigration and hydraulics were placed under the charge of the Commissioner of Crown Lands and Public Works in January 1876.

On 1 July 1876 a permanent head of the department was appointed in the person of CB Elliott who was designated Assistant Commissioner of Crown Lands and Public Works. Prior to this appointment, Elliott had held the post of Chief Clerk to the Commissioner of Crown Lands and Public Works.

Commencing from 3 September 1892 all matters connected with lands, mines, forests, irrigation and water supply, and geological exploration were removed from the commissioner’s ministerial department to the newly created Department of Lands, Mines and Agriculture. Railways and all public works continued under the administration of the commissioner, the title of the permanent head of the department being changed to Assistant Commissioner of Railways and Public Works. The title of the ministerial head was changed to Commissioner of Public Works in terms of Act No 14 of 1893.

The control of all matters relating to ports and harbours (save the light house service) was transferred from the commissioner to the administration of the treasurer as from 5 October 1893. In the same month, the administration of the Public Works Department was placed upon a footing separate and distinct from that of the Railway Department. The permanent head of the department was now designated Secretary for Public Works.

Since 1 December 1893 the conduct of irrigation matters was divided between the Secretary for Public Works and the Under-secretary of Agriculture. The Secretary for Public Works was responsible for the investigation of suggested schemes for irrigation development and irrigation proposals generally, enquiry into the practicality from an engineering point of view of such schemes, supply of estimates of cost and capabilities. The Under-secretary for Agriculture was responsible for the initial action been taken in the selection of locality for irrigation works and the subsequent administration and development of completed schemes controlled by the government.

The control and working of water boring machines was transferred from the administration of the Secretary for Agriculture to that of the Commissioner of Public Works in January 1898. The department was subsequently also charged with the administration of the system of water boring by private contract under government subsidy which was introduced in 1903.

In October 1906 the administration of Act No 32 of 1906 which was passed to amend and consolidate the laws relating to irrigation and the utilisation of streams, was assigned to the Ministerial Department of the Commissioner of Public Works.

The administration of immigration was transferred in July 1903 from the Commissioner of Public Works to the Secretary for Agriculture.

In March 1905, the ministerial department and the separate executive department of the engineer-in-chief of public works were amalgamated. Under this new arrangement, the secretary for public works remained the permanent head of the ministerial section of the department possessing powers delegated to him by the minister. He was the channel of communication between the minister and the chief engineer. The re-organisation was not long-lived, since the advent of Union on 31 May 1910 brought to an end the Public Works Department as “constituted under the late Colonial Administration”.