Senior Veterinary Officer, Cape

Governmental body

Senior Veterinary Officer, Cape

• CVS

1890 – 1949

The office of Colonial Veterinary Surgeon was created in consequence of a resolution by the House of Assembly in 1875.

Mr WC Branford, Professor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery at the Royal Veterinary College, Edinburgh, was appointed, for a period of three years commencing from the date of his embarkation in May 1876, to investigate the causes of the various diseases which prevailed amongst sheep and cattle in the Cape Colony and to report thereon to the Government. He was also to make suggestions regarding the prevention and cure of these diseases. His head office was to be in Cape Town.

Initially this post fell under the supervision of the Colonial Secretary to whom the annual reports for the period 1876 – 1879 were submitted.

Mr D Hutcheon, who succeeded Prof Branford on 22 March 1880, established his headquarters in the Eastern Province where there was a greater demand for his services. Apparently his headquarters were, first, at the government farm Lieuwfontein in the district of Adelaide but were later moved to Port Elizabeth.

From 1880 – 1886 this office was placed under the ministerial department of Crown Lands and Public Works. With the creation of the Department of Agriculture in 1887, the office of the Colonial Veterinary Surgeon functioned as a sub-department.

The increasing duties and activities of the veterinary services, especially in the eastern part of the colony, necessitated the appointment in 1890 of two Assistant Veterinary Surgeons with headquarters at Port Elizabeth and King William’s Town respectively. At the same time the headquarters of the senior Veterinary Surgeon were removed from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town for reasons of departmental convenience.

When the Department of Agriculture ceased to exist on 31 December 1892, on its amalgamation with the Department of Lands, Mines and Agriculture, the office of the Colonial Veterinary Surgeon fell under the supervision of the new department. By Act No 14 of 1893, however, the office of Secretary for Agriculture and consequently the Department of Agriculture, as a separate ministerial division, was created comprising, inter alia the Veterinary Branch.

The activities of this office increased rapidly and more veterinary surgeons were appointed. In 1894 there were, apart from the Colonial Veterinary Surgeon, seven veterinary surgeons stationed at Stellenbosch, Mossel Bay, Beaufort West, Somerset East, Hopetown, King William’s Town and Queenstown respectively.

No detailed description of the powers and functions of the chief of this office prior to 1905 has been traced. It seems that initially he functioned only in an advisory capacity. From annual reports it was gleaned that he had to watch for the outbreak of new diseases, make inspection tours, furnish details of diseases and recommendations for treatment thereof. From 1890 onwards he was also responsible for the administration and control of the veterinary surgeons appointed in the various areas.

From the correspondence and circulars available in this archives group, it was ascertained that he issued instructions and circulars to veterinary surgeons and Resident Magistrates in connection with diseases scheduled under the Animal Diseases Act. Government veterinary surgeons were to report on diseases to the Resident Magistrates of the relevant districts who in turn, were to report to the Chief Veterinary Surgeon. The latter then issued instructions to the veterinary surgeons for the treatment of diseases or any other action necessary.

In 1905 a reorganisation of the Department of Agriculture took place and the various functions thereof were grouped under several officers. A Director of Agriculture was appointed on 1 August 1905 and the Veterinary Branch was one of the offices under his control. At the same time the powers of the Chief Veterinary Surgeon were clearly defined and extended.

During the ensuing years the denomination of the head of this office changed in succession from Colonial Veterinary Surgeon and Chief Veterinary Surgeon, which were both in use until about 1905, to Assistant Principal Veterinary Surgeon (Cape) (March 1911), Senior Veterinary Officer (Cape) (January 1912), Senior Veterinary Surgeon (Cape) (February 1913) and again Senior Veterinary Officer (Cape) (1916 – 1922).

With unification in 1910 a Minister of Agriculture was appointed for the Union with a fully equipped Department of Agriculture. The activities of the department were maintained by a number of divisions and offices i.e. the Veterinary Division with headquarters in Pretoria. For veterinary purposes the Union was initially divided into five areas in charge of Senior Veterinary Surgeons, who were responsible for the control of diseases within those areas.

Reorganisation of several divisions of the Department of Agriculture took place during 1924 following upon an inspection by the Public Service Commission. Thereby the Veterinary Field Division and the Division of Veterinary Research were amalgamated.

Concerning veterinary field work in the Cape Province, it was realised that, owing to the extensive area of the Cape, the work could not be controlled as efficiently by the Senior Veterinary Officer at Cape Town as was desired. It was then decided to divide the province into two sections and another Senior Veterinary Officer was appointed for the eastern section and stationed at Queenstown as from December 1924. The Senior Veterinary Officer, Cape Town retained control of the western portion.

List of Chiefs, Veterinary Services (Cape):
WC Branford, 1876 – 1879
D Hutcheon, 1880 – 1906
JD Borthwick, 1906 – 1911
RW Dixon, 1911 – 1921
J Spreull, 1921 – 1922

Cape Province.
Cape Colony.
Cape Town.

CVS

KAB

ISAAR

Draft

Partial

10 May 2022 (creation Marise Bronkhorst)

• English

• Latin

Votes and Proceedings of the House of Assembly.
Cape of Good Hope Civil Service List.
PJ Venter: Government Departments of the Cape of Good Hope.
Cape of Good Hope Government Gazette.
Official Year Book of the Union of South Africa, 1910 – 1922.
Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Annual report, 1925.