Origin of the Office:
Prior to the establishment of the Surveyor-General’s office, the Inspector of Lands and Woods performed the duties of that office. In November 1828 the first Surveyor-General, Major CC Michell was appointed, holding in addition the posts of Civil Engineer and Superintendent of Works. The Board of Commissioners for Lands (Land Board) was established in the same month and the Surveyor-General was appointed a member of this board. Already in 1826 the Commissioners of Inquiry had set out in detail the duties of the Surveyor-General. No further information as to his duties could be traced until the newly-appointed Surveyor-General received instructions from the Colonial Secretary concerning the running of the Department of the Surveyor-General and Civil Engineer.

Department of the Surveyor-General and Civil Engineer:
The office of Surveyor-General and the office of Civil Engineer were distinct but both offices fell under the superintendence of the Surveyor-General. The Assistant Surveyor-General was the immediate head of the Surveyor-General’s office and the Civil Engineer was the immediate head of the Civil Engineer’s office. Each office was under the direction of its own immediate head, and, in the absence of the Surveyor-General, the Assistant Surveyor-General had no power of superintendence over the Civil Engineer’s office.

Although the Surveyor-General was empowered to superintend the Civil Engineer’s office, the Civil Engineer was to receive instructions in routine matters direct from the Government in order to avoid a multiplicity of business in the hands of the Surveyor-General. The Surveyor-General had the right to inspect the work of the Civil Engineer’s office which task he was expected to perform periodically.

The Civil Engineer’s office was removed from the jurisdiction of the Surveyor-General in 1848, being organised under the direction of the Colonial Civil Engineer.

Development:
The Surveyor-General’s office fell under the jurisdiction of the Colonial Secretary from 1829 to 1872, when the Commissioner of Crown Lands and Public Works became the minister of state responsible for the control of the office until 1892. From that year the Surveyor-General’s office fell under the Department of Lands, Mines and Agriculture. The re-organisation of the department in terms of Act No 14 of 1893 resulted in the Surveyor-General being placed under the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture.

On 31 May 1910 control over the surveying of land passed into the hands of the Union Government and the Surveyor-General came under the authority of the Department of Lands.

Organisation of the Office in 1829:
Originally the Surveyor-General’s office consisted of the following officials:
(1) The Surveyor-General,
(2) The Assistant Surveyor-General,
(3) The Chief Clerk, whose duty it was to keep all records, books and papers of the office, except those more properly belonging to the drawing department. He was also to perform the duty of Secretary of the Land Board,
(4) The Draftsman, whose duties included the execution of all diagrams annexed to deeds of grant and he was to keep all plans and diagrams, etc., and
(5) One other clerk.

As the work of the office expanded the number of members of staff increased.

Functions:
The functions of the proposed post of Surveyor-General were set out in the report of the Commissioners of Inquiry in 1826. No further details could be traced in connection with the proposed functions of the post until January 1829 when it was stated that the Surveyor-General was to receive all reports from Civil Commissioners concerning lands to be granted. The Surveyor-General had to lay such reports before the Land Board, which, in turn, submitted reports to the Government. All titles, leases and other papers relating to land had to be prepared by the Surveyor-General.

Sub- and Related Offices:

The Deputy Surveyor-General, Eastern Province including Various Land Commissioners:
In 1855 the office of the Deputy Surveyor-General, Eastern Province, was established as a sub- or branch office of the Surveyor-General’s office to deal with land matters in the Eastern Province. The office was abolished in 1867. The Surveyor-General did not continue to use the files and registers. The archives which were kept intact in his office, before being transferred to this repository, constitutes the separate archives group of the Deputy Surveyor-General, Eastern Province (reference DSGEP).

The archives of a number of land commissioners are also included in the archives of the Deputy Surveyor-General.

Surveyor-General, Griqualand West and the British Bechuanaland Land Commission

These two archives which have been kept separate, relate to the administration of land matters in Griqualand West and British Bechuanaland before those territories were annexed by the Cape Colony in 1880 and 1895 respectively.

The Archives:
The archives of the Surveyor-General housed in this repository comprises mainly the various series letters received and letters despatched, their relevant registers and indexes, correspondence files and financial papers.

List of Surveyor-Generals
Name and Date of Appointment:
Michell, Colonel CC (1829)
Bell, CD (1848)
De Smidt, A (1872)
Marquard, L (1889)
Horne, JT (1892)
Jurisch, CLHM (1902)
Van Renen, H (acting, 1904)
Cornish-Bowden, AH (acting, 1905)
Cornish-Bowden, AH (1906)