Southern African science in the year 1910 -100n

Plug News & Views Southern African science in the year 1910 –100n Author: Cornelis Plug email: Postal address: P.O. Box 21022, Valhalla 0137, South Africa How to cite this article: Plug C. Southern African science in the year 1910 –100n. S Afr J Sci. 2010;106(1/2), Art. #50, 2 pages. DOI: 10.4102/sajs. v106i1/2.50 South African Journal of Science Article #50 This article is available at: http://www.sajs.co.za A century ago, four British colonies in southern Africa amalgamated to form the Union of South Africa – an event that changed the lives and work of many scientists employed by the four colonial governments 1710 Commander Govert Cnoll, who stayed at the Cape of Good Hope for some time on his way from the Dutch East Indies to the Netherlands, suffered from severe asthma and hoarseness for many years. He was told of the healing effects of hot mineral springs at the southern edge of the Swartberg (where the town of Caledon was later established), and consequently set out, with a guide and several others, to visit the site. After fifteen days of long daily baths, Cnoll’s condition was much improved. Other members, who suffered from ailments such as headaches, rheumy eyes, ulcers and sciatica, also found relief. Cnoll’s description appears to be the first published account of the medicinal use of the springs. The seven springs, which became increasingly well-known for their medicinal benefits, were later found to be chalybeate (containing iron salts in solution) and radioactive. Recognition of their therapeutic value has continued to this day. 1810 On 1 November 1810, Dr Johann H.F.C.L. Wehr (1764–1854), licensed physician, surgeon and accoucheur (male midwife) in the Cape Colony, was appointed as the first colonial instructor in midwifery. Dismayed at the lack of training in midwifery, he requested the governor’s permission to establish a training school for midwives in July 1808. The matter was referred to the Supreme Medical Committee, which supported the proposal. As a result Wehr was appointed and a pamphlet, Instructions for Dr Wehr, colonial instructor for midwifery, dated 1 November 1810, was issued by the colonial secretary’s office. First, Wehr proceeded to examine all the midwives of Cape Town in an attempt to identify those who could be allowed to practice provisionally. Then he went on to select his first students, for whom he conducted a three month course. Training was conducted at his home in Castle Street, while the practical instruction was done in rented quarters, where slave women were brought to give birth. Ethical issues and rules of conduct were included in the training. In August 1813, the first group of students were licensed to practice. As far as is known, this school was the first professional training institution in southern Africa. Wehr held his appointment until 1828. William J. Burchell (1781−1863), an English naturalist and collector, arrived in Cape Town in November 1810, after spending five years on the island of St Helena. During his stay in southern Africa he travelled extensively, northwards, beyond the Orange River and eastwards, to the mouth of the Fish River, covering some 7 000 km. Burchell, known for his painstaking and accurate work, gathered what was probably the largest natural history collection ever to have been made by one person in Africa. It contained over 60,000 specimens, mostly plants, as well as hundreds of detailed, accurate notes and sketches. After he returned to England in 1815 he wrote Travels in the interior of southern Africa (1822−1824), which consisted of two volumes. 1910 The birth of South Africa Between October 1908 and May 1909, delegates from the Cape Colony, Natal, the Orange River Colony and the Transvaal Colony attended a national convention at which a draft constitution for the Union of South Africa was formulated. The document was submitted to the British parliament for approval and resulted in the promulgation of the South Africa Act of 1909, which came into effect on 31 May 1910. During the next two years the civil services of the four colonies were amalgamated, which meant increased responsibilities for some government scientific and professional staff, while others became smaller fish in the bigger pond. © 2010. The Authors. Licensee: OpenJournals Publishing. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License. R.T.A. Innes, Director of the Transvaal Observatory, was appointed as the first Union Astronomer and the observatory was renamed the Union Observatory, without undergoing any change of staff. From this time the observatory’s work was purely astronomical. Its meteorological work, together with the weather services of the other colonies, was taken over by the new Union Weather Service. The Union’s Department of Mines and Industries was staffed almost entirely with engineers and mining inspectors from the former Mining Department of the Transvaal Colony. Within this department, a Geological Survey of South Africa was created, directed by H. Kynaston (Transvaal) and staffed by the geologists of the Geological Survey of the Transvaal. Their responsibilities were initially extended to include the geology of the Free State and Natal. The Geological Commission of the Cape Colony, directed by A.W. Rogers, continued to function until 1 August 1912, when it became a branch office of the Geological Survey. The unified Department of Agriculture was placed under the direction of F.B. Smith (Transvaal), no doubt owing to the excellent work he had done in creating and directing the Department of Agriculture of the Transvaal Colony after the Anglo-Boer War. Within the new department the Division of Veterinary Research was headed by Sir Arnold Theiler (Transvaal), director of the Veterinary Bacteriological Laboratories at Onderstepoort. The responsibilities of this institution were increased to include veterinary research for the Union as a whole. The department’s Principal Veterinary Surgeon was C.E. Gray (Transvaal), while his assistant, J.D. Borthwick, was the former Principal Veterinary Surgeon of the Cape Colony. The Principal Veterinary Surgeons of the other colonies became Senior Veterinary Surgeons in the new department. The Division of Entomology came under the direction of the veteran entomologist C.P. Lounsbury (Cape), with scientific staff from all four former colonies. The Division of Plant Pathology and Botany was headed by I.B. Pole-Evans (Transvaal), and included his assistant, the mycologist, Miss E.M. Doidge (Transvaal). New societies and institutions The first meeting of the council of the newly created University College of Natal, later the University of Natal, took place in January. Classes started in a temporary building at Maritzburg College (a high 6 S Afr J Sci Vol. 106 No. 1/2 Page 1 of 2 http://www.sajs.co.za News & Views school) the following month, under the tuition of the masters of the school. The first two professors arrived from Engl (...truncated)