University of Pretoria Faculty of Veterinary Science - History

History

The first Colonial Veterinary Surgeon in South Africa was appointed in approximately 1874 in Port Natal (present day Durban in KwaZulu-Natal), followed by the appointment of the first Colonial Veterinary Surgeon in the Cape Colony in 1876 and the subsequent arrival of private practitioners in the late 19th century. A major event was the arrival in 1891 of a Swiss-born veterinarian, Arnold Theiler, who went on to establish a disinfection station and vaccine factory at Daspoort close to Pretoria in 1898. As a state veterinarian, Dr. Arnold Theiler established a research institute to produce vaccines and conduct research on a site at Daspoort. In March 1898, Theiler was appointed director of the Bacterial Institute at Daspoort. Despite the unhealthiness of the site, and the very inadequate facilities consisting of wood-and iron buildings and stables, an enormous amount of valuable research work was produced at Daspoort. When this facility became unsuitable in 1905, Arnold Theiler was instrumental in establishing a new facility at Onderstepoort in 1908, which became the current Agricultural Research Council's Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute. The sum of 40 000 pounds was voted for this purpose.

They selected a new site on the farm De Onderstepoort, 11km north of Church Square, Pretoria central, because of its central position near the seat of government in Pretoria, its proximity to main railway lines, and satisfactory climate for human health. It is also an area where diseases such as horse sickness and bluetongue which were being investigated, were prevalent. The new laboratory building which is still known as the “Main Building”, the quadrangle of stables behind it, and other necessary facilities and staff houses were completed and ready for occupation in October 1908.

During this time and in the years thereafter, the possibility of training veterinarians in South Africa was frequently raised but it was not until 1920 that Sir Arnold Theiler was appointed as Director of Veterinary Education and Research. He served as the first Dean of veterinary science at “Onderstepoort” under the supervision of the then Transvaal University College. New facilities were inaugurated at the end of 1921 and the first residence was opened in 1924. The first eight South African trained veterinarians qualified in 1924.

When the Union of South Africa was formed from the provinces of the Transvaal, Natal, the Cape Province and the Orange Free State in 1910, Onderstepoort became the headquarters of veterinary research for the whole country.

The initial intakes were small and the number of veterinarians graduating from the Faculty every year remained below 20 until 1956. The first batch of graduates to exceed 40 in number, qualified in 1967. The numbers fluctuated around the 40 mark until 1978 and was followed by the first large batch of graduates in 1979 (69) following an increase in the intake of second year students in 1976. It has since remained in the region of approximately 85 per annum. The intake was increased to 120 per annum in 2000 and to 135 in 2005.

The Faculty was the only one of its kind in South Africa until 1980 when a second Faculty of Veterinary Science was established within the Medical University of South Africa (MEDUNSA). This Faculty admitted its first students in 1982, produced its first graduates in 1987 and was amalgamated with the Faculty of Veterinary Science of the University of Pretoria in 1999. The new National Faculty created in this way continues to utilise the facilities of the Onderstepoort campus of the University of Pretoria and continues to function as a fully-fledged faculty of the University of Pretoria. It is once again the only one of its kind in South Africa.