Month: November 2008

The Union of South Africa was established on 31 May 1910, consisting of the four former colonies: the Cape of Good Hope, Natal, the Orange Free State and the Transvaal. As a self-governing state of the British Empire, the Union remained under the formal rule of the British crown, represented in South Africa by a Governor-General. When South Africa obtained dominion status in 1910, General Louis Botha became the first Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa. He was a major player in the postwar reconstruction of my country after the Boer War.
The Botha government placed a high priority on creating a unified military out of the separate armies of the union’s four provinces. The Defence Act, Number 13 of 1912, established a Union Defence Force, or U.D.F., that included a Permanent Force of career soldiers, an Active Citizen Force of temporary conscripts and volunteers as well as a Cadet organization.
The Botha government also formed the South African Police force in 1913. Four years later, the Mounted Riflemen’s Association relinquished its civilian responsibilities to the S.A.P. as most of its riflemen left to serve in the first World War.
Botha amalgamated the four provincial Main Post Office administrations and placed them under a central control system.
All railways in South Africa became a unified state-owned railway system under General Botha’s leadership in 1916 when the Central South African Railways, the Cape Government Railways and the Natal Government Railways were merged by an Act of Parliament. Thus was born the South African Railways and Harbours (SAR&H).
The Botha government granted charters to three universities, with their respective centres at Cape Town, Stellenbosch and Pretoria.

The creation of a university at Stellenbosch was made possible by Mr Jan Marais of Coertzenburg; to the cause of higher education at Stellenbosch, he had donated the sum of £100000

Th Botha Government initiated the conservation efforts of the Union of South Africa. The administration proclaimed the Mkuze Game Reserve a protected area on 15 February 1912. The foundations for the establishment of the Kruger Park were laid by the Transvaal Volksraad in 1896, when the Rinderpest virus wiped out most of the Eastern Transvaal’s game and cattle. Aiming to preserve wildlife, the Transvaal Volksraad voted in favour of a small government game reserve. In 1916 Prime Minister Botha appointed a government commission to assess the future of the reserves. In 1926 the administration officially renamed the reserves after Paul Kruger, and declared it to be South Africa’s first National Park.
Paul Roos was the captain of the first Springbok team, which was largely dominated by players from the Western Province. The first tour of Britain took place in 1906 and 7 and took in 29 matches.
After the First World War started, Botha sent troops to take German South West Africa, a move unpopular among Boers. The Maritz Rebellion or the Boer Revolt, occurred in 1914, when men who supported the recreation of the old Boer republics rose up against the government of the Union of South Africa because of Botha’s action against the Germans. Siener van Rensburg, the respected Boer Prophet, joined the rebels. The rebellion failed, and the ringleaders received heavy fines and terms of imprisonment.
At the end of the War Botha briefly led a British Empire military mission to the Second Polish Republic during the Polish-Soviet War.
Botha argued that the terms of the Versailles Treaty were too harsh on the Central Powers, but still signed the treaty.
A number of laws controlling Indian immigration and commercial rights were passed by the Botha government. These laws were met with passive resistance from the Indians in South Africa. On 6 November 1913 Mahatma Ghandi led a March to protest against the legislation. He also entered into negotiations with the Botha government.
The Land Act of 1913 which set up the ‘reserves’, later called ‘bantustans’ and ‘homelands’ was also passed in this time. This law effectively zoned Africans to specific areas of South Africa. They were prevented from buying land outside these areas.
In response African intellectual leaders come together on January 8 in Bloemfontein and elect John Dube President of the South African Native National Congress. The two men most involved in bringing this to fruition, Solomon Plaatje and Pixley ka Isaka Seme are elected Secretary-General and Treasurer-General respectively. (The organisation changed its name in 1923 to the African National Congress.).
In July 1913 moves to extend the pass laws to include women are met with determined resistance. In Winburg, Charlotte Maxeke, one of the organisers and spokeswomen of the anti-pass campaign, is arrested with 800 singing women on a march to the town hall.
Prime Minister Botha unexpectedly died in 1919 and Jan Smuts becomes the new Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa.