Veterinary History (History Society of the South African Veterinary Association)
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/6851
Collection of biographies, news articles, curriculum vitae's, obituaries, presentations, etc to highlight and preserve the veterinary history of Southern Africa. It is managed and maintained by a project committee, consisting of The Veterinary History Society of the SA Veterinary Association and personnel of the University of Pretoria.
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| Veterinary biographies | Presentations | Awards |
| Obituaries | General history | Tributes |
| Curriculum Vitae | - | VetNews articles |
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Item In memoriam :Johan Krige: 1 September 1937 - 21 April 2021(2024-09) Brückner, Gideon; South African Veterinary Association. Veterinary History SocietyJohan Krige was born in Pretoria and was a pupil of Afrikaans Hoër in Pretoria. He obtained his BVSc at Onderstepoort in December 1962. After a short try at private veterinary practice, he joined the government service as a state veterinarian – first in Potgietersrus and then in Lydenburg where he met Tessa Buys. They got married in 1966 and was blessed with 4 children and 4 grandchildren. He worked as state veterinarian thereafter in Standerton, Louis Trichardt, Greytown to finally end up again as state veterinarian in Lydenburg. In Lydenburg, Johan established himself as one of the most capable, experienced and knowledgeable state veterinarians on foot and mouth disease control in the South African veterinary services. He was responsible for the management, control and containment of several outbreaks of the disease in the Lowveld area where he worked closely with surrounding state and private veterinarians – including the state veterinary service in the Kruger National Park. In 1981, Johan was transferred to the headquarters of veterinary services in Pretoria where he was promoted to Deputy Director in the veterinary services and made responsible for overall national animal disease control and animal health legislation. During this period he was offered the chance to write a new Act on Animal Disease Control for South Africa to reflect the needs of animal disease control within the new democratic Constitutional environment of the country. For almost three years he dedicated himself to this, resulting in the eventual signing of the Animal Health Act (Act 7 of 2002) by the then President, Mr Thabo Mbeki. He was also a active member of the Veterinary History Society.Item Old Res at Onderstepoort: 100 years old(Article originally published in VetNews, December 2024, the monthly magazine of the South African Veterinary Association, 2024-12) Boshoff, Annette; Heyne, Heloise; South African Veterinary Association. Veterinary History SocietySir Arnold Theiler, who was the first Director of the Onderstepoort Veterinary Research Institute (established 1908) and also the first Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Science (established 1920), inaugurated a brand-new student residence on 14 April 1924. Old Res, as the hostel has become known, celebrated its 100th anniversary this year. A music festival, reunions and other events were hosted in April this year to honour the day (See the VetNews issues of May, June and October this year). This is the last of a series of twelve articles in VetNews to commemorate the history of Old Res and the Onderstepoort residences. From Huis Onderstepoort to OP Village Old Res was built to house 40 students and has been home to nearly four thousand students over the past century. Today, OP Village offers a living space for close to 700 students in 20 residential blocks (and in the old OVI houses). Very few women were admitted to the BVSc course in the beginning. As a matter of fact, only ten of the nearly 400 graduates were women during the first 40 years of the existence of the Veterinary Faculty. However, 75% of the residents of OP Village today are female.Item In memoriam: IBJ (Sakkie) van Rensburg: 1940 - 2024(South African Veterinary Association, 2024-11) Kriek, Nick; South African Veterinary Association. Veterinary History SocietyAfter completion of a degree in agriculture, Sakkie started his degree in Veterinary Science and graduated in 1965. He joined the Department of Pathology at the then 'Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute' which was at the time responsible for the training of veterinarians. After obtaining the M Med Vet degree in Pathology, and registering as a specialist veterinary pathologist with the South African Veterinary Council, he was promoted to Professor and filled this position till retirement in 1994. He was a beloved teacher and committed to the elucidation of the causes of lupinosis and "geel dikkop" in sheep.Item In memoriam: Riaan Tolken 5 Mei 1965 - 18 September 2024(South African Veterinary Association, 2024-11) Van Niekerk, Johann; South African Veterinary Association. Veterinary History SocietyThe personal life and caring personality of Riaan Tolken is celebrated in this piece written by Johann van Niekerk.Item Huis Onderstepoort in the 1960s(Article originally published in VetNews, November 2024, the monthly magazine of the South African Veterinary Association, 2024-11) Boshoff, Annette; Heyne, Heloise; South African Veterinary Association. Veterinary History SocietySir Arnold Theiler inaugurated a new student residence on 14 April 1924. This grand old building became known as Old Res when additional accommodation blocks were built. The number of beds available grew from 40 in Old Res to close to 700 at the OP Village complex as of today. To commemorate the historic event, a reunion was held on 5 April 2024 that included a visit to the South African National Veterinary Museum, CPD talks, a tour of the state-of-the-art skills laboratory at the Onderstepoort Faculty and a dinner at the OP Village Clubhouse on Friday 5 April (see VetNews May 2024). The festivities continued the following day with live music and food and drinks stalls on the sports fields of OP Village on Saturday 6 April (see VetNews June 2024). The celebrations included a chance to visit an exhibition in the Common Room where memorabilia was put on display and a timeline of traditions depicted on a 9-meter-long banner created by Cecilia van der Walt and Sarah Biesman-Simons of the Centenary Committee (see VetNews September 2024). In this edition of VetNews, two students of the 1960s share their memories of yesteryear at Onderstepoort. This is the second last of twelve articles to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the inauguration of Old ResItem Faculty hosts yet another successful Faculty Day(South African Veterinary Association, 2024-11) UnknownThe Faculty of Veterinary Science annually hosts its Faculty Day on the Onderstepoort campus. It is a proud tradition which aims to highlight the research activities of the faculty as well as expose young researchers, post-graduate and final-year undergraduate students to a conference environment when presenting their research in the form of oral presentations and a poster session.Item In memoriam : Leslie Walter Marshall: 1944 – 2024(Article originally published in VetNews, November 2024, the monthly magazine of the South African Veterinary Association, 2024-11) Turner, Vincent; South African Veterinary Association. Veterinary History SocietyLeslie Marshall was born on 27 September 1944 in Benoni, Gauteng where he lived with his parents and two sisters. He began his schooling at the Northmead Primary School, Benoni and later attended the Groot Marico Primary and Secondary Schools, North-West Province. Leslie matriculated at the Klerksdorp High School. Leslie attended the Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education for his first year of study and then went on to study Veterinary Science at Onderstepoort, Pretoria University where he graduated as a veterinarian in 1967. After graduating, Leslie served as a State Veterinarian in Kroonstad for a year. In 1969 he moved to Welkom where he started is own small animal practice as a service to the community. In 1970 he built a large, modern veterinary hospital which was known as the OFS Animal & Avian Hospital. When Leslie first started practising in Welkom he worked closely with the local SPCA as an additional service to the community. A few years later Leslie established a satellite practice, also known as the OFS Animal & Avian Hospital, in the neighbouring mining town of Virginia, Free State Province. Early in his career, Leslie was married for a relatively short period with the marriage ending in a divorce and with no children being born from the marriage. In September 2014, Leslie married Juanita Barnard. They had no children. Leslie’s entire career was dedicated to providing the highest possible quality of professional service to the community and their animals.Item In memoriam : Alain John Carter: 1959 – 2024(Article originally published in VetNews, November 2024, the monthly magazine of the South African Veterinary Association, 2024-11) McKenna, Jeremy; South African Veterinary Association. Veterinary History SocietyAlain went to Saint Stithians College, matriculating there in 1977, going on to study at Onderstepoort and qualifying as a veterinarian in 1983. He achieved his M Med Vet in 1996, specializing in medicine, and taking over the reins from George Frost and establishing Fourways Veterinary Hospital as a state of the art referral facility of world class standard. For a number of years he was an external examiner for the medicine department at OP, and he lectured at numerous symposia both locally and internationally, in various topics. He will be sorely missed by his family, recently becoming a grandfather to Lyra, daughter of Greg and Desi.Item Onderstepoort residence – houseparents 1952 to 1975(South African Veterinary Association, 2024-09) Boshoff, Annette; Heyne, Heloise; South African Veterinary Association. Veterinary History SocietyThe story of the three housefathers before 1976, was put together with the help of alumni, a search on the internet and the existing obituaries. The houseparents from the period, 1952 to 1975, include Glyn Horton (1973 to 1975), Richard Kelsey (Dick) Loveday (1962 to 1972), and Thomas Frederik (Tom) Adelaar (c.1950 to 1961). This article is accompanied by many individual and class photos of the graduandi and other writings.Item OP Village Traditions(Article originally published in VetNews, October 2024, the monthly magazine of the South African Veterinary Association, 2024-10) Biesman-Simons, Sarah; Van der Walt, Cecilia; South African Veterinary Association. Veterinary History SocietyThe original Huis Onderstepoort building is now referred to as Old Res, which is still a male-only corridor. The area that used to be the student-run library is now used as a lounge and dance floor and quickly reaches maximum capacity during a World Cup rugby match. After each jol, there are sure to be groups of people chatting and relaxing on the balcony. The funds generated from their annual Crocodile Fest and Beerfest are used to host children from a nearby children’s home for a braai, campus tour and games day. The boys of Old Res go away on an annual camp weekend and their annual ‘Huisdans’ or ‘Dinee’ always proves to have an interesting theme with even better outfits. The boys also have a Ginbledon day against Helshoogte where the tennis is grand and the gin always flowing.Item Old Res 100 Year Reunion: 23 and 24 August 2024(Article originally published in VetNews, October 2024, the monthly magazine of the South African Veterinary Association, 2024-10) Lotriet, Adrian; South African Veterinary Association. Veterinary History SocietyThis year marks the 100th anniversary of OP Village, the residence at Onderstepoort. Other than being the 100th year of existence at OP village, it is more specifically the 100th year of existence of Old Res, the initial residence building. Since its beginning in 1924, Old Res has become a society for young men studying Veterinary Science who strive to be involved and excel in all activities associated with the residence, whilst balancing this with a healthy social calendar.Item In memoriam : Thireshni Chetty: 1972 - 2024(Article originally published in VetNews, September 2024, the monthly magazine of the South African Veterinary Association, 2024-09) Banderker, Ayoub; South African Veterinary Association. Veterinary History SocietyThireshni (Tesh) studied in the 90s at Medunsa (Medical University of Southern Africa), then the only veterinary Faculty in SA for aspiring black veterinarians. She had a passion for extending veterinary services to all sectors of SA society, especially in disadvantaged areas and to encourage a new generation and demographic of veterinarians. Thireshhni did this on a national and even international level. She also had a goal in seeking international recognition and reciprocity for the Medunsa veterinary degree that its counterpart, the University of Pretoria degree, received. This, with the help of other colleagues, finally came to fruition in November 2017. Thireshhni and the late, Dr Tembile Songabe, were instrumental in establishing the CCS (Compulsory Community Service) program for veterinary graduates in SA, despite resistance from many in the profession at the time. Initial teething problems aside, this CCS program is appreciated by many graduates who’ve come through the program and admired by many international veterinary bodies, who desire to emulate it in their countries. Thireshni was at the forefront of positive changes in the profession and would speak her mind, speak the truth and put it into action. She was a woman of integrity with a hugely generous heart, always sharing her knowledge and teaching others, but always also learning from others.Item In memoriam : Gilbert Theo Hinze: 1943 - 2024(Article originally published in VetNews, September 2024, the monthly magazine of the South African Veterinary Association, 2024-09) Turner, Vincent; South African Veterinary Association. Veterinary History SocietyGilbert Hinze was born on 22 October 1943 in Paulpietersburg, KwaZulu-Natal and grew up on his parent’s farm in the Commondale district near Piet Retief. His schooling was at the Commondale Primary School and the Piet Retief High School where he matriculated. Gilbert graduated as a veterinarian in 1967. Gilbert married Alida de la Rouviere Badenhorst. The couple were blessed with a son. Gilbert and Alida were later divorced and Gilbert then married Martie de Beer. After graduating he joined a private practice in Zululand. In 1970 Gilbert left private practice to join Merck Sharp & Dohme in Johannesburg as a technical adviser where he was predominantly involved with the registration of veterinary pharmaceuticals. In 1978 he returned to private practice in Piet Retief showing a specific interest in embryo transfer in cattle. In 1986 he moved to a private practice in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. In 1994 Gilbert joined the Meat Board of South Africa in Pretoria where he was actively involved in the Meat Board’s Red Meat Abattoir programme and to a lesser extent in the Board’s Pig Health Scheme. In 2004 Gilbert left Radical Waters to become independently involved in a multitude of veterinary-associated activities in South Africa and abroad. Some of these activities were linked to the application of ECA Technology. At one stage he was particularly active in China promoting the replacement of medicated feeds in intensive pig and broiler systems by using ECA solutions in the drinking water. In China, where the intensive rearing of rabbits is done on a large scale, Gilbert became involved in developing a unique Foliar Organic Plant Growth Promotant derived from rabbits’ urine. In these trials, Gilbert claimed that his findings showed a 99% increase in yield as opposed to the controls. In South Africa, Gilbert became involved in the rabbit industry with special reference to intensive rabbit rearing systems, improved nutrition, disease prevention strategies, breeding programmes/progeny testing of bucks and the possibility of performing artificial insemination on a large commercial scale. Over the past few years, Gilbert’s health gradually deteriorated and he passed away on 25 June, 2024.Item In memoriam : Walter Löwe: 1941 - 2024(Article originally published in VetNews,October 2024, the monthly magazine of the South African Veterinary Association, 2024-10) Gideon Brückner, Gideon; South African Veterinary Association. Veterinary History SocietyWalter was born in Pretoria on 30 August 1941. His mother was also from Pretoria while his father immigrated from Germany in 1932. He attended the German primary school in Pretoria and finished his school career at the Pretoria Technical College where he received honours as fitter and turner. After school, he volunteered for training in the South African Airforce before commencing with his veterinary studies at the University of Pretoria where he qualified as a veterinarian in 1966. He started his career as a state veterinarian in Pretoria – a post he occupied from 1966 to 1976. He had to manage an outbreak of foot and mouth disease at Komatipoort along the Kruger National Park; control an extensive outbreak of Newcastle disease; was involved in a campaign to control tsetse flies in the then Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and was overall responsible for disease control in the Caprivi in the north-eastern region of Namibia. In 1968 he met Dörte Kleyenstüber, from South West Africa (Namibia) while she was a student at the University of Pretoria. They got married in Swakopmund on 3 April 1970 and were blessed with 5 children (2 sons and 3 daughters) and 11 grandchildren. Walter also obtained a post-graduate diploma in Veterinary Public Health from the University of Pretoria in 1975. H he was appointed as regional director of veterinary services for the then Transvaal region (now Gauteng). His move back to Pretoria. On 1 October 1988, Walter was promoted to Deputy Director In the head office of Veterinary Services in Pretoria and in 1993 to Director of Veterinary Public Health. In 1995 he took the option of early retirement from Government service to give more dedicated attention to the family piggery. In 2002 Walter was approached by the Director of Veterinary Services to do consultancy work for them – mainly to assist with compiling and negotiating import and export protocols for animals and animal products to and from the European Union. He did this for 5 years and then finally retired in 2008. Walter Manfred Herbert Löwe lost his fight against cancer on 28 August 2024 at the age of 82 – a mere 2 days before his 83rd birthday.Item In memoriam :Johan Krige: 1 September 1937 - 21 April 2021(Article originally published in VetNews, Sept 2024, the monthly magazine of the South African Veterinary Association, 2024-09) Brückner, Gideon; South African Veterinary Association. Veterinary History SocietyJohan Krige was born in Pretoria and was a pupil of Afrikaans Hoër in Pretoria. He obtained his BVSc at Onderstepoort in December 1962. After a short try at private veterinary practice, he joined the government service as a state veterinarian – first in Potgietersrus and then in Lydenburg where he met Tessa Buys. They got married in 1966 and was blessed with 4 children and 4 grandchildren. He worked as state veterinarian thereafter in Standerton, Louis Trichardt, Greytown to finally end up again as state veterinarian in Lydenburg. In Lydenburg, Johan established himself as one of the most capable, experienced and knowledgeable state veterinarians on foot and mouth disease control in the South African veterinary services. He was responsible for the management, control and containment of several outbreaks of the disease in the Lowveld area where he worked closely with surrounding state and private veterinarians – including the state veterinary service in the Kruger National Park. In 1981, Johan was transferred to the headquarters of veterinary services in Pretoria where he was promoted to Deputy Director in the veterinary services and made responsible for overall national animal disease control and animal health legislation. During this period he was offered the chance to write a new Act on Animal Disease Control for South Africa to reflect the needs of animal disease control within the new democratic Constitutional environment of the country. For almost three years he dedicated himself to this, resulting in the eventual signing of the Animal Health Act (Act 7 of 2002) by the then President, Mr Thabo Mbeki. He was also a active member of the Veterinary History Society.Item In memoriam : Edith Gertrude Knight 1896 - 1995(Article originally published in VetNews, August 2024, the monthly magazine of the South African Veterinary Association, 2024-08) Bath, Anne; South African Veterinary Association. Veterinary History Society; Bath, GarethEdith Gertrude Knight was the first female to be registered as a Veterinary Surgeon in South Africa and the first female veterinarian to practice in South Africa. She was registered in Durban, Natal [now KZN] on 8 January 1927. Edith Gertrude Knight was born in Bruton, Somerset on 13 April 1896. After gaining her Agriculture Diploma from Reading University in 1918 she worked with a veterinary surgeon who encouraged her to become a vet even though the RCVS did not admit women at that time. She submitted 3 consecutive applications to the RCVS who were finally obliged to alter their Charter in January 1920 to allow the admission of women. She entered Liverpool University Veterinary School in October 1920 as a second-year student, having been granted exemption of most of the first-year subjects because of her Agricultural Diploma. Although she was not to become the first British woman to be registered as a veterinary surgeon (the first was Aleen Cust), Edith Knight was the first woman to take the British veterinary degree, qualifying with MRCVS on 19 December 1923 and BVSc in December 1925. In January 1926 Miss E G Knight, Veterinary Surgeon and 29 years of age, came to Durban in Natal from London. Edith applied in 1926 to be registered as a Veterinary Surgeon by the Natal Veterinary Board, obtaining registration as a veterinarian in Natal under Act 21 of 1899. The Board registered “Knight (Miss) E.G., M.R.C.V.S. 1923” as a Veterinary Surgeon on 8 January 1927. Her Registration was published in G.N. [Government Notice] 69. She was the first female veterinarian to be registered in South Africa and her Certificate granted her the right to practice and work in Natal. She married Ernest Leonard Taylor on 12 January 1929 in Bath; Ernest had been a fellow BVSc student at Liverpool and had specialised in parasitology. Edith’s practice flourished and she took on a partner, Marjorie Jordan and remained active in the veterinary field. Edith and Ernest Taylor and their 3 sons continued to live in Dorking. This pioneer in the veterinary world and the first woman veterinary surgeon to be registered in South Africa was independent and active until she died on 23 March 1995, 3 weeks before her 99th birthday.Item In memoriam : Fritz Zollner(Article originally published in VetNews,August 2024, the monthly magazine of the South African Veterinary Association, 2024-08) Cloete, Annelie; South African Veterinary Association. Veterinary History SocietyFritz Zollner was born on 21 Sept 1949 in Lydenburg, shortly after his missionary parents arrived in South Africa by boat from Germany. Fritz started his working career as a medical technologist in Bloemfontein. He earned two international diplomas in Chemical and Clinical Pathology, but his love for all creatures, great and small eventually got the better of him and 10 years later he started to pursue his real calling when he went to Onderstepoort and qualified as a Veterinary Surgeon in 1986. Fritz spent the first 18 years of his veterinary career in Bloemfontein at the VETOVS Animal clinic mainly working with horses, cattle, small animals and assisting at the zoo. He also completed numerous locum tenens in mixed and horse practices in the UK, Germany and Austria until the early 1990s. In April 2004 he moved to the Cape where he worked in Somerset West at Country Animal Clinic and Altena Animal Clinic in Strand, before he moved to Malmesbury in April 2006. For the next 12 years, he worked at the Malmesbury Animal Hospital and since April 2018 he has been part of the Groenkloof Animal Clinic, until his sad departure at age 75 on 13 May 2024. Fritz was a member of the SAEVA (equine) group of SAVA.Item In memoriam : Gertruida Hermanna Gerdes (‘Truuske’) 1939 - 2022(Article originally published in VetNews, August 2024, the monthly magazine of the South African Veterinary Association, 2024-08) South African Veterinary Association. Veterinary History Society; Bath, GarethTruuske was born in Cape Town in 1939. Truuske started her studies at the University of Cape Town followed 5 years at the University of Pretoria in the BVSc course at Onderstepoort. She was an early female graduate at the Faculty and was the only girl in her class. After graduation in 1962 she worked for 18 years in small animal private practice in Cape Town and in Italy. In 1983, Truuske was appointed Researcher in the section of Veterinary Virology at the Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute. She was made Acting Head of this Section from 2001 to 2006 and was contracted to continue with her work after official retirement in 2004, until she left to retire in Cape Town in 2010. While at OVI, Truuske contributed to many international scientific meetings and co-authored many refereed scientific articles. She died in Cape Town on 21 October 2022 after suffering from a stroke.Item The 2024 Presidents award(Article originally published in VetNews,August 2024, the monthly magazine of the South African Veterinary Association, 2024-08) South African Veterinary Association. Veterinary History SocietyThe 2024 Presidents award was awarded to Professor Gareth Bath for his extensive and honourable contribution to livestock production by the South African Society for Animal Science at their 54th Annual congress held in East London from 03 to 05 July 2024.Item In memoriam : James Hill(Article originally published in VetNews, March 2024, the monthly magazine of the South African Veterinary Association, 2024-03) Team VDX; South African Veterinary Association. Veterinary History SocietyJames Hill, passed away peacefully in his sleep this morning at 4 am, Thursday 15th February 2024, surrounded by his much-beloved family and animals. James fought so hard for so long and achieved so much. Despite facing significant physical challenges following his rugby injury as a young newly qualified veterinarian, he carved out an incredible career as a Specialist Veterinary Clinical Pathologist, serving our beloved profession at the highest level for over 20 years with passion, integrity, and professionalism of the highest order. James never bore a grudge about his circumstances and carried out his professional and personal life with such positivity and enthusiasm, that he enriched the lives of so many of us in such positive ways. Anyone lucky enough to share the life of this truly remarkable guy will forever be awe-inspired by what he brought to the table of humanity.