Municipal Engineers in South Africa before 1910 Harri Mäki Municipal Engineers in South Africa before 1910 Harri Mäki © TUP & author Tampere University Press ePublications 2013 Cover photo Open reservoir and water tower in Volksrust. (Harri Mäki) Back cover photos Woodhead dam (Petri Juuti) Author by pipe track in Table Mountain (Petri Juuti) Cover design Sirpa Randell Layout Sirpa Randell ISBN 978-951-44-9067-5 (pdf) [email protected] Contents Introduction .............................................................................................................9 1 Outline of developments ................................................................................13 Beginning in the 1850s .............................................................................13 1860s in the shadows of depression ........................................................16 1870s at the mercy of the town council ..................................................18 Stagnation in the 1880s .............................................................................21 Steady growth in the 1890s ......................................................................27 Expansion in the 1900s .............................................................................33 The Cape Colony .................................................................................33 Natal ......................................................................................................44 Free State ...............................................................................................45 The Transvaal ......................................................................................48 Summary ....................................................................................................58 2 Background and training of the engineers ..................................................60 Background ................................................................................................60 Training of the engineers .........................................................................61 Positions before being appointed ............................................................65 Summary ....................................................................................................67 3 Why municipalities decided to appoint an engineer..................................69 The first municipal engineer ...................................................................69 Later appointments ...................................................................................71 Summary ....................................................................................................71 4 Applying for the position of municipal engineer ........................................73 Number of applications ............................................................................73 Competition amongst applicants ............................................................75 Summary ....................................................................................................79 5 Appointment process ......................................................................................80 Appointment without applications .........................................................80 Advertising .................................................................................................83 Selecting the final candidates ..................................................................84 Appointments in the town councils .......................................................86 Unanimous decisions ..........................................................................87 Balloting................................................................................................89 Summary ....................................................................................................90 6 Salaries of the engineers .................................................................................92 Individual municipalities .........................................................................92 Comparisons between municipalities ....................................................95 Summary ..................................................................................................100 7 Engineers and the town councils ................................................................103 Good relations ..........................................................................................103 Problematic relations ..............................................................................104 Summary ..................................................................................................107 8 Reasons for leaving the position ..................................................................109 Leaving voluntarily .................................................................................109 Retirement ..........................................................................................109 Moving to other employment .......................................................... 110 Health .................................................................................................112 Problems with the council................................................................113 Other reasons .....................................................................................115 Leaving involuntarily .............................................................................. 116 Death ................................................................................................... 116 Contract termination ........................................................................ 117 Forced resignation ............................................................................. 117 Dismissal ............................................................................................119 Unknown reasons ....................................................................................124 Summary ..................................................................................................125 9 The effects of depressions in engineer’s departments .............................126 Depressions ..............................................................................................126 Town Engineers .......................................................................................128 The Cape Colony .....................................................................................129 Earlier depressions ............................................................................129 The first decade of the 20th century ................................................131 Natal ..........................................................................................................135 The Orange River Colony ......................................................................139 The Transvaal ..........................................................................................140 Summary ..................................................................................................145 10 What was typical municipal engineer made of .........................................148 Appendix 1: List of the engineers ......................................................................151 Appendix 2: Short biographies of the engineers .............................................156 Sources ..................................................................................................................182 Index .....................................................................................................................192 List of Figures Figure 1. South Africa in the 1890s .....................................................................12 Figure 2. Number of engineers in 1851–1860 ...................................................13 Figure 3. Number of engineers in 1861–1870 ...................................................16 Figure 4. Avon Bruce-Brand ................................................................................18 Figure 5. Number of engineers in 1871–1880 ...................................................19 Figure 6. New town hall of Grahamstown.........................................................21 Figure 7. Number of engineers in 1881–1890 ....................................................22 Figure 8. The intake works on the Disa Gorge side of the Woodhead tunnel .....................................................................................23 Figure 9. William Henry Miles ...........................................................................24 Figure 10. John F.E. Barnes ..................................................................................25 Figure 11. Number of engineers in 1891–1900 .................................................27 Figure 12. George B. Laffan .................................................................................29 Figure 13. John Laughton .....................................................................................31 Figure 14. Number of engineers in 1901–1910 ..................................................33 Figure 15. James Maden .......................................................................................36 Figure 16. Rondebosch town council and officials 1909–1910 ........................37 Figure 17. Horace Freeman ..................................................................................40