Page 4 - VHSA - Onderstepoort 100 Years - Part 1

OND
ERSTEPOORT 100
At a meeting held in 1896 to discuss measures to contain the devastating outbreak of rinderpest in southern Africa it was decided to build a ‘disinfection station’ at Daspoort
in Pretoria where hides of cattle could be treated to prevent the spread of the disease.
A wood and corrugated iron shed was erected but never used for this purpose.
Sir Arnold Theiler who headed the campaign against the disease in the Transvaal Republic convinced the authorities to expand the facilities into a laboratory for the production of serum against rinderpest and lymph for the vaccination of humans against smallpox. Activities were soon interrupted by the Anglo-Boer War in 1899 but continued after the War in 1902 and included basic veterinary research on a number of other diseases. Facilities were however inadequate and conditions unhygienic for
the workers and Theiler convinced the Colonial authorities of the necessity to build a modern new Veterinary Research Laboratory. A portion of the farm De Onderstepoort was selected and bought for this purpose in 1906. In 1907, with the introduction of Responsible Colonial Government and Gen. Louis Botha as Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture of Transvaal, the necessary funds were allocated and Patrick Eagle, the Chief Government Architect, appointed to design the building. Theiler made a study of comparable laboratories in Europe and ensured that only the most modern concepts at the time were incorporated into the design and that no cost was spared to provide excellent facilities. This led to critics of the project calling it an ‘Extravagant Palace of Science’.
The double-storied main building in Dutch Colonial style housed a number of laboratories, each fitted out for a specific line of research such as bacteriology, zoology, chemistry, pathology etc. Hot and
cold water, gas, steam and electric light were laid on throughout the building and fume cupboards, incubators, vacuum pumps and small centrifuges provided where required. To support the laboratories provision was made for sterilizing rooms with autoclaves, a still room for the production of distilled water, a centrifugal room, a microphotographic room and several offices. Animal facilities included an operating theatre, a small animal room and a post mortem hall in the main building as well as stables in separate adjoining buildings. The second floor consisted mainly of a student’s laboratory and lecture room, even though there were no approved plans for the training of veterinary students at the time. The Faculty of Veterinary Science, hosted by the Institute, was in fact only launched in 1920.
The building was completed in 1908 and ready for occupation on the 8th of October of that year. A grand opening was planned for January 1909, accompanied by a Pan-African Conference. Unfortunately torrential rain a few days before the planned date damaged access roads to such an extent that it was impossible to reach the site and the function had to be cancelled.
The conference was relocated to the government building in Pretoria. The “Grand
Palace” was therefore never officially inaugurated!
In 1983, on the occasion of the Institute’s 75th jubilee, the Old Main Building was declared a National Monument.
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PART 1
Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute: General History
1908-2008
Years