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see also:
- Out of Africa there is always something
new by J.A. van den Heever
-
Growth of a Collection (Ethnology Collection)
by E. M.Shaw
Andrew Smith:
First Superintendent
of the South African Museum 1825 - 1837
Dr Andrew Smith was the first Superintendent of the Museum. Born in Scotland
in 1797, he completed his
 medical
studies in the Army in 1819 and was despatched to South Africa in 1821. The
Governor of the Cape Colony, Lord Charles Somerset, nominated him as
Superintendent in 1825. The Museum occupied some rooms of the Colonial
Government offices in the building which presently houses the South African
Cultural History Museum.
The Museum specimens consisted of Dr Smith's own private collection, which he
lent to the Museum, and other collectors lent theirs. The main source of
accessions was the fieldwork of the Museum staff, i.e. Dr Smith himself. He was
assisted in his collecting by his soldier-servant, John Minton, who had been
trained in taxidermy.
Although he had had no formal academic training in zoology, nor in
anthropology, Dr Smith's work in the Museum was that of a scientist, and as such
he was ahead of his time both in his research and in his reporting. Charles
Darwin's respect for his observations is testimony to his scientific integrity;
and the sale of his personal collection to help defray the cost of an expedition
is an example of his scientific devotion.
Dr Smith returned to the United Kingdom in 1837, to marry and to take up
duties in a military hospital. Even though he became head of the Army Medical
Department, he continued to publish. His Illustrations of the Zoology of
South Africa in 28 parts is his great taxonomic work. He is said to have
described more species of South African birds than anyone else before or since,
and his work on South African snakes is nothing short of monumental. |
