Onderstepoort 1908 - 2008, D.W. Verwoerd and R.D. Bigalke (Eds.) : book review

Abstract

October 2008 saw the commemoration of the centenary of the inauguration of the first building on the Onderstepoort campus. This building was declared a national monument in 1983. The roots of the Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute actually go back further, to 1896, when the rinderpest pandemic sweeping down the African continent prompted the government of the then Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek to establish a 'disinfection station' at Daspoort, on the outskirts of Pretoria, under the supervision of Arnold Theiler. The activities of that rather basic laboratory were transferred in October 1908 to the state-of-the-art building that had been erected on the farm 'De Onderstepoort', north of Pretoria. The name Onderstepoort has since become synonymous with veterinary research and education, not only in South Africa, but also far beyond its borders.