Page 17 - Bulletin 8 2004

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of many tasks completed by Lieutenant William Archdeacon during his time in charge of
the CGHS 1867 – 72. (Figs. 1.8 & 1.9).

After the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 surveying of the South African coastline

received much less attention. However, in 1900, Captain Herbert Purey-Cust in Rambler

surveyed the Cape Peninsula, among other stretches of coastline.

Many beautifully engraved charts, with chart profiles, were produced at the Admiralty,
London, from information combined from the individual surveys of this era, such as: Cape

of Good Hope from Hondeklip Bay to Durban, 1867; The Cape of Good Hope and False
Bay, 1870; and Table Bay to Donkin Bay, 1871.

Era 2: The inter-war years 1922 – 1939

In 1922 a national marine-survey department was established. Also, the British Admiralty

presented the SA Defence Department with three ships one of which, the sloop Crozier,
was converted to a survey ship and renamed HMSAS Protea. (Fig. 1.10). Lt. Commander

John Dalgleish (Fig. 1.11) was placed in temporary command of her in 1922 and in 1923
surveys were undertaken of the Dockyard Basin at Simon’s Town and St. Helena Bay.

Protea served as survey vessel for all the work until 1933 when the South African Naval

Service was disbanded and she was paid off. Dalgleish was in charge of the Survey from
1927 – 39 and, in company with Lt. Commander F. J. Dean, he made use of the Fishery

Research vessel Africaner for six months of each year during this period. (Fig. 1.12). From
1929 – 33 Dalgleish concentrated on the survey of St. Helena Bay to Saldanha Bay,

including its entrance and harbour. In 1933 on Africana he undertook a large scale survey
of Table Bay. Subsequently attention shifted to the south and east coasts.