francofrescura.co.za | Postal History |General Articles

WOMEN IN THE CAPE COLONIAL POST OFFICE

Franco Frescura

INTRODUCTION

It is probably safe to assume that the Cape Post Office was a product of its time, and that it was neither more nor less discriminatory of women than the greater part of the society it served. Throughout its 118-year colonial history, its senior management staff remained exclusively male, and although it is not known at what stage women began to work at the GPO in Cape Town, it seems likely that, until 1910 their numbers remained relatively low. Sir Somerset French, Cape Postmaster General from 1892 to 1908, did not oppose the employment of women but, as a matter of policy, would not countenance it where they were forced to share the same office space as male employees. This might explain the creation of a Women’s Branch at the GPO, although the exact location of its premises, the nature of its duties, and what protocols it followed in its dealings with male colleagues are not known.

EARLY YEARS

Women began to be appointed to the Cape Post Office as early as 1808, when Catharina Hendrina Caldwell, nee Bletterman, wife of Deputy Postmaster General, William Caldwell, was appointed postmaster of Stellenbosch. She had married Caldwell on 12 February 1796, less than a month after his arrival at the Cape and, not only did she bear him two daughters, but also appears to have taken an active hand in her husband's business affairs. For the next twenty years, the Caldwells led a busy, and even convoluted, business life, running in rapid sequence a warehouse, a hotel, a retail store and a boarding house, another boarding house, a general merchandise store and an agency for a London property firm. Catharina, who must have been a vigorous and enterprising woman, was appointed postmaster at Stellenbosch on 8 May 1808, with Mrs AC Hudson as her deputy. She filled this post for the next 38 years, with only a brief break in 1829, and retired from the Post Office in 1846, when she must have been close to 70 years old. Although Caldwell died in Cape Town on 2 July 1816, at the age of 58, his wife continued to provide lodgings at their old house at 7 Bergh Street, as well as at 30 Strand Street, while also retaining her position as postmaster at Stellenbosch,

Mary Biggar was born in England in about 1781 and married Capt Alexander Biggar in about 1800. Over the next twenty years she bore him eleven children, the last of whom was born aboard the Weymouth en route to the Cape, which they reached on 15 May 1820. After the death of her husband in Zululand in 1839 she settled in Port Elizabeth where she was appointed postmaster on 17 December 1840, a position she held until her retirement in 1852. She died in Grahamstown on 9 February 1855, at the age of 74. Her grandson, John Dunn, subsequently gained dubious fame in Zululand as a trader, a hunter, and finally as the betrayer of his benefactor, King Chetshwayo. Unlike many other postmasters of her time, Mary Biggar had no other commercial interests, and during her tenure, used her home in Chapel Lane as the town’s post office. Although she did move once, on 2 July 1845, this was to another house, only a few doors down the street.

CONSOLIDATION AND DEVELOPMENT

When the English took over the colonial administration of the Cape in 1806, their settlement initially tended to follow the patterns of expansion previously established by the Dutch, focusing primarily upon the more fertile western and southern Cape, with a limited and highly scattered population of migrant herders in the arid interior. This region had originally been inhabited by clans of Khoikhoi migrant pastoralists and hunter-gatherers who, by the 1750s, had been largely decimated by disease, famine and a deliberate policy of genocide by the Dutch. Thus, although it was not as fertile as the Eastern Cape, life in the Karoo was not as perilous as it was on the eastern frontier, and the area was not subject to conflicting land claims.

By 1806 the region was largely inhabited by scattered families of Dutch herders, who had by now supplanted the indigenous Khoi, and by 1840 only four major villages had been established in the Karoo, at Graaff-Reinet (founded in 1786), Cradock (1816), Beaufort West (1820) and Colesberg (1830). In 1836 the northward migration of some 20,000 dissident Dutch from the colony, created a vacuum that the British were not slow to fill, particularly once the advantages of its climate became known among those suffering from consumption. As a result the region became the focus of more systematic agricultural activity, and over the next forty years, some 41 major villages were established, 18 of these in the 1870-80 period. In the colonial nomenclature of the time, most of these were described as “towns”, although it was plainly absurd to give this title to a place having little more than one thousand inhabitants. By 1875 the Census had shown that Graaff-Reinet, the largest of these settlements, had 4562 residents, Cradock had 1712, Beaufort West had 1585, and Colesberg had 1312. In general only about 40% of this population could be considered to be literate and numerate.

It follows therefore that, outside the major centers of urban habitat, the Post Office could draw its staff from only a limited pool of skills and labour. Given these constraints, and despite its prevailing patriarchal corporate culture, the Colonial Post Office had to accept the entry of women into its ranks, and in time came to offer career prospects to young women which neither business, nor other branches of the civil service, could match. Provided a woman was not averse to the relatively slow pace of life in a small town or village, the Post Office could provide its female postmasters with relative independence of action, high social status in the community, a salary comparable to that of their male counterparts, experience in the management and running of a small business, and security of tenure. In a society where women were subjected to a high degree of social constraint, the Post Office offered their female employees the opportunity of frequent travel and movement between one posting and the next.

Judging by the Civil Establishment Blue Books, there were a number of women who chose to lead an adventurous and less sedentary life. Miss A Krynauw, for example, moved no less than eight times in ten years, starting off at Doorn River in 1898, moving on to Riebeek Kasteel in 1899, Schoemanshoek and Zuurbraak in 1903, River Zonder End and Gordon's Bay in 1905, and Schoemanshoek in 1908. Her sister, not wishing to be outdone, served at seven post offices in five years. A similar career was followed by Mrs MA Keys, who between 1887, when she first entered postal employment, until 1903, when she finally moved to East London, served as postmaster at eight post offices. Miss MM Brown joined the Post Office in 1885 when she was appointed the postmaster at Douglas, she then served at sixteen other establishments located in the Karoo, in the northern and in the western Cape, before finally moving to Libodi, in the Transkei, in 1907. Misses KS Burke, Leonora Marchiano, M O’Kennedy, Johanna Walton and M Grobbelaar all led similar, well-travelled and presumably adventurous lives.

SOME PERSONALITIES OF NOTE

Between 1792 and 1910 the Cape Post Office employed some 3600 persons in the capacity of postmaster. Of these less than 10% were women. Their number, therefore, was not statistically high. However, given the fact that many of the smaller country post offices were associated with family businesses, and that many assistant postmasters and postal clerks were women, it stands to reason that they played a far greater role in the affairs of the Colonial Post Office than the figures would lead us to believe. Because of the nature of a colonial frontier society, many of these would have been intelligent, enterprising and highly motivated, and it should be no surprise, therefore, that a number of the postal workers who performed noteworthy service during the South African War of 1899-1902 were women.

Miss Patience A Burke, for example, acted as postmaster at Garies from 1 April 1892 through to 1 April 1903. On 12 September 1901 Republican forces entered the village and ransacked its post office, inflicting extensive damage upon its establishment. Despite the presence of Republican soldiers in her office, she had the presence of mind to save some of her mails, although the remainder of the post, as well as some stores, were set alight and destroyed. Thereafter she was detained as a prisoner in her quarters under armed guard.

Mrs Sarah Glueck began her career in the Post Office as a postal assistant at Lady Grey, in the division of Aliwal North, in 1897, and by 1899 had been promoted to the position of its postmaster. On 14 November 1899, at the outset of the South African War, a small group of irregular Republican troops from the OFS, together with some local sympathizers, attempted to affix a Proclamation of Annexation to the Lady Grey post office notice board, and demanded its keys from its postmaster. Mrs Glueck not only refused to oblige, but replaced the proclamation with a notice of her own, reminding Cape citizens of their loyalty to the British Crown. On 19th November the Republican forces returned in greater numbers, and despite her vigorous protestations, they took over her offices. Following their withdrawal from the village in March 1900 the postal and communication infrastructure of the north-eastern districts of the Cape was only re-established with difficulty. Owing to a shortage of qualified personnel in this region the postmaster at Herschel was delegated to travel with the military to Barkly East to re-open its telegraph office. In his absence, his work was undertaken by Mrs Glueck and, for a time, she travelled the distance between Lady Grey and Barkly East on horseback on a daily basis, and served the postal and telegraphic needs of both communities. Her efforts did not go unnoticed, and in his report to Parliament for 1899 the Postmaster General singled her out for her work and made special mention of the manner in which she safeguarded official property during the course of the Republican invasion. Most importantly, the actions of Sarah Glueck at the start of the war seized the imagination of the public, and once the story reached the British press, her courage was given international coverage: poems were written about her, and pictures of her were sold in their thousands throughout the Empire.

Miss Johanna C Walton, appears to have been a person of similar temperament. When the South African War broke out in October 1899, she was the postmaster at Van Wyk's Vlei, a small village in the heart of the Carnarvon district, in the northern Cape. Despite its isolated locality, Republican forces appear to have conceived an irrational antipathy towards this post office, and during the course of the South African War they sacked it on three separate occasions. On 13 March 1900 a group of about 20 Republican sympathizers entered the village and demanded that Miss Walton, hand over the keys to her establishment. Much to their surprise, she not only refused to do so, but also stood her ground, taunting them with the words "Shoot, coward, and kill me". Despite her bold action, she was forcibly removed from the premises, and her telegraph equipment was stolen. On 12 February 1901 Republican troops, probably under Gen Barry Hertzog, entered Van Wyk's Vlei and ransacked her post office, inflicting extensive damage upon its premises. On 28 August 1901 Dutch commandos looted the post office for a third time and, obviously tiring of this repetitious ritual, for good measure they also burnt it down together with the village's public offices. In her efforts to safeguard government property, Miss Walton once again put up a courageous resistance to the Dutch, but she was ultimately forced to abandon her post when fire began to engulf her premises. Obviously mindful of the courage she had shown under fire, after the war the Cape Post Office seconded Walton to a series of more convenient postings closer to Cape Town, where she continued to work until her retirement on pension in 1908.

Another person of note was Mrs Scott, the daughter of Robert Hart of Glen Avon, England, and a wealthy widow in her own right. She emigrated to South Africa in about 1862, probably as a volunteer worker for the London Missionary Society, and soon thereafter joined the Rev Richard Birt at his mission station at Peelton, near King William's Town. In July 1862 she took on the position of postmaster, and continued to fulfill these duties for free until 1878. She married Birt in 1873.

CONCLUSIONS

It would be easy to dismiss the role played by women in the development of a postal infrastucture in the Cape during the colonial era. Their number was, after all, hardly large, and were it not for the heroic roles that Johanna Walton and Sarah Glueck played during the South African War, it seems probable that little would have otherwise been known of them today. Thanks to the Military their actions were recorded and brought to the attention of Parliament, and are thus recorded for posterity. However there must be many similar stories of the life of a postmaster in a small platteland community that have been handed down in as part of family folklore, but which have been lost through lack of documentation. Personal histories are an important part of our development as a family, as a people, and as a nation, and unless we are willing to record them, a little of our heritage is lost every time that one of us joins the ranks of the ancestors.

POSTSCRIPT

This article has been submitted to “Frontrunners”, and is currently in press. These details will be updated in due course. However, for reasons of space, it is unlikely to appear with the long listing of names which has been appended below.

A LISTING OF WOMEN POSTAL OFFICIALS - Cape of Good Hope, 1792-1910

ABBOTT, Mary A, Postmaster at Hopetown, 16 January 1865
ADAMS, Mrs Margaret, Postmaster at Windvogelberg, 1 November 1863
ALCOCK, Mrs Frances, Postmaster at Simonstown, 29 November 1811; Uitenhage, 19 March 1823
ALCOCK, Mrs Harriet H, Postmaster at Uitenhage, 2 June 1853
ALTENSTED, Miss ML, Postmaster at Adderley Street, Port Elizabeth, 1 February 1909
ANDERSON, Mrs H, Postmaster at Somerset East, 1 March 1873; Spring Valley, 1 October 1900
ARMSTRONG, Mrs E, Postmaster at Wynberg, 6 March 1851
ASCHEN, Miss MA, also listed as ASCHMAN, Postmaster at Stal Street, Cape Town, 1 March 1891; Stal Street, Cape Town, 8 March 1899
ATTWELL, Miss J, Postmaster at Salem, 1 June 1902
ATTWELL, Miss O, Postmaster at Salem, 1 December 1908
BAILIE, Jane A, Postmaster at Alice, 25 March 1862
BARKER, Mrs S, Postmaster at Molen River, 1 July 1876
BARNARD, Mrs MJ, Postmaster at Villiersdorp, 25 June 1900; Philadelphia, 14 April 1903
BEKKER, Miss ME, Postmaster at Bolotwa, 1 April 1901; Jamestown, 1 February 1903; East London Jetty, 1 April 1903; Jamestown, 1 May 1903; Clarkebury, 1 March 1905; Cofimvaba, 1 December 1905
BELL, Mrs RCE, Postmaster at Napier, 14 January 1878
BELSHAW, Ellen, Postmaster at Genadendal, 6 January 1858
BENNETT, Miss Kate, Postmaster at Kenilworth, Cape Town, 1 April 1895; Clerk in charge of Telephone Exchange, GPO, Cape Town, in about 1909
BERGMAN, Mrs GC, Postmaster at Caledon, 1 October 1823; Simonstown, 25 March 1830
BERRINGTON, Miss Ch, Postmaster at Kowie West, 1 September 1853
BESTER, Miss HJ, Postmaster at Genadendal, 1 July 1906
BIERMANN, Miss AJ, Postmaster at Van Wyk's Vlei, 1 January 1906
BIGGAR, Mrs Mary, Postmaster at Port Elizabeth, 17 December 1840
BIRT, J, also listed as Widow R BIRT, Postmaster and field-cornet at Gwelegha River, 1 October 1870
BLATHERWICK, Miss JF, Postmaster at Vredenburg, 1 February 1904; Kuils River, 1 April 1906
BOLTMAN, Mrs C, Postmaster at Wynberg, 9 June 1837
BORCHERDS, Miss M, Postmaster at Aberdeen, Division of Aberdeen, 1 May 1878
BOSCH, Miss C, also listed as M BOSCH, Postmaster at Riebeek East, 1 January 1896; Waverley Siding, 1 December 1902; Balfour, 1 July 1905
BOTES, Miss CF, Postmaster at Dam’s Laagte, 1 January 1901; Albertinia, 1 October 1908
BOWE, Mary A, Postmaster at Hondeklip Bay, 1 October 1869
BOYES, Mrs Sarah, Postmaster at Plumstead, 1 October 1841; Wynberg, 1 November 1841
BROADWAY, Mrs A, Postmaster at Kuils River, 1 January 1863
BROWN, Miss MM, Postmaster at Douglas, 1 July 1885; Campbell, 1 September 1886; Douglas, 15 January 1891; Campbell, 1 May 1892; Britstown, 1893; Griquatown, 1 June 1893; Sutherland, 1 August 1893; French Hoek, 1 December 1893; Griquatown, 1 May 1894; Seymour, 1 October 1895; Tsomo, 1 December 1895; Springbokfontein, 1 January 1899; Middledrift, 1 October 1902; Kuruman, 1 March 1906; Marydale, 1 November 1906; Libodi, 1 December 1907
BROWNING, Mrs ME, Postmaster at Fort Beaufort, 1 April 1871; East London, 24 June 1874; West Bank, East London, 1 June 1877
BURKE, Miss KS, Postmaster at Greyton, 1 September 1904; Barrydale, 1 February 1906; Grabouw, 1 May 1906; Houw Hoek, 1 August 1908; Barrydale, 1 October 1909
BURKE, Miss Patience A, Postmaster at Garies, 1 April 1892; Springbokfontein, 1 April 1903.
BYRNE, Mrs FM, Postmaster at Bell, 25 June 1900
CADLE, Mrs Hannah, Postmaster at Witteklip, 1 July 1864
CAITHNESS, Mrs P, Postmaster at Simonstown, 18 March 1844
CALDWELL, Mrs Catharina. Postmaster at Stellenbosch, 8 May 1808
CALLAGHAN, Honora, Postmaster at Voor Hantam, 16 August 1865
CAMPBELL, Mrs Mary Anne, Postmaster at Fort Beaufort, 1 October 1846
CAMPBELL, Sarah LC, Postmaster at Alice, 16 March 1872
CENTLIVRES, Ms E, Postmaster at Hanover, 1 September 1871
CILLERS, Ms JD, Postmaster at Wellington, 1 November 1877
CILLERS, Susannah, Postmaster at Wellington, 1 November 1867
CILLERS, Ms SS, Postmaster at Wellington, 1 January 1874
COCKER, Miss AM, also listed as AW, Postmaster at River Zonder End, 1 September 1902; Philadelphia, 1 July 1904
COETZEE, Mrs M, Postmaster at Krakeel River, 1 October 1876
COLE, Mrs Louisa, Postmaster at Piquetberg, 1 May 1885
COLEGATE, Miss Florence, Postmaster at Lawrence Street, Port Elizabeth, 1 July 1886
COLLARD, Mrs TW, Postmaster and field-cornet at Petersburg, 14 February 1867, deceased while in office
COLLINS, Miss Emily, also listed as COLLIER, Postmaster at Murraysburg, 1 May 1885; Alice, 1 March 1887; French Hoek, 1 December 1894; Postal assistant, third class, Burghersdorp, 16 February 1899
CORNELIUS, Miss M, Postmaster at Peiserton, 1 December 1907
COSGROVE, Elizabeth, Postmaster at Nanaga, 26 May 1860
COURTENAY, Mrs L, Postmaster at Simonstown, 1 July 1847
COWAN, Ellen, Postmaster at Victoria West, 1 July 1862
COWARD, Mrs MA, Postmaster at Alice, 1 April 1886; Seymour, 1 February 1888
CUMMING, Miss, Postmaster at Emgwali, 1 October 1875
DAVIE, Mrs, Postmaster at Prieska, 1 July 1890
DEACON, Maria, Postmaster at Alexandria, 23 September 1858
DE BRUYN, Miss CE, Acting postmaster at Zuurbraak, 1 December 1902; Doorn River, 1 April 1903; Schoemanshoek, 1 December 1903; Barrydale, 1 May 1906
DE BRUYN, Miss JL, Acting postmaster at Zuurbraak, 1 April 1903; Schoemanshoek, 1 October 1903; Doorn River, 1 December 1903; Herbertsdale, 1 May 1905
DELGAIRNS, Mrs Agnes, Postmaster at Knysna, 1 May 1854
DEVENISH, Miss EM, Postmaster at Omdraai's Vlei, 1 October 1899
DEVENISH, Miss FJ, Postmaster at Omdraai's Vlei, 1 November 1908
DE VILLIERS, Miss A, Postmaster at River Zonder End, 1 September 1906
DE VILLIERS, Miss AT, Postmaster at Durbanville, 1 March 1890
DE VILLIERS, Miss HA, Postmaster at Genadendal, 1 July 1904; Elim, 1 July 1905
DE VILLIERS, Mrs HM, Postmaster at Riebeek West, 1 March 1894
DE VILLIERS, Miss JE, Postmaster at Elim, 1 October 1906
DE VILLIERS, Miss JF, Postmaster at Durbanville, 20 January 1900
DE VRIES, Catharina S, Postmaster at Clanwilliam, 1 June 1866
DE VRIES, Mrs NA, Postmaster at Clanwilliam, 1 March 1874
DE WITT, Miss W du Toit, Postmaster at McGregor, 1 January 1906
DREDGE, Mrs, Postmaster at Farm No 53, 1 August 1872
DRY, Ann, Postmaster at Cradock, 18 May 1860
DU TOIT, Alida, Postmaster at North Paarl, 1 September 1866
DU TOIT, Miss H, Postmaster at Prince Alfred's Hamlet, 1 June 1906
DU TOIT, Mrs JH, Postmaster at George, 1 October 1816
DU TOIT, Miss MD, Postmaster at Prince Alfred's Hamlet, 1 February 1909
DYER, Mrs F, Postmaster at Halfmanshof, 12 November 1907
ENGELA, Miss AA, Postmaster at Aberdeen, Division of Aberdeen, 1 April 1886
EWERS, Miss K, Postmaster at Keiskammahoek, 1 June 1896
EWERS, Miss M, Postmaster at Keiskammahoek, 1 October 1903
EYRE, Mrs I, Postmaster at Wynberg, 22 August 1836
FARRELL, Miss KME, Postmaster at Doorn River, 1 May 1906
FERGUSON, Isabella, Postmaster at Cookhouse, in about 1870
FERGUSON, June, Postmaster at Cookhouse, 1 June 1868
FERREIRA, Miss M, Postmaster at Peiserton, 1 July 1908
FICK, Mrs Johanna C, Postmaster at Piquetberg, 18 March 1857
FILMER, Miss E, Postmaster at Libodi, 1902
FINLAYSON, Ms A, Postmaster at Drie Vlei, 1 April 1874, service provided for free
FISCHER, Miss AB, Postmaster at Bolo Reserve, 1 July 1903
FISCHER, Miss CC, Postmaster at Bolo Reserve, 1 November 1892; St Marks, 1 November 1896
FISCHER, Miss EG, Postmaster at Springbokfontein, 1 June 1892
FOTHERINGHAM, Mrs, Postmaster at Millwood, Goldfields, 1 April 1894
FREAN, Miss, Postmaster at Green Point, 15 March 1891
GARDE, Ms T, Postmaster at Bathurst, 1 July 1879
GARDINER, Miss AC, Postmaster at Parow, 1 February 1904
GIBBS, Mary Anne, Postmaster at Klaarstroom, 1 April 1868; Plettenberg's Bay, 1 October 1876
GIE, Sebastina C, Postmaster at Darling, 7 April 1867
GLUECK, Mrs Sarah, Postal assistant at Lady Grey, Division of Aliwal North, 6 May 1897; Postmaster at Lady Grey, Division of Aliwal North, 1 February 1899.
GOETS, Miss BAM, Postmaster at Stanford, 1 May 1906
GRAHAM, Miss CS, Postmaster at Mill Street, Gardens, probable date 1 October 1908
GRAHAM, Mrs Jessie, Postmaster at Salt River, 1 September 1884, on pension 30 November 1909
GRAY, Miss A, Postmaster at Elliott ,1 July 1895; Ugie, 1 September 1902; Tsolo, 1 April 1906; Ugie, 1 November 1906
GROBBELAAR, Miss M, also listed as Miss J, Postmaster at Riebeek Kasteel, 1 October 1896; Groot Drakenstein, 1 April 1903; Vredenburg, 1 July 1903; French Hoek, 1 February 1904
HALLIDAY, Miss C, Postmaster at Breakfast Vlei, 1 December 1872
HAMILL, Miss T, Postmaster at The Beach, East London, 1 January 1903; Quigney, East London, 1 July 1903; The Beach, East London, 1 July 1903
HARDIMANN, Miss ST, Postmaster at Emjanyana, 1 January 1903
HAWKINS, Annie, Postmaster at Humansdorp, 1 February 1865
HAWKINS, Mrs Martha, Postmaster at Humansdorp, 23 February 1859, deceased while in office
HAYES, Mrs SG, Postmaster at Bathurst, 1 August 1875
HAYLETT, Mrs Catherine, Postmaster at Villiersdorp, 27 January 1864
HEFFER, Mrs A, Postmaster at Bredasdorp, 1 May 1888
HERBERT, Mrs SE, Postmaster at Cookhouse, 1883
HERMAN, Maria BV, Postmaster at Durbanville, 5 September 1865
HEURTLEY, Mrs RF, Postmaster at Sir Lowry's Pass, 10 November 1852
HILL, Miss, Postmaster at Salem, 1 June 1895
HIRSCH, Mrs W, also listed as HINSCH, Postmaster at Longlands, 1 October 1905
HOBSON, Mrs AE, Postmaster at Steytlerville, 1 March 1899
HOLLOWAY, Mrs G, Postmaster at Sir Lowry's Pass, 31 December 1850
HONEYBOURNE, Mary Anne, Postmaster at Prince Albert, 31 January 1857
HOPKINS, Annie, Postmaster at Paardekop, in about 1868
HORNEMAN, Mrs, Postmaster at Port Nolloth, before 1874
HOUGH, Mrs Lydia, Postmaster at Eland’s Vlei, in about 1871.
HOWSE, Miss AI, Postmaster at Kamastone, 1 January 1907
HUDSON, Mrs Sarah A, Postmaster and field-cornet at Jagersbosch, 16 September 1863
HUGO, Ms MM, Postmaster at French Hoek, 1 July 1872
HUNT, Miss ME, Postmaster at Sterkspruit, 1 February 1898; Sterkspruit, 1 September 1900
HUNTER, Mrs L, Postmaster at Millwood, Goldfields, 1 November 1892
HUTCHINSON, Miss E, also listed as N, Postmaster at Simondium, 20 December 1897
HUTCHONS, Mrs Jane, Postmaster at Dordrecht, 23 January 1865
INGLETHORPE, Miss, Postmaster at Balfour, 1 February 1901
ISBELL, Mrs EA, Postmaster at Uitenhage, 1 February 1874
JEFFERIES, Miss, Postmaster at Clarkebury, 1 June 1897
JONES, Mrs C, Postmaster at Beenleegte, 1 December 1876
KANNEMEYER, Miss JM, Postmaster at Herbertsdale, 1 May 1903; Kuils River, 1906
KELLY, Mrs CJ, Postmaster at Douglas, 1 September 1886
KEYS, Mrs MA, also listed as AM, Postmaster at Seymour, 9 December 1887, West Bank, East London, 1 October 1895; Palmietfontein, 20 August 1897; Bell, 1 December 1898; Bayville, 1 July 1900; Cambridge, 1 August 1902; Park Avenue, East London, 1 April 1903; West Bank, East London
KING, Mrs H, Postmaster at Clarkebury, 1883
KOCH, Amelia S, Postmaster at Port Alfred, 1 March 1863
KRYNAUW, Miss A, also listed as B, Postmaster at Doorn River, 1 February 1898; Riebeek Kasteel, 1 December 1899; Schoemanshoek, 1 June 1903; Zuurbraak, 1 October 1903; River Zonder End, 1905; Gordon's Bay, 1 April 1905; Schoemanshoek, 1 August 1908
KRYNAUW, Miss FI, Postmaster at Philadelphia, before 1903; Napier, 1 June 1903; Houw Hoek, 1 April 1905; River Zonder End, 1 November 1905; Parow, 1 September 1906; Schoemanshoek, 1 March 1907; Grabouw, 1 August 1908
LAKE, Ann, Postmaster at Sidbury, 1 January 1869
LAKE, Miss H, Postmaster at Salem, 16 June 1900
LAKE, Miss VE, Postmaster at Salem, first appointment 1 January 1896
LEACH, Miss E, Postmaster at Poplar Grove, 1 January 1906
LEDGER, Miss F, Postmaster at Cedarville, 1 August 1901; Nqamakwe, 1 July 1902; Ndabakazi, 1 October 1902
LEEUWNER, Mrs JB, Postmaster at Brand Vlei, 1 July 1878
LENNOX, Mrs, Postmaster at Villiersdorp, 1 March 1899
LIESCHING, Elizabeth, Postmaster at Stellenbosch, 1 October 1863
LOGIE, Miss WE, Postmaster at Caledon Street, Cape Town, 1 September 1897
LYNCH, Mary Mrs, Postmaster at Breakfast Vlei, 1 June 1860
MABILLE, Florence, Postmaster at Morija, date of appointment not known, retired from in 1907.
MALAN, Ms SW, Postmaster at Wellington, 1 August 1878
MAMPERS, Mrs, Postmaster at Roodewal, Division of Robertson, in about 1878
MANSFIELD, Miss EH, Postmaster at Doorn River, 1 January 1901
MARCHIANO, Miss Leonora, Postmaster at Sea Point, Cape Town, 28 August 1883; Sir Lowry Road, 1 September 1899; Mill Street, Gardens, Cape Town, before1902; Stal Street, Cape Town, 1 August 1902; Green Point, Cape Town, 1 January 1906
MARITZ, Miss J, Postmaster at Dam's Laagte, 1 March 1898
MARREN, Maria, Postmaster at Ceres, 11 September 1869
MAYNIER, Mrs A, Postmaster at Jagersbosch, 1 June 1871
MAYNIER, Martha, Postmaster at Jagersbosch, 1 August 1866
MAYS, Miss CMG, Postmaster at Greyton, 13 January 1902
McCALGAN, Miss SA, Postmaster at Sterkstroom, 1 September 1887
McCALL, Miss Mary E, see under MCKAY, Mrs Mary E
McDONALD, Mrs MA, Postmaster at Komgha, 1 January 1879
McGREGOR, Miss M, Postmaster at Modderfontein, Division of Clanwilliam, 1 March 1899
McKAY, Mrs Mary E, nee McCALL, Postmaster at Alexandria, 1 December 1864
McKINNON, Miss F, Postmaster at Villiersdorp, 1 May 1895; Hermanus, 1 September 1898
McNAMARA, Mrs J, nee COFFE, Postmaster at Pearston, 1 April 1870, married in 1874
METCALF, Miss EH, Postmaster at Millwood, Goldfields, 1 November 1888
MILLS, Miss AK, Postmaster at Post Retief, 1 December 1907
MILLS, Mrs EJ, Postmaster at Post Retief, 1 March 1899
MILLS, Miss MA, Postmaster at Balfour, 1 September 1902; Post Retief, 1 October 1903
MIMMACK, Mrs H, Postmaster at Aliwal North, 16 October 1858
MOFFETT, Mrs BJ, Postmaster at Ngqeleni, 1 July 1902
MOORBY, Miss L, Postmaster at Sir Lowry Road, 1 May 1895
MORRIS, Mrs Eliza, nee BRIMACOMBE, Postmaster at Faure Siding, 1 June 1858
MUGGLETON, Miss, Postmaster at Ugie, 28 August 1892
MULLER, Mrs Mary, nee WOOD, Miss Mary, Postmaster at Kalk Bay, 9 February 1862
MULQUEENY, Miss, Postmaster at Mill Street, Gardens, Cape Town, 1 August 1892
NEALE, Mary, Postmaster at Westford, 1 January 1867, service provided for free
NOWERS, Miss EMA, Postmaster at Modderfontein, Division of Clanwilliam, 1 June 1902; Barrydale, 1 February 1903; Napier, 1 February 1906
O'KENNEDY, Miss M, also listed as KENNEDY, Miss M, Postmaster at Barrydale, 1901; Greyton, 1 December 1901; Doorn River, 1 February 1902; Great Brak River, 1 April 1903; Houw Hoek, 1904
OLIVIER, Miss AH, Postmaster at Armoed, 25 June 1898
OLKERS, Miss CL, Postmaster at De Rust, 1 February 1906
OOSTHUIZEN, Mrs SS, nee VAN DER MERWE, Mrs M, probably remarried in 1898, Postmaster at Maraisburg, 1 April 1895
ORREN, Mrs Sophia, nee LAVIN, Mrs Sophia, Postmaster at Port Alfred, 3 June 1854; Kowie West, 3 June 1854; deceased while in office in about 1862
PATTISON, Miss, Postmaster at Zuurbraak, 16 July 1896
PEPLER, Miss AM, Postmaster at French Hoek, 31 August 1885
PHILLIPS, Mrs JH, Postmaster at Cambridge, 1 April 1903; Greyton, 1 February 1906
POVALL, Miss SAE, Postmaster at Durbanville, 1 August 1885
POWELL, Elizabeth A, Postmaster at Falloden, 1 April 1868
POWELL, Martha, Postmaster at Falloden, 3 December 1870
PRAED, Ann, Postmaster at Riebeek East, 9 March 1870
PRIETSCH, Mrs Elise, Postmaster at Amalienstein, 6 February 1854
PRINS, Miss J, Postmaster at Vredenburg, 1 March 1896
RATHFELDER, Ms A, Postmaster at Diep River, 1 April 1869, service provided for free
RAWSTONE, Eliza G, Postmaster at Colesberg, 29 July 1859
REITZ, Mrs JF, Postmaster at Ladismith, 1881
RENNICK, Jane, Postmaster at Simonstown, 4 April 1848
RENSBURG, Mrs M, nee SMITH, married in 1873, postmaster at River Zonder End, 20 May 1871
REYNEKE, Miss W, Postmaster at River Zonder End, 1 June 1902
RICHARDSON, Caroline, Postmaster at Schoenberg, 1 October 1862
RIDDIFORD, Miss EJ, Postmaster at 44 Adderley Street, Cape Town, 1 December 1905
ROBERTS, Mrs E, Postmaster at Upper Paarl, date of appointment not known
ROBERTS, Ms MA, Postmaster at Durbanville, 6 November 1873
ROBERTSON, Mrs F, Postmaster at Gordon's Bay, 1 April 1903
RODGER, Mrs, Postmaster at Green Point, 2 August 1881
RODGERS, Miss D, Postmaster at River Zonder End, 26 May 1904
ROENTGEN, Mrs, Postmaster at Calvinia, 15 July 1854
ROGERS, Miss E, Postmaster at Zuurbraak, 1906
ROGERS, Mrs MA, Postmaster at Kalk Bay, 23 July 1853
ROLLAND, Mrs M, Postmaster at Mafeteng, 1 September 1874
SCHOLTZ, Maria L, Postmaster at Napier, 1 May 1866
SCHULE, Mrs A van Buren, Postmaster at Riebeek East, 1 May 1871
SCHUMAN, Mrs, Postmaster at Britstown, 1 January 1889, possibly acting
SCHUMANN, Mrs E, Postmaster at Willowmore, 1882
SCHUMANN, Mrs, Postmaster at Balfour, 1 July 1893; Moorreesburg, 1 November 1895
SCHUMANN, Miss M, Postmaster at Barrydale, 1 January 1902; Modderfontein, Division of Clanwilliam, 1 February 1903
SCOTT, Miss, Postmaster at Libodi, 7 March 1900
SCOTT, Miss, Postmaster at Seymour, 1 February 1902
SCOTT, Mrs, also listed as Mrs BIRT from 1873, Postmaster, Birt’s Mission, July 1862.
SCOTT, Miss Catherine, Postmaster at Springbokfontein, 1 October 1893; Moorreesburg, 1 August 1897
SCOTT, Miss EA, Postmaster at Upington, 1885
SHAND, Miss WA, Postmaster at Emjanyana, 1 July 1905; Ndabakazi, 1 July 1906; Bayville, 1 June 1907
SHAW, Miss EM, Postmaster at Woodstock Station, 20 July 1886
SHEPPARD, Mrs M, Schoolmistress and postmaster at Simonstown, 25 April 1838
SIEBRITZ, Miss HM, also listed as HW, Postmaster at French Hoek, 16 February 1899; Ladies' Branch, GPO, Cape Town, date of appointment not known; French Hoek, 1 November 1902
SIEBRITZ, Miss J, Postmaster at Riebeek Kasteel, 8 May 1905
SKEEN, Miss F, Postmaster at Tygersfontein, 1 January 1901
SKEEN, Miss MI, Postmaster at Tygersfontein, 1 November 1903; Albertinia, 1 April 1904
SLABBER, Miss HB, Postmaster at Moorreesburg, 1 July 1898; Napier, 1 September 1902; Moorreesburg, 1 February 1903
SMART, Miss M, Postmaster at Rhodes, 1 August 1897; Tabankulu, 1 March 1900
SMIT, Miss H, Postmaster at Dams Laagte, 1 February 1899; Philadelphia, 1 January 1901
SMITH, Miss CC, Postmaster at Napier, 1 February 1894; Great Brak River, 1 July 1899
SMITH, Miss CM, Postmaster at Dam's Laagte, 1 May 1894
SMITH, Miss EH, Postmaster at River Zonder End, 1 September 1898
SMITH, Mrs M, Postmaster at River Zonder End, 20 May 1871
SMITH, Rebecca, Postmaster at Gamtoos River Ferry, 13 August 1861
SMITH, Miss SH, Postmaster at Blanco, 1 January 1888.
SPENCER, Miss LA, Postmaster at Daniel's Kuil, 1 June 1904
SPENGLAR, Miss E, Postmaster at Philadelphia, 1 May 1897
SPRIGG, Miss EH, Postmaster at Bizana, 1 August 1899; Assistant, Telephone Exchange, GPO, Cape Town, 1 August 1905
SPRING, Mrs HL, Postmaster at Keiskammahoek, 7 November 1881
STANLEY, Miss AM, Postmaster at Lawrence Street, Port Elizabeth, 1 May 1899; Jansenville, 1 August 1900
STEBBING, Maria Mrs, Postmaster at Boontjes River, 7 January 1864
STEWART, Mrs M, Postmaster at Cookhouse, 1882
STRACHAN, Miss AM, Postmaster at Libodi, 1 December 1900
SURMUN, Louisa, Postmaster at Driver's Bush, 18 August 1860
TAYLOR, Margaret, Postmaster at Salem, 1 September 1863
TEMLETT, Mrs S, Postmaster at Bolotwa, 1 October 1895
TERRELL, Miss LE, Postmaster at Steinkopf, 1 September 1904
THEUNISSEN, Miss E, Postmaster at Somerset West, 25 May 1871
THOMPSON, Mrs L, Postmaster at Thompson's Farm, 1 January 1875
TOWNSEND, Mrs, Postmaster at Port Nolloth, 1 September 1874
TRUTER, Mrs PJ, Postmaster at Piquetberg, 2 June 1853
TUCK, Mary, Postmaster at Somerset East, 1 September 1863
URIE, Mrs, Postmaster at Steynsburg, in about 1878
USHER, Charlotte L, Postmaster at Falloden, 1 July 1862
VAN BUUREN, Mrs PS, Postmaster at Burghersdorp, 25 November 1853
VAN DER VLIES, Miss S, Postmaster at Schoemanshoek, 8 May 1898
VAN DYK, Mrs CM, Postmaster at Cradock, 23 July 1840
VAN LEGER, Mrs, Postmaster at Daljosaphat, December 1861
VAN RENSBURG, Mrs Hester, nee THOM, married in about 1880, Postmaster at De Keur, 1 October 1871
VAN RHYN, Anna CD, also listed as Mrs PB VAN RHYN, probably wife of Petrus Benjamin van Rhyn. Postmaster at Vanrhynsdorp, 1 October 1868; Vanrhynsdorp, 1 September 1873
VAN ROOYEN, Mrs H, Postmaster at Blinkwater, 1 December 1878.
VAN RYNEVELD, Ann M, Postmaster at Alexandria, 1 December 1869
VAN SELM, Mrs Baatje, Postmaster at Daljosaphat, 1 January 1862
VAN SITTERT, Mrs Emma E, Postmaster at Sutherland, 1 October 1863
VAN ZYL, Miss L, Postmaster at Albertinia, 1 June 1906; Barrydale, 1 October 1908; Houw Hoek, 1 October 1909
VICE, Miss A, Postmaster at Emjanyana, 1 October 1898
VILJOEN, Mrs Margaretha, Postmaster at Serjeant's River, 1 January 1860
VON BEULWITZ, Mrs S, Postmaster at Steinkopf, 1 March 1904
VON SCHLICHT, Miss E, Postmaster at Grabouw, 1 October 1898
VOS, Miss Dora, Postmaster at Tulbagh, 25 September 1877.
VOS, Miss L, Postmaster at Tulbagh, 1 October 1882
WALKER, Miss EY, also listed as ET, Postmaster at Mqanduli, 16 September 1897
WALKER, Mrs LT, Postmaster at Hebron Station, 1883
WALKER, Margaret W, Postmaster at Calvinia, 1 July 1865
WALTON, Miss Johanna C, Postmaster at Van Wyk's Vlei, 1 February 1899; Salt River, 1 August 1902, may not have taken office; Mill Street, Gardens, Cape Town, 1 August 1902; Hoetjes Bay, 1 May 1903; Salt River, date of appointment not known.
WARREN, Miss M, Postmaster at Cedarville, 1 July 1902
WARREN, Miss MM, Postmaster at Cedarville, 1 October 1899
WATSON, Mrs Elizabeth, Postmaster at Breakfast Vlei, 1 October 1862
WATSON, Emily, Postmaster at Breakfast Vlei, 12 July 1865
WATSON, Ms M, Postmaster at Breakfast Vlei, 1 August 1878
WATT, Mary, Postmaster at Venterstad, 1 April 1878
WEDDERBURN, Miss RW, Postmaster at Mqanduli, 12 March 1903
WEHNEKE, Anna J, Postmaster at Sir Lowry's Pass, 1 July 1867
WEHNEKE, Sanna A, Postmaster at Sir Lowry's Pass, 1 April 1864, deceased while in office
WEINRICH, Mrs F, Postmaster at Humansdorp, 1 January 1878
WEST, Mrs M, Postmaster at Genadendal, 16 July 1890
WHITBURN, Miss A, Postmaster at Knysna, 1 December 1876
WHITTLE, Miss A, Postmaster at Balfour, 1 March 1897; Whittlesea, 1 February 1901
WHITTLE, Miss D, Postmaster at Riebeek East, 1 June 1903
WILLETT, Mrs, Postmaster at Willowmore, 1882
WILMS, Mrs F, Postmaster at Longlands, 1 March 1906
WOISTER, Ms SJH, Postmaster at Clanwilliam, 1 July 1876
WRANKMORE, Mrs AC, Postmaster at Paarl, 27 September 1816
WRIGHT, Miss BL, Postmaster at Bowesdorp, 1 January 1907
WRIGHT, Mrs C, Postmaster at Kalk Bay, 1883
YOUNG, Charlotte, Postmaster at Peddie, 2 June 1853
YOUNG, Miss HKC, Postmaster at Riebeek East, 1 January 1907