Abbreviations:

AAC - All Africa Convention.

ANC - African National Congress.

CNETU - Council of Non-European Trade Unions.

ICU - Industrial and Commercial Workers Union.

NIC - Natal Indian Congress.

NRC - Natives Representative Council.

SANNC -South African Native National Council.

The collection consists of copies of transcripts of the Durban Native Commission report, 31 January 1948.

The Joane Pim papers span the years 1939-1974, with the preponderance between the years 1950-1974 when Miss Pim was actively employed by the Anglo-American Corporation, although there are a few items going back as far as 1805.

They contain correspondence, minutes, reports, addresses, lectures, manuscript and typescript notes and notebooks, photographs and photographic albums, press cuttings, slides and plans as well as her book 'Beauty is Honorary'. Her private correspondence is to be regarded as 'Closed Access' for the next 10 years (until 1 January 1985).

The papers should be of great interest to several departments within the University. Her collection of slides illustrating her work in beautifying the gardens of many fine private homes, as well an the mines, would he of particular interest to the Department of Architecture and Town Planning. The botanical specimens and notes would he welcomed by the Department of Botany. Miss Pim's work covered the whole of South Africa and with the growing awareness of the need to preserve the best of the past, her papers are of national interest. Her death is a great loss to environmental consciousness in South Africa and particularly to landscape architecture of which the was a pioneer.

All the papers and printed items are of immense research value and will be preserved and made available to bona fide students and researchers.

The papers of James Howard Pim contain personal documents, letters, memoranda, notebooks, press clippings, photographs, printed items and maps. The printed items have been kept with the papers because they complement the papers and in many cases have annotations in Pim's handwriting.

Subjects of interest include Ireland, the South African War (in particular the Siege of Kimberley), Johannesburg municipal affairs, politics, race relations, native welfare, education, economics, accountancy, art, literature and Quakerism. (For details of subjects see p.32). The term "native" has been used throughout the Inventory to describe the black people of South Africa because in the years when Pim was interested in black welfare, "native" was the legal and acceptable word and is the one he himself used, Through His brother, Sir Alan William Pim (1670- 1958; a distinguished colonial civil servant), Pim became well informed on Indian affairs and on the question of the Protectorates of Basutoland, Bechuanaland and Swaziland.

J.H. Pim corresponded with many people of note such as Sir Herbert Baker, D.C. Boonzaier, Central Louis Botha, Lord Buxton, L. Curtis, G. Dawson (editor of the Times), Sir Patrick Duncan, R. Fry, G. Goodman, General Hertzog, J.N. Hofmeyr, D.D.T. Jabavu, Sir Godfrey Lagden, T.E. Lawrence (of Arabia), F.S. Malan, Lord Milner, Lady Phillips, C.J. Rhodes, Lord Selborne, Field-Marshal J.C. Smuts, W.E. Stanford, P. Wenning and A.B. Xuma.

This collection consists of papers, correspondence and newspaper clips of Rev. John Mackenzie, a Missionary and Deputy Commissioner, Bechuanaland of the London Missionary Society (L.M.S.).

The Brooke letters, No. 4050 IV in the Oppenheimer Library, were written by Robert Brooke, Governor of St. Helena, to Earl Macartney, Governor of the Cape of Good Hope.

The letters show that Brooke felt feelings of warm friendship for Earl Macartney, to whom he acknowledged a debt of gratitude for the interest he had shown in his affairs.

As governors of neighbouring territories both men had problems in common and were able to assist each other. When Macartney was very short of specie at the Cape, Brooke was able to raise a private loan of 2500 to help him out of his difficulties.

Amongst the subjects discussed in the letters were the taking and future government of the Cape, the plan to attack Spanish South America, the progress of the war against the French, the convoying of East India Company ships and the seizure of neutral ships which are trading illegally.

Detailed description of Bruce Manuscript (in the Oppenheimer Library).

There are two bound volumes numbered 4050 i and 4050 I. Both are transcripts of an manuscript by John Bruce entitled "Sketches of the political and commercial history of the Cape of Good Hope", but 4050 1 has 8 extra pages in front of the main work entitled "From the Earl of Macartney to General Dundas on his resigning the government to him". This copy is on microfiche.

4050 I is from the Phillips' Mss 20643, and was presented to Lord Macartney by John Bruce on 17 December 1796, just prior to Lord Macartney's leaving England to take up office as Governor of the Cape.

This work on the Cape consists of 443 pages and is divided into five sections.

The Cullinan Papers would be of considerable use to anyone writing a biography of Sir Thomas Cullinan.

Perhaps the most important part of the papers is the material (notebooks, correspondence, telegrams and notes) on the campaign against the Germans in S.W. Africa during the first World War. The scrapbooks, loose press clippings and other miscellaneous items in the collection would be of interest to the political researcher, particularly for the period 1905-1910. There is also a little of mining interest for the industrial historian.

The papers consist of a diary kept during 1892 when he was in South Africa, together with correspondence between Vidler and his mother for the same period.

While not being of any great importance, the letters do given interesting descriptions of towns such as Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, King Williams Town and Durban and also reflect on the social life of South Africa at that time.