A Timeline of Robben Island from 1846 to 1891

1852
A Government Commission of Inquiry was instituted to investigate allegations of mismanagement and to report on the treatment of patients on Robben Island. Birtwhistle’s method of forcible restraint by chaining and beating was considered outdated. 1855 Birtwhistle was dismissed for malpractice and embezzlement of funds; he was sent back to England in disgrace. Dr James Minto replaced him as Surgeon-Superintendent.

1855
Xhosa chief, Siyolo (grandson of Ndlambe and son of Mhala) and his wife were sent to the Island following his capture during the aftermath of the War of Mlangeni.

1858
The Ngqika chief, Maqoma, and his wife Katyi, were imprisoned on the Island. Maqoma’s half-brother, Xhoxho, Mhala (son of Ndlambe), Phato (of the Gqunukwebe line) & his son Dilima, Stokwe (of the Mbalu chiefdo) and Fadana were also imprisoned there after the Cattle Killings of 1856-1857, which were part of the “Wars of Disposession” between the Xhosa and the British. The Chiefs were housed on the Island in huts covered with tarpaulins.

1858-1859
A court case in Cape Town focused attention on the continuing cruel treatment of mental patients on the Island. Public criticism of deplorable conditions there increased. At this time there were 19 staff members and 396 patients.

1861-1862
A Parliamentary Commission recommended the removal of the General Infirmary to the mainland, but the Government considered this too expensive and decided to improve the existing buildings instead. More trained staff were appointed to care for the sick, and their salaries were raised. The untrained staff, however, still received the same wages as domestic servants in Cape Town.

1862
Dr William Edmunds took up the post of Surgeon-Superintendent and tried to implement a more en-lightened system of caring for the mentally ill, emphasizing kindness rather than physical restraint and harsh medicines, such as emetics and purgatives. He introduced recreational activities such as dances, painting, fishing and cricket for the patients. It was claimed to be difficult without straight-jackets or confinement in cells.

1865
The old stone jetty, built in 1827, was destroyed in a gale.

1866
A branch station of the Breakwater Convict Station was established on Robben Island. Long-term convicts were sent there to provide labour for carrying stores and passengers from the boats to the shore, and for building and road works. This pattern continued to the 1920s.

1867
A new wing of the women’s section of the asylum was opened. It reflected a more caring attitude to the mentally ill, having day-rooms and more private wards. Men declared ‘insane’, were divided into groups on the basis of conduct and ease of management, but the division reflected race as well - the section of the asylum referred to as ‘the Kraal’ was occupied mainly by black patients.

1869
Maqoma, Siyolo and Xhoxho were released from the Island. Maqoma, however, was recaptured following an attempt to reclaim his land near Blinkwater on the Kat River from the British who had occupied it during his absence. He was re-imprisoned on Robben Island in 1871, this time without his wife. 1869-1870 Captives in the First Koranna war - Piet Rooy, David Diedericks, Jan Kivido and Carel Ruyter - were sent to Robben Island. They were eventually released in 1884.

1871
Women with leprosy were removed to the Old Somerset Hospital (for about 15 years) because it was feared that they would bear leprous children through liaisons with the male lepers on the Island. When the women were eventually returned to the Island they were housed at Murray’s Bay, some distance away from the men. The number of staff had risen to 56, whereas the patients remaining on the Island numbered 358.

1873
Chief Maqoma died on the Island. Just over 100 years later in 1978, his great-great-grandson retrieved his body from Robben Island so that it could be buried with due ceremony in the Amatola mountains.

1874
The Hlubi chief, Langalibalele, was imprisoned on the Island following his unfair conviction for treason. Bishop Colenso intervened on his behalf and he was removed from the Island in 1875 and taken to the farm Uitvlugt, now part of Pinelands.

1878-1880
After the defeat of the Ngqika, Ndlambe and Gcaleka in 1878, the sons of the chiefs Maqoma, Mhala and Sandile were imprisoned on Robben Island. From 1880 onwards, these prisoners were transferred to the Breakwater Prison where they were released in 1883. Koranna leaders, including Thomas Pofadder, Jan Malgas, Jacobus Afrikaaner, John Adams and Klaas Pofadder, were taken as prisoners to Robben Island after the second Koranna War of 1877-1878. Some were transferred to the Breakwater Prison in 1880. In 1883, Koranna leaders on the Island refused an offer of conditional release. By 1890, all Koranna prisoners had been released or removed from the Island, closing this phase in the prison history of the Island.

1886
The postmaster, Ross’ son, published the Robben Island Times for the interest of Islanders. Women lepers were sent back to the Island but were segregated in a new site to the north of Murray’s Bay.

1887-1888
Lepers were prevented from visiting the mainland to see friends. Their protests to the Colonial Secretary were not heeded as leprosy was mistakenly believed to be highly contagious. 1889 A Select Committee on the increase of leprosy in the Colony examined the conditions on Robben Island and brought the Governor’s attention to the poor conditions there. A critical article in the influential Blackwoods Magazine, published in Edinburgh, also drew attention to the need for improvements.

1890
General improvements were initiated following these adverse reports and in preparation for an expected influx of lepers. Buildings were repaired, painted and altered as necessary. A small restaurant was opened for islanders and visitors. Women ‘chronic sick paupers’ were removed to Grahamstown.

The total population of the Island was over 700 persons, which included 66 staff members. 1891 Dr Samuel Impey, a leprosy specialist, was appointed as Medical Superintendent. The chronic sick men were removed from the Island at this time.

Growth and decline: 1892 - 1936

1892
As a result of the Leprosy Repression Act, 452 new patients were admitted to a newly-built compound at some distance from the village. Rigorous separation of lepers was enforced; the living-area of women lepers was fenced and guarded. Segregation of races, previously not formalized, was now enforced among leper patients, although lunatics were not fully racially segregated.

1892-1893
An 18-inch gauge tramway was laid from the boathouse to the general stores and to all the key off-loading points on the Island. The trolleys were drawn by mules. A Magistrate’s Court was instituted, and a library was opened in a ward formerly used for the chronic sick. A gardening programme was introduced and thousands of trees and shrubs were planted. A quarantine station for 60 dogs was built.

1892-1895
The lepers rebelled against increased control measures. Some attempted to escape, others set fire to one of the wards. Additional staff were employed to maintain order. In 1894, there were 150 staff and 668 patients.

1859
The Church of the Good Shepherd, designed by Herbert Baker, was built by the Diocese of Cape Town in the leper compound for men. The land that the church occupies remains the only privately-owned property on the Island.

1896
The new ‘Faure Pier’ was opened, replacing the old wooden jetty.

1905
The patient population had risen to 1 024 and staff to 250.

1920
By 1920, the Island had become a small town with a population of between 1 000 and 2 000 persons, including patients. There were schools, parks, a library, sports fields, tennis courts, recreation halls, a police force and fire department, as well as a dairy, piggery and a bakery.

By this time, some families had been living on the Island for over three generations and were attached to the way of life. The people living on the Island, however, were never able to purchase land and they were always subject to being transferred elsewhere.

During the late 1920’s, the cost of running the Island became an issue of concern. Medical knowledge of leprosy was growing and, after 1923, many lepers were released as being non-infective. As patient numbers dropped, running costs increased. By the end of the decade, it had been decided to close the leper institution on the Island.

1921
The mental patients were finally all removed from the Island to the mainland. The population of the Island was reduced to the lighthouse keepers and a few labourers. The remaining buildings fell into a state of neglect.