June, 1961
The History of Physiotherapy Education in South Africa
Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated 2013.)
P H Y S I O T H E R A P Y Paqe 3
E x tra ct o f Speech by P R O F . R A Y M O N D D A R T
D ip lo m a C erem ony, P re to ria School o f P hysiltherapy, 10th F eb ru ary , 1961
I am sure th a t m any o f you, w ho a re a b o u t to en ter yo u r
professional careers, m ust have been w ondering why an
ancient retired professor, w ho p o tte rs a b o u t w ith desiccated
fossils instead o f living pulsating people, should have been
chosen by your Society as its president.
Well, like m ost old m en’s tales, it’s ra th e r a long sto ry and
goes back to one’s boyh o o d a t least h a lf a cen tu ry ago.
Then my m other, w ho knew herself, like m ost m others, how
to rub away pain a n d m assage aches, used to sum m on me
to soothe som e o f her ow n. L ater, while a m edical student in
Sydney, I dissected w ith, a n d coached students o f M assage
and M edical G ym nastics. L ater still, a fte r diving in to a
swimming pool, w hose end proved shallow er th an I had
im agined it to be, I h a d the good fo rtu n e to be treated by
rone o f the com petent pro d u cts o f th a t School.
It may be surprising to o to know th a t th e w ord P hysio­
therapy is o f such recent origin th a t it did n o t even a p p e a r in
the Encyclopaedia Britannica (14th ed.), th a t was c u rre n t in
the decade 1929-1939 before the Second W orld W ar. U ntil
then what we call Physiotherapists were know n as M asseuses
and M edical G ym nasts.
Shakespeare m akes Juliet say to R o m eo :
What's in a nam e? that which we call a rose,
by any other name would sm ell as sweet.
T rue enough, b u t in their legal phraseology the R o m an s
said Nomen est quasi rei notamen, i.e. “ A nam e is, as it
were, the distinguishing m ark o f a th in g ” . So I th in k it is
worthwhile for me to tell you a b o u t th e b ack g ro u n d in
South Africa o f the distinguishing m ark o f the thing th a t
you go out today to p roudly b e ar th ro u g h o u t y our life.
T hat will carry us back fo r a m om ent to 1923; nearly
40 years ago when I arrived in Jo h an n esb u rg to help build
up our W itw atersrand M edical School th a t h a d sta rte d fo u r
years earlier. T h at year the late M iss B. G . A lexander, a
splendid personality a n d then M a tro n o f the Jo h an n esb u rg
General H ospital, h a d convened a C ongress o f South A frican
nurses in Johannesburg, w hich she asked m e to address.
A t th at tim e each o f o u r fo u r provinces h a d its separate
Medical Council. N o t until 1928, five years late r did the
late D r. D . F. M alan give us a single South A frican M edical
Council to control the statu s a n d sta n d ard s o f m edical,
cental, nursing a n d all o th er m edical auxiliary personnel
throughout the U nion o f South A frica.
Today when we have such splendid n ursing colleges in
each o f the four provinces costing in the aggregate som e
millions o f R and it seems fantastic th a t South A frica had
to await another 16 years until the Second W o rld W ar for
the establishm ent o f the South A frican N u rsin g C ouncil by
further legislation in 1944 before the necessary pressure
could be brought to b ear u p o n the provinces to build u p
these educational institutions fo r nursing. W hen we see
what has been done by o u r big hospitals during the last
decade in the way o f th eir train in g as well as nurses, physio­
therapists, occupational therapists, dieticians, radiographers
and other personnel, by taking P re to ria H o sp ital alone, we
realize that the future o f auxiliary m edical personnel in
South Africa is now well assured.
Back in 1932 though, I was shocked to find th a t the e duca­
tion o f all types o f auxiliary m edical services from nurses to
kitchen staff was nobody’s legal responsibility. So in address­
ing the nurses assem bled a t the C ongress, I said they m ight
imagine they were a profession, b u t really they were ‘neither
fish, flesh nor good red herring’. N o b o d y in S outh A frica
knew whether nursing ed ucation was secondary education
and so fell under the Provinces o r was higher edu catio n a n d
fell u n d e r th e U n io n G overnm ent. I advised them never to
rest until they fo und o u t first o f all w hose responsibility
th eir edu catio n was to be.
T h a t grand old lady, as M iss B. G . A lexander, proved
herself to be, h a d built u p a school o f N u rsin g a t the Jo h a n ­
nesburg G eneral H o sp ita l despite all th e discouragem ents
she h a d encountered. It was h e r e ncouragem ent a n d the
steps tak e n so o n afterw ards in A m erica a t Y ale U niversity,
assisted by the R ockefeller F o u n d a tio n , to set u p a u n i­
versity degree course in N u rsin g th a t led me to propose in
o u r faculty in 1926 th e establishm ent o f Science degree
courses in N u rsin g a n d in M assage a n d M edical G ym nastics
in the U niversity o f the W itw atersrand, i.e. ju st three years
a fte r th a t N u rsin g C ongress.
I could n o t have shocked m y clinical m edical colleagues
m ore. T hey w anted to know if 1 w anted D o c to rs o f N ursing
a n d M assage to o ; b u t w ith the help o f the late D r. R o n a ld P.
M ackenzie a n d Professors C luver a n d W att, the proposals
passed th ro u g h the M edical F aculty b u t were blocked by
th e S enate o f o u r U niversity.
E ight years later, in 1934, I happened to be the U n i­
versity’s representative o n th e S outh A frican M edical
C ouncil. A t its second m eeting th a t o r the follow ing year a
curious situ atio n arose. T he chief h o sp ital in C ape T ow n
(then the Som erset H ospital) h a d lost its M a tro n ; its B oard
ha d been forced in to accepting a highly qualified b u t uni-
lingual m atro n from G re a t B ritain because there was no
official recognized e ducational a u th o rity fo r nurses in South
A frica a n d n o advanced education o f nurses w hatsoever as
M a tro n s o r Sister T utors.
A s the S o u th A frican M edical C ouncil, established by the
1928 A ct, was the b o d y now charged with registering (and
w ith laying dow n the m inim al sta n d ard s o f education for)
nurses, m idwives a n d o th er m edical auxiliaries the C ape
H o sp ital B o ard h a d requested the C ouncil to establish
courses, fo r the advanced train in g o f nurses to tak e higher
posts such as M atro n s, Sister T u to rs a n d so forth.
T h e M edical C ouncil h a d n o m echanism for establishing
such higher nursing train in g so its executive com m ittee h a d
recom m ended th a t the C ap e H o sp ital B oard be inform ed
accordingly. T o this I objected because, although they did
n o t have the pow er to set u p such a teaching m echanism ,
a fo rtu n a te section o f the A c t m ade it th eir d uty to re p o rt
to the M inister (w ho was also the M inister o f E ducation)
any m atter th a t cam e to th eir notice th a t affected adversely
th e m atters w ith which the C ouncil h a d been charged.
T hey were th en inform ed o f w hat th e Jo h an n esb u rg
M edical School h a d tried to d o eight years earlier; a n d
w hich, had. they n o t been fru strate d by ig n o ran t people,
w ould have rendered the C ape H o sp ital B o a rd ’s application
unnecessary. W hen they asked w hat sh o u ld be done I sug­
gested th a t they ap p ro v e in principle w hat th e M edical
F aculty h a d tried to d o ; and, if approving, inform the
universities having M edical Schools th a t the M edical
C ouncil regarded th e higher ed ucation o f nurses as their
p ro p e r fu n c tio n ; a n d inform them also a b o u t the need for
such training th a t h a d com e to th e C ouncil’s notice. T his,
in due course, happened.
I h a d learned in th e m eantim e th a t S o u th A frica was n o t
ripe fo r arranging fo ur-year degree courses in N ursing, b u t
we could give U niversity D ip lo m as a fte r only one year o f
con cen trated training. So the year 1938 saw the establish­
m ent o f N u rsin g D ip lo m a courses a t b o th C ape T ow n and
Jo h an n esb u rg M edical S chools; a n d since 1939, 152 nurses
(and the public a n d th e h ospitals they have served) have
 Page 4 P H Y S I O T H E R A P Y
profited by this higher education through the holding o f
Diplomas in Nursing from the U niversity o f the W itw aters-
ra n d alone.
Even better things, as far as Physiotherapy was concerned,
were to follow. A t the N ursing C om m ittee o f the M edical
C ouncil— o f w hich M iss A lexander was then C hairm an—
tw o requests cam e m eantim e from private individuals (or
business syndicates) for the recognition o f training schools
fo r M asseurs w hich they proposed to set u p in Johannesburg.
F am iliar now w ith the greater advantages b o th to South
A frica and to its nursing profession th ro u g h having diplo-
m ates trained in m edical schools it was unnecessary to
explain w hat it w ould m ean to the c o untry to have its M as­
seuses also trained in M edical Schools, a n d the H ospitals
to which the M edical Schools were attached, ra th e r th an in
private teaching establishm ents.
In due course the tw o U niversities then having M edical
Schools were inform ed a b o u t w hat had happened and the
decisions the South A frican M edical C ouncil had taken.
W ithin a brief period the U niversity o f the W itw atersrand had
established a three-year’s course fo r a Diplom a in M assage
and E lectrotherapy. Its first three diplom ates appeared in
1940.
A fter 14 diplom as in M assage a n d E lectrotherapy had
been aw arded in 1940 and 1941 the U niversity o f the W it­
w atersrand changed the nam e to Diploma in Physiotherapy.
Seventeen were aw arded in 1942 and 1943. W ord o f this
w ar-tim e change in nam e m ust have spread fast, while it
was still im pending, because the C h artered Society o f
M assage and M edical G ym nastics in G re at B ritain also
changed its nam e to the C hartered Society o f P hysiotherapy
in th a t sam e year, 1942.
M eanw hile o u r, U niversity h a d also agreed to aw ard a
B.Sc. (Physiotherapy) if the course were extended to four
years; a n d beginning in M arch 1944 no less th an 198 P hysio­
therapists have since received th a t degree. So o u r University
has produced 229 physiotherapists altogether, and becam e
Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted by the Publisher (dated 2013.)
the first w ithin the C om m onw ealth— as far as m y knowledge
goes— to a d o p t this nom enclature and to accord the high
academ ic status o f a degree to y our profession. T oday
how ever, I h ear th a t n o less th an six universities in C anada
aw ard degrees o r diplom as in Physiotherapy.
C om ing ju st w hen they were so badly needed, o u r physio-
therpists played a significant p a rt in the rehabilitation
necessitated by the Second W orld W ar. T hey served along
w ith this c o u n try ’s first m edical p ost-graduate Diplomates in
Physical M edicine, w ho were also produced a t the University
o f the W itw atersrand during the W ar. T hey were the doctors
in charge o f m ost o f the various m ilitary physiotherapeutic
units th a t h a d been established in S o u th A frica.
T his rehabilitative w ar w ork m ade it a p p are n t also th at
training in O ccupational T herapy had to be undertaken.
W e started it in 1943 a n d the first fo u r Diplomates in O ccu­
pational T herapy appeared in 1946. T oday there are 81.
Johannesburg is therefore very p ro u d th a t its M edical
School, chiefly th ro u g h the energy a n d enterprise o f D r.
E. B. W oolf, w ho was recently elected a Senator in the
U nion P arliam ent, was responsible for the early and rapid
evolution o f the speciality o f Physical M edicine and the
training o f its 300 auxiliary m edical personnel in these two
fundam ental fields o f therapy.
• T he rap id expansion o f o u r first tw o m edical schools
show ed th a t the m edical needs o f S outhern A frica could n o t
be m et by such overcrow ded schools as C ape T ow n and
Johannesburg h a d becom e. T he P retoria M edical School was
started in 1944 a n d was follow ed a t six-year intervals by the
D u rb a n M edical School in 1950 and th e Stellenbosch
M edical School in 1956. Soon the Salisbury M edical School
will open in R hodesia.
T he decade 1939-1949, so far as the Johannesburg M edical
School was concerned, was unfortunately those over­
crow ded years o f w ar and its afte rm a th ; classes h a d even to
be quadruplicated. W e have never yet been in a position o f
being able to establish a separate School o f Physiotherapy
a n d to train as m any physiotherapists as we w a n te d ; we have
never h a d room in Johannesburg.
June, 1961
T he expanding profession, how ever, had to have expand­
• ing forces o f physiotherpists and o th er auxiliaries and the
need was seen by D r. W oolf. So, be with the aid o f D r
R . I. R etief and W. W aks, I u nderstand, was largely respon­
sible for y our School’s existence w ith its first adm ission of
ten students in 1949.
T he P retoria M edical School probably had too many
staffing problem s o f its own in the first fo u r years o f its
existence to take the sam e so rt o f paternal interest in the
founding o f y our School th a t o u r A natom y and Physiology
' D epartm ents did in Johannesburg. T oday, however, your
School also has the advantage o f securing its training jn
A natom y and Physiology from these departm ents o f your
U niversity.
Every young School has its teething troubles; Y o u r first
Principal, M iss M . Em slie, M .C .S .P ., Superintendent
P hysiotherapist a t the P retoria H ospital retired after about
tw o years and was successfully succeeded for six years by
M rs. S. Bold, M .S.C .P ., with M iss H inz as A ssistant; but
in 1957 we carried M iss H inz off to Jo h an n esb u rg and Mrs.
Bold retired in 1958.
T h at put y our School in ra th e r a sore plight until Miss
B odoano, M .C .S.P. cam e out from E ngland-w ith M iss A. J.,
Savin M .C .S.P. (T eacher’s C ertificate) in June, 1958, a ndint
the short intervening space o f tim e has built up yo u r School
with its six fully qualified teachers in P hysiotherapy— one a
p roduct o f y our ow n School— and 73 students in training.
A t y o u r first diplom a cerem ony in 1952 ten students
received certificates; on the last tw o occasions there have
been 21. U p until today 112 physiotherapists have qualified
from this School and are doing the excellent w ork they have
been doing for a decade b oth here in South A frica and over­
seas alongside o u rs from Johannesburg. Before m any years
the total o u tp u t o f the T ransvaal therapy schools will be
over h a lf a thousand.
U ntil this year y o u r D iplom a has been a P retoria H ospital
C ertificate, b u t now the exam inations have com e under the
D epartm ent o f E ducation, A rts and Science, and a National
Diplom a Certificate is aw arded. T he School is, however, a
Provincial School u nder the D ep artm en t o f M edical Ser­
vices. By offering students contracts, whereby they under­
take to w ork for the Province for three years in retu rn for
their three years o f training, the M edical Services hope to
m aintain the physiotherapeutic services th at all their larger
hospitals require today.
So m uch for the T ransvaal: w hat is the position elsewhere
in the U n io n ? T he U niversity o f C ape T ow n initiated its
three-year Diplom a in Physiotherapy course in 1958 with
M iss M argaret R o p er from E ngland, as its T eacher and
produced its first seven D iplom ates last year (1960). As yet
neither the O .F.S. n o r N a tal have established separate,
schools. (
P erhaps one day in P retoria too, a degree course will be
established in P hysiotherapy and m aybe also in O ccupational
T herapy. G radually people are realizing th at in a sputnik-
lunik world', w here N ew Y o rk is nearer to us by jet than
C ape T ow n is by train, n o w om an can go far professionally
w ithout as sound a basic training in m athem atics, physics
a n d chem istry as possible.
T he reasons I have been recalling som e o f these early
facts a b o u t how Physiotherapy cam e to be established in
South A frica are several. In the first place I w anted you
to realize how recent yet how p o ten t is the w hole o f what
you have been learning in South A frica and therefore how
fo rtu n ate you are to be pioneers in y o u r chosen profession.
Y ou are determ ining collectively its future rep u tatio n for
value and usefulness in Preventive and C urative M edicine
th ro u g h o u t this vast continent o f A frica.
A second reason was to show the high ideals th a t the
initiators o f th at education had, and continue to retain for
y o u r professional status. Fifty years ago in A ustralia m assage
training involved the dissection o f the hum an body. F rom
experience I knew how im p o rta n t fo r m y friends am ongst
the m asseuses this w as; I .could not im agine th at anything
less w ould be the best for physiotherapists in South Africa.
( Continued on page 5)