Robert Moore qualified as a Member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (MRCVS) at New Edinburgh Veterinary College in 1875. As a member of the King's Dragoon Guards he saw service in Natal during the Zulu War of 1979. He was then stationed in Pretoria and during October to December that same year he accompanied the Transvaal Field Forces, as a volunteer, on their successful campaign against the Bapedi chief Sekhukhune. Upon his return he wrote a "Report on a visit to Fort Weeber and Secoconi's country for the purpose of taking notes on horse-sickness." The report was published in the Veterinary Journal (Vol. 10, p. 320) in 1880. Furthermore, as co-author with R.W. Jackson*, he participated in writing a pamphlet, Observations of cases of horse-sickness (Pretoria, 1880), dealing with cases that had occurred during the campaign. The pamphlet is thought to be the first professional veterinary publication issued in the Transvaal. It was also published as Government Notice 243 of 1880 in the Natal Government Gazette of 15 June 1880.

Moore is thought to have returned to South Africa for a second tour of duty in 1896 but it is not known when he returned to Britain. In November 1902 he arrived in South Africa again, in the company of the Colonial Secretary, Joseph Chamberlain. He wrote an account of the voyage titled Commission and travels of HMS Good Hope. Part I. From Portsmouth to Simon's Bay (Cape Town, 1903).

List of sources:

Curson, H.H. Matters of veterinary interest, 1795-1881. Chapter V. Journal of the South African Veterinary Medical Association, 1935, Vol. 6, pp. 274-295.

Mendelssohn, S. South African bibliography. London, 1910.

Posthumus, P.J. Past veterinarians in South Africa (10th edition), 1992, Vol. 2.

South African bibliography to the year 1925. London: Mansell, 1979.

Compiled by: D.W. Verwoerd

Last updated: 2025-05-15 11:45:20