Dr August Gerber was appointed in 1901 as the first Forestry Commissioner (chief forest officer) of German South West Africa (now Namibia). He divided the territory into four administrative forestry districts, namely Windhoek, Okahandja, Otavi and Keetmanshoop, each with a forest station. In 1902 he went on an expedition to Ovamboland and there collected botanical specimens, funded by the first government grant for scientific work. He kept his botanical collection in Okahandja. He also reported on the agricultural potential of Ovamboland in a letter to the governor of German South West Africa, Theodor Leutwein. After returning to Germany in 1904 or 1905 he gave some lectures on German South West Africa and in 1905 sold a collection of ethnographic objects from the territory to the Freiburg Museum of Natural History and Ethnology.

List of sources:

Mendelsohn, J.M. and Obeid, S.E. Forests and woodlands of Namibia. Windhoek: RAISON, 2005. Retrieved from http://www.the-eis.com/data/literature/Forests and Woodlands of Namibia 3 Introduction.pdf on 2017-1-11.

ONLINESAMMLUNG: Dr August Gerber, biography. Retrieved on 19 June 2024 from https://onlinesammlung.freiburg.de/en/person/Gerber, August/34DD7D3F75234E6388D10692DF4355C1

Zelle, E. A contribution to the history of the State Museum in Windhoek, South West Africa. Southern African Museums Association Bulletin (SAMAB), 1958, Vol. 7(2), pp. 29-36.

Compiled by: C. Plug

Last updated: 2024-06-20 10:03:48