Abstract
This short article examines the reorganisation of policing in the newly formed Union of South Africa between 1911 and 1926, focusing on the creation, structure, and eventual dissolution of the South African Mounted Rifles (SAMR). Established under Act 14 of 1912 and formally constituted on 1 April 1913, the SAMR unified several former colonial — the Cape Mounted Police, Cape Mounted Rifles, Natal Police, Orange Free State Police, and Transvaal Police — into a single paramilitary policing organisation.
The SAMR comprised five geographically dispersed regiments supported by an artillery brigade of five batteries.
From 1916, a Military Police detachment was incorporated into the establishment, with specialised duties performed from ordinary police stations and small garrison-based units such as the 14‑man detachment at Roberts Heights.
Comparable detachments likely operated in other Union garrison centres.
In 1920, the five regiments were disbanded, with 26 officers, 196 non‑commissioned officers, and 1,022 troopers transferred to the South African Police. The remaining personnel were consolidated into a single regiment stationed at Roberts Heights, which continued to function until its final disbandment in 1926.
The study highlights the SAMR’s transitional role between colonial policing traditions and the emerging national police system of the Union.