This medium sized breed is indigenous to South Africa and was developed over a period of several centuries. At present about 14 000 purebred females and 5 300 males are registered.

The first bull was donated by the Bavarian government to the Dept. of Agriculture in 1974.

The Hereford was introduced to South Africa during 1892 with the importation of 2 bulls from England.

Currently the society has almost 1000 members with nearly 150 000 registered animals.