 The honours system was enlarged during the 1960s, after South African had become a republic.New decorations were instituted for the police in 1963, for the railways police in 1966, for sports stars in 1967, for the prisons service in 1968, and for civilians in 1970.Evidently the government was not satisfied, because during the 1970s and 1980s, it virtually re-created the honours system, scrapping most of the existing awards and creating new ones in their place.