Celebrating 40 Years of Women's Day, Durban 1980 Exhibition

Prologue

In early 1980, a group of women living in Durban got together to organise a memorial event for the great Lilian Ngoyi, who had passed in February 1980. Political meetings at that time were banned, so the memorial took the form of a prayer meeting in the Beatrice Street Congregational Church. The church was packed; Ma Luthuli, widow of Albert Luthuli, opened with prayers.

The organisers then decided that it was time to re-launch South African Women’s Day in Durban.  It had not been publicly celebrated for some years. By August, political meetings were still banned. So the group decided to mount a photographic exhibition on the history of women’s struggles for justice and freedom.  The Head of Diakonia, Paddy Kearney, organised a space at the Cathedral Centre in Grey Street and it was there that the photo exhibition was held on 9 August.  Many came to view it – we were all there together, though not holding a meeting!  The security police were present too – and very angry that we had outwitted them.

The captions and some of the images from that exhibition survive. We have therefore attempted a digital recreation to mark 40 years of celebrating South African Women’s Day.

If anyone viewing it was there, or has memories of those times, we would love to hear from you.

Poster for the Lilian Ngoyi Memorial Meeting
22 March 1980

Womens Day August 9 Exhibition 1980, Durban. Florence Mkhize, Julia Wells and May Mashango. Picture by Omar Badsha

Women's Day August 9 Exhibition 1980 Durban - Exhibition Display. Picture by Omar Badsha

Pictures from the Exhibition


Stillbaai, Garden Route- Western Cape

The name translated from Afrikaans, means 'Still Bay', for those people who are charmed by the safety, tranquility and harmony! For almost two hundred Years Stilbaai has grown in favour as a Holiday Destination and Retirement Village. It has long stretches of white sandy Beaches, mild weather and a River which is navigable for 15 km. It has a population of about 4000 permanent residents and also has two villages, Jongensfontein and Melkhoutfontein, within its Boundary.
Stilbaai offers wonderful water-sport facilities including fishing, scuba-diving and lots more as well as other types of sport. In Jongensfontein the Historic little White House serves as a local Museum and information centre. Stilbaai Tourism Bureau houses a Historical exhibition and adjoins a Nature Garden. Visit the 'Jagersbosch Homestead', a National Monument and the headquarters of the well known Jagersbosch Community Care Centre.

Geolocation
-34° 21' 43.2", 21° 25' 55.2"

Britz, Bonjala Region-North West

This North West Town of Brits, in the the pretty Region of Bonjala Municipality, This Region borders on Gauteng and is surrounded by Citrus Farms. Brits plays an important role in the South African Mining industry: 94% of South Africa's Platinum comes from the Rustenburg and Brits Districts, which together produce more platinum than any other single Area in the World. In addition, there is a large vanadium Mine in the Area too. Hartbeespoort Dam is perched on the slopes of the Magaliesberg Mountains the dam is a hive of water sports and other activities, while Sun City, an oasis in the North West is very near! Pilanesberg National Park, is only an hour's travel from Brits.
The De Wildt Cheetah Centre, which is a major Conservation effort, was established in 1971 with the aim of breeding endangered species. The name was changed in 2010, to the Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre. As a tribute to the woman who has devoted her life to the survival of cheetahs and other rare and endangered species. Over the past two decades the Centre's efforts have resulted in the major achievement of breeding what was once a threatened species, the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus). Over the years, nearly 600 cheetah cubs have been born at De Wildt - a dramatic contrast to the days when the cheetah population of South Africa was estimated at a mere 700.

Geolocation
27° 45' 50.4", -25° 33'

Britstown, Northern Cape

Britstown located in the Northern Cape of South Africa, a small farming town Named after Hans Brits, who accompanied David Livingstone on a venture to the interior and then settled on the Farm;'Gemsbokfontein'. In 1877, an association of local men, headed by T.P. Theron, bought a section of the Farm on which they built a Community centre and a Church.
Soon after the discovery of diamonds at Hopetown and Kimberley, Brits realised that he and his neighbours could earn good money serving the growing traffic along the Diamond Way. So Brits arranged for a Town to be laid out on a portion of his Farm. As a tribute to him it was named Britstown! A private irrigation scheme was started by the Smartt Syndicate in 1885 and liquidated in 1954. The concern built two Dams, planted lucerne and wheat and grazed karakul sheep and Clydesdale horses. The 1961 floods destroyed the Smartt Irrigation Board Dam, rebuilt by the Government in 1964.
The first inhabitants of this Area were the Bushmen, a self-sufficient peoples who depended entirely on the Land for their needs. The Plains teemed with game, so they neither sowed nor kept livestock. Indigenous plants provided a variety of edible bulbs and bark for further nutritional and medicinal requirements! Slowly the Bushmen moved widely through the Karoo. At Places where they sought shelter and rest from their wanderings, the Bushmen left an artistic wealth of rock engravings, telling us what this world was like when it was theirs. The Karoo is renowned for its wealth of Stone Age remains spanning at least half a Million years of human History. Rock art makes up a distinctly visible element of this legacy, and predominantly dates from the last 10 000 years. South Africa's Heritage of Stone Age Art, among the richest in the World, is found in the form of engravings and paintings, found in the Great Karoo!

Geolocation
23° 26' 13.2", -30° 35' 34.8"

Maggie Oewies-Shongwe

Maggie Oewies-Shongwe was born in 1940 in Namaqualand, Cape Province (now Northern Cape Province). As the youngest in the house, she often stayed at home with her grandparents (who raised her) while her older relatives went to work. She would help her grandmother, who was the local midwife, take care of new-born babies.

Blombos Cave and Private Nature Reserve, Stillbaai - Cape Town

Blombos Cave is a World-famous Archaeological Site, overlooking the sea and located in a private nature Reserve which is NOT open to the public!

"Archaeologists have uncovered some of the first evidence of symbolism, cognitive thinking and technological advancement, traits used to define modern human behavior."

  • This Site was occupied during the Middle Stone Age between 100 0000 and 70 000 Years ago, although earlier occupation may still be identified as the archaeological excavations proceed. The site was first excavated in 1992, it is currently undergoing excavation and it will continue to be excavated possibly for another Decade. Specific findings include: a piece of engraved ochre, which is the first known ochre engraving found in the archaeological record and dated to 75 000 years ago; “the oldest artist’s toolkit”, which is evidence of a 100 000-year-old ochre-processing workshop; “the oldest drawing (or hashtag)” dated to 73 000 years ago and some of the first evidence of body decoration, in the form of perforated shell beads. Blombos Cave was declared a Provincial Heritage Site in 2015 and it is currently on the tentative serial nomination list of UNESCO World Heritage sites. It is expected to be declared a World Heritage Site within the next few years. While the site is closed to the public, the small Blombos Museum of Archaeology in Still Bay offers visitors with the possibility of exploring some of the fascinating findings of this site. The exhibition is in the process of being modernized.
Geolocation
21° 12' 57.6", -34° 24' 43.2"