SAHO global search
7,061 records
PlaceGraaff-Reinet Division
The district of Graaff-Reinet was constituted on 26 August 1785 and its boundaries were proclaimed on 17 July 1786. However, over the next century these…
Entering Namibia without visas
It was on 27 October 1966 that the United Nations General Assembly terminated the mandate over South West Africa and declared that henceforth the territory…
PlaceSastri College, 1 Winterton Walk, Durban
This was the first Indian High School and Teachers Training College, built in South Africa, was opened in October 1929. This double-storey Complex was founded…
11. A Brahman seeks work in Natal
From the book: A Documentary History of Indian South Africans edited by Surendra Bhana and Bridglal Pachai M. R. K. Sastrie, who was working as an…
EventThree MK soldiers found guilty
On the afternoon of 25 January 1980, three Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) cadres: Stephen Mafoko, Humphrey Makhubo, and Wilfred Madela, were en route to sabotage…
PlaceRed Location Museum
The Red Location Museum is situated within the Black Township of New Brighton, of Port Elizabeth (now called Gqeberha). Surrounded by the colourful homes of…
Apartheid stakeholders - where are they now?
From: A Crime Against Humanity - Analysing the Repression of the Apartheid State edited by Max Coleman South Africa can heave a collective sigh of relief that…
ArchivePrison letter from Petros Sipho Mkhize to Zondi, Soweto, addressed to Miss Jumaima Mbele
A handwritten letter in isiZulu on prison notepaper, sent from "V963 Petros M. Khize, Central Prison, Private Bag 45, Pretoria." It opens with the greeting …
ArchiveWebinar Programme: Socialism, Culture and Networks. Convenor: Omar Badsha
Culture/Creativity/Communism: cultural expression and South Africa’s communist movement by Judy Seidman This paper opens up the question about the role…
Brief Detention Diary by Michael Hathorn (an excerpt)
Michael Hathorn was detained in Durban Central Prison in 1960, for his role in the struggle. Recorded below is an extract from the prison diary that he kept…
Chapter VIII - The Mandela’s – family extraordinary
From the book: Side by Side by Helen Joseph The main street in a small country town in the Orange Free State, some 360 miles from Johannesburg; a few shops, a…
Nelson Mandela Regrets, Nostalgia and Dreams:
Introduction Nelson's letters reflect the volumes that remain unsaid because of the censorship rules that prescribe and proscribe the thoughts of a prisoner…
PlaceAlfred Nzo District Municipality, Kwa-Zulu Natal/Eastern Cape
District in the Alfred Nzo Municipality, of which Harding is the principal Town. Encircled by Mount Currie, Umzimkulu, Ixopo, Port Shepstone and Bizana.It was…
Document 46 - Letter from the International Secretariat of the International left Opposition to Johannesburg comrades, 23 October 1932
From: South Africa's Radical Tradition, a documentary history, Volume One 1907 - 1950, by Allison Drew Document 46 - Letter from the International Secretariat…
Document 44 - Letter from Leon Trotsky to T. W. Thibedi, 4 September 1932
From: South Africa's Radical Tradition, a documentary history, Volume One 1907 - 1950, by Allison Drew Document 44 - Letter from Leon Trotsky to T. W…
EventThe first detainees are held under the apartheid regime’s 90-day Law
When the apartheid government introduced the General Law Amendment Act, the South African Security Police, or Special Branch, were given the authority to…
EventAssassination attempt on Kwame Nkrumah, first prime and later president of Ghana
In 1949 Kwame Nkrumah formed the Convention People's party (CPP). After his 'positive action' campaign created disturbances in 1950, Nkrumah was jailed, but…
EventThe Anglican Bishop of Johannesburg, Bishop Ambrose Reeves, resigns
The Anglican Bishop of Johannesburg, Bishop Ambrose Reeves, resigned after having been deported from South Africa in September 1960 for his strong condemnation…
EventAlbert Luthuli is elected as an ANC President
The African National Congress (ANC) was founded as the SANCC in 1912. John Dube was its first president, and the well known writer and poet, Sol Plaatje, was…
EventZambian president Kenneth Kaunda refuses to take part in UK
Kenneth David Kaunda was considered a key figure in the continuing conflict between Zimbabwean liberation movements and Ian Smith's Rhodesia. Zambia offered…
EventThe United Democratic Front (UDF) is dissolved
The United Democratic Front (UDF) was formed in August 1983, and was one of the most prominent anti-apartheid movements, comprising of over 400 workers',…
EventZubeida Jaffer is detained, while pregnant, by the security police under Apartheid regulations
Zubeida Jaffer, former reporter from the Cape Times and her husband John Issel, were detained by the security police on 31 January 1986. Jaffer who was three…
EventJohn Thomas Baines, South African painter, traveller and writer, is born
John Thomas Baines was born in England on 27 November 1820. Apprenticed to a coach painter at a young age, he left for South Africa in 1842 to work as a…
EventThe trial of Dr Allan Boesak on charges of theft and fraud starts
Born in 1945 in the North West Cape, Boesak developed deep interests in religion and politics from an early age. At the age of 14 he became a sexton Dutch…
EventBoutros Boutros Ghali, former UN Secretary General, is born
Boutros Boutros Ghali was born in Egypt on 14 November 1922 into a prominent Coptic Christian family. He studied International Law and International Relations,…
EventThe South African Air Force is established
On 1 February 1920, the South African Air Force was established. This made it the first air force of the Commonwealth, with Lt-Col. Pierre van Ryneveld…
PlaceAlexandra, Township in Johannesburg
A Township 13 kilometeres from North-East Johannesburg. The development of Alexandra Township dates back to 1912. Sometimes thought to be named in honour of…
EventThe First Anglo-Boer War: Boers defeat the British at the Battle of Majuba
The poverty and vulnerability of the South African Republic (Transvaal) prompted Disraeli's Conservative government to annex it in 1877. This was an important…
Hendrik Verwoerd’s response to the ‘Winds of Change’ speech
Made to the South Africa Parliament on 3 February 1960: The tendency in Africa for nations to become independent, and at the same time to do justice to all,…
Document 72 - Letter from R. T. R. Molefe to London comrades, 21 February 1938
From: South Africa's Radical Tradition, a documentary history, Volume One 1907 - 1950, by Allison Drew Document 72 - Letter from R. T. R. Molefe to London…