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EventThe “Ossewabrandwag” is founded
The Ossewabrandwag (OB as it came to be known, meaning Oxwagon Sentinal) was founded as an Afrikaans nationalist organisation in Bloemfontein, under leadership…
EventThe Trial of strength between the Conservative Party and the National Party begins as three Members of Parliament resign
The reformist policies of P.W Botha may be considered one of the key factors that led to the resignation of Fanie Botha, Dr Treurnicht, and Tom Langley from…
EventJohn Lawrence, Winnie Mandela’s bodyguard, dies after a shoot
On the evening of 10 November 1993, Winnie Mandela and her bodyguard, John Lawrence, were driving through the centre of Johannesburg, when Lawrence had an…
EventElectricity cut off in Tumahole township
Electricity in Tumahole Township, Free State was cut off after the Transvaal provincial authority decided that it would no longer provide municipalities facing…
EventAn ANC car bomb directed at the headquarters of the Wits Command, Johannesburg, kills one person and injures 68
On 30 July 1987, a car bomb was detonated outside the headquarters of Witwatersrand Command army base in Quartz Street, Johannesburg. The attack was executed…
EventBattle of Delville Wood starts
South Africa entered WWI on 8 September 1914, on the side of the Allied Forces. On 15 July 1916, the S.A. Infantry Brigade under Major-General H.T. Lukin was…
EventAlan Paton is born
On 11 January, 1903 Alan Steward Paton, author of Cry, the Beloved Country was born in Pietermaritzburg, Natal Province. Paton graduated from Maritzburg…
EventThe first rugby match that is played in SA
On 23 August 1862, the first rugby match heralded the start of what would become a hugely popular sport among White people in South Africa. The match took…
EventThe Cape Agulhas lighthouse begins operating
Contrary to popular belief, Cape Agulhas and not Cape Point is the southernmost tip of Africa. The seas around Cape Agulhas - about two hours drive from Cape…
EventAmina Lawal’s sentence upheld
On 19 August 2002, an Islamic high court in the Katsina state of Nigeria, upheld a sentence of death by stoning for Amina Lawal. The 31 year old woman had been…
Homeless Giving Tourists a Negative Perception - Fietas Museum by Wim Pretorius and Iavan Pijoos, (News24.com), 15 February 2016
Johannesburg – In the heart of Pageview in Johannesburg lies a small, but almost forgotten museum, rich with the city’s history. Located between the Brixton…
PlaceJan De Waal House, 93 Bree Street, Cape Town
Jan de Waal, born in Amsterdam, arrived at the Cape in 1715 as an employee of the Dutch East India Company The erf on which this double storey house stands was…
PlaceThaba Tshwane or Voortrekkerhoogte
Thaba Tshwane or Voortrekkerhoogte, is a military base (or military area) in Pretoria, South Africa. Founded around 1905 by the British Army, and called:…
EventAZAPO is re-launched in Roodepoort
The Azanian People's Organisation (AZAPO) was re-launched in Roodepoort for the second time. After the outbreak of the Student Uprising in 1976, the government…
EventGeneral H. Van Den Bergh blames the SACP for anti
On 19 November 1970 the head of the Bureau of State Security (BOSS) General H. Van Den Bergh,, briefly appeared on Rhodesian (now known as Zimbabwe) Television…
EventSA Special Forces accused of train violence
In an interview with the New Nation, Felix Ndimene alleged that the Selous Scouts of Pietersburg and Five Reconnaissance Regiment (5RR), part of the SA Special…
EventMembers of Bambathas homestead are pursued by policemen for refusing to pay the ‘hut tax’
Natal in the early years of the 20th century became the site of conflict between Colonial Administrators and autonomous African chiefdoms. The death of…
PlaceAddo Drift, Sunday's River in the Eastern Cape
Addo Drift was the first convenient natural crossing of the Sunday's River to be encountered inland from the sea, and was frequently used by visitors…
PlaceThe Fountain and Garden of Remembrance, Chatswood-Sydney. Willoughby Park Centre
The Willoughby Memorial Fountain...was, on March 10th, 1901, unveiled by the Hon. John See, M.L.A., State Minister for Defence. The Fountain was erected by…
Chapter 3 - The Rise of the ANC
From: Lessons of the 1950s By Richard Monroe, March-May 1984 Chapter 3 - The Rise of the ANC When the mass movement recovered at the end of the 1940s, the…
PlaceNelson Mandela Bridge, Johannesburg
The Nelson Mandela Bridge is a relatively new addition to the Johannesburg skyline, but has already gained iconic status, with an impressive 295 metre span…
Document 19 - Communist Party of South Africa, Memo on S.A.F.N.T.U. (1930)
From: South Africa's Radical Tradition, a documentary history, Volume One 1907 - 1950, by Allison Drew Document 19 - Communist Party of South Africa, Memo…
EventThe Erasmus Commission’s report implicates Rhoodie, Mulder and van den Bergh in SA’s infamous ‘Information Scandal’
The Information Scandal that broke out in 1978 is widely regarded as the single event that heralded the end of B. J. Voster's term as State President of South…
EventBophuthatswana decide not to publish report of Smith Commission
The Star reports that Bophuthatswana's administration has decided not to publish the findings of Mr Justice E.A.T. Smith, one-man commission of inquiry into…
EventThe burghers were victorious in their struggle against Cape Governor Willem Adriaan van der Stel and his officials
On 22 February 1707 a young man on horseback raced through the streets of Stellenbosch shouting "Victorie! Victorie!" - a sign that the Burghers were…
EventInfant hominid discovered at Cradle of Humankind
Professor Lee Berger and his son Matthew Berger (9 years) stumbled across a new species of hominid, Australopithecus sediba, estimated to be 2 million years…
ArchiveAll That Glitters - The glitter of gold by Emilia Potenza
From the book: All That Glitters by Emilia PotenzaA change so unexpected and a development never known before were due to the discovery in 1886 of the greatest…
Chapter 12
Bogus Unities The method of open frontal attack on the part of the Congress die-hards did not work and they found it necessary to change their tune again. The…
PlaceKing Edward VII High School, Houghton Estate, Johannesburg
In 1902, the end of the Second Anglo-Boer War was in sight. Plans were being made to reorganize the educational facilities in the Transvaal. These had…
PlaceSophiatown
Sophiatown was originally a Farm outside Johannesburg, Transvaal (now Gauteng). It was bought by Hermann Tobiansky, who named it after his wife; 'Sophia'…