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PlaceRotunda, Bay Hotel- Camps Bay
The Victorian Rotunda, a landmark in Camps Bay, is a beautiful, geometrical domed building, was the epitome of high society in Cape Town at the turn of the…
PlaceWrensch House, 77 Lower Wrench Road, Observatory
The main building, as well as some of its outbuildings, date from the last quarter of the 18th century, but subsequent additions have given it an overlay of…
PlaceAlphen; Constantia Road, Constantia- Cape Town
The Alphen Estate was granted to Theunis van Schalkwyk in 1714. Its Historic Homestead is a square plan double-storey manor House with a well proportioned…
EventCharlotte Maxeke, politician and founder of the Bantu Women’s League of South Africa, is born
Charlotte Maxeke was born on 7 April 1847 in Fort Beaufort in Cape Town. From a young age Maxeke showed musical talent. She finished primary school early and…
EventNathaniel Nakasa, South African journalist and writer, dies in exile
Ndazana Nathaniel Nat Nakasa was awarded the The Niemann Fellowship to study journalism at Harvard University in the US but the government rejected his…
PlaceOld Government Building, Church Street, Boksburg
The building was designed by Sytze Wierda, chief architect of the ZAR's Public Works Department. Its foundation stone was laid on 15 October 1890 and…
EventPrime Minister opens SA's first atomic reactor
The former Prime Minister of South Africa and apartheid mastermind, Dr H.F. Verwoerd opened South Africa's first atomic reactor, SAFARI-1 (South African…
EventAfrikaner nationalists rebel against a Union Jack in new South African flag
On 21 June 1927, Afrikaner nationalists rebelled against plans to have a Union Jack (the British flag) in the centre of the national flag. The controversy…
EventColoureds are removed from the voters roll
The South African parliament, which was dominated by the Afrikaner nationalist majority, embarked on a series of campaigns to remove Coloured people from the…
EventGeorge Msimang, artist, is born
Artist George Msimang was born on 26 October 1948 in Durban. Msimang's interest in art began at school although art was not offered as a subject. He left…
EventWW2: British 8th army marches into Tripoli
On 23 January 1943 the British 8th army marched into Tripoli, later occupying the Libyan capital in this World War Two battle. This was part of a series of…
EventPolitical activist Molly Blackburn is born
Political activist and civil rights campaigner Molly Blackburn, widely respected by Blacks, was born in Port Elizabeth. In 1981 she started her political…
EventThe last sitting of an all-white Parliament
South Africa was recognised as a republic and pursued a political course in which Blacks, Coloureds and Indians were denied the right to parliamentary…
EventPresident Vorster challenges Dr Rhoodie
In a lengthy statement, President B.J. Vorster challenged Dr. Eschel Rhoodie to release any document that would implicate him in the Information Affair. He…
EventDaily Dispatch editor, Donald Woods, arrives in Britain with his family
On 6 January 1978, Donald James Woods, editor of the banned Daily Dispatch a newspaper based in East London arrived in Britain with his family after fleeing…
EventPAC leader Robert Sobukwe is released
Pan-Africanist Congress leader, Robert Sobukwe, was arrested after the Sharpeville anti-pass campaign of 1960 and harshly sentenced to three years in prison…
EventEquatorial Guinea gains Independence from Spain
The colonial history of Equatorial Guinea dates back to 1471 when Portuguese explorers descended on the country. On their way to India, Portuguese explorers…
EventANC Constitutional proposals are disclosed
After a three day meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the African National Congress (ANC), the meeting adopted a new strategic policy, which…
EventHelen Suzman is born
Politician and Anti-Apartheid activist, Helen Suzman, was born in Germiston, South Africa. During her 36 years in Parliament she defended the right to freedom…
EventFirst aeroplane flight in Kimberley breaks the non-stop flight record
John Weston, a civil engineer, began the construction of his own aeroplane in 1907 at Brandfort, in the Free State. This was the first South African built…
EventKing Dinuzulu defies British order
Allegedly Zulu Paramount Chief Dinuzulu (Dinizulu) refused British instructions to take up arms against the Boer republics during the Second Anglo-Boer War…
EventIndian Rights Campaigner Bhawani Sannyassi Dayal is born
Bhawani Sannyassi Dayal, a journalist and campaigner for Indian rights, was born in Johannesburg as son of Jariam Singh, a former president of the Transvaal…
EventPresident Paul Kruger lays the foundation stone of the Raadsaal on Pretoria’s Church Square
Church Square, which was initially called Market Square, was home to the first church built in Pretoria, which burnt down in 1882. The square's current layout…
PlaceBethulie Bridge across the Gariep River
Gariep Dam is located in South Africa, near the Town of Norvalspont, bordering the Free State and Eastern Cape Provinces. The stone Bridge spanning the Gariep…
EventLucas Ntuba Radebe, SA soccer hero, is born in Diepkloof, Soweto
Lucas Radebe, South Africa's celebrated soccer legend was born in Diepkloof, Soweto. At the age of 15 his parents sent him to live in Bophuthatswana so could…
EventANC stalwart, Albertina Sisulu dies in Johannesburg
African National Congress (ANC) stalwart, Albertina Sisulu, a wife to former ANC Secretary, Walter Sisulu died at her Linden home, Johannesburg at the age of…
EventDinizulu succeeds his father, Cetshwayo, as King of the Zulus.
King Dinizulu was the son of Chief Cetshwayo who reigned over Zululand, Natal (now kwaZulu-Natal) from 1872. Dinizulu was recognized as the legitimate heir and…
EventThe State Theatre in Pretoria opens
The State theatre in Pretoria opened in 1981 as a non-profit government funded company. The Japanese- influenced building is actually a complex of theatres. At…
EventThe United Nations adopts a resolution establishing an eleven member United Nations Council for South West Africa
The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution establishing an eleven member United Nations Council for South West Africa. Their task was to…
PlaceQueen’s Tavern, 16 Stamford Hill Road, Durban
Built as a gentleman's club in 1894, this is one of Durban’s few remaining links with its Colonial past. It is the oldest licenced premises in the City, its…