SAHO global search
674 records
ArticlePre-colonial history of Southern Africa
South Africa has one of the longest sequences of human development in the world. It begins with two million years old hominid fossils. Human Origins South…
ArticleTimeline of State Action Against the Press in the 1960s
1960 Mar- Norman Phillips of the Toronto Star was detained 3 and '/2 days for trying to cable a story about a police attack on Nyanga, Cape Town. The report…
PlacePollsmoor Prison
Pollsmoor Prison is situated in Tokai, Cape Town, and is the largest Prison in the Western Cape Province. It is an overcrowded facility located in Tokai,Cape…
ArticleCurries Fountain events timeline
1870s-1880s Discovery of a reliable water source. "To the present generation Currie's Fountain is but a name which marks the recreation grounds below Botanic…
PlaceGwali Mission
Chumie was established in 1820 by Reverend John Brownlee, as a station of for the Glasgow Missionary Society. The village which grew up about it was…
ArticleProvincial Leaders
Provincial governments South Africa's government is divided into a legislative body (Parliament), Executive body ( the Cabinet, who are also members of…
The War
The flag of the Boer Republic of the Orange Free State On 9 October 1899 the SAR issued an ultimatum to Britain and two days later, on 11 October the war was…
PlaceFraserburg
The division of Fraserburg was originally part of the district of Worcester and was proclaimed a separate division on 12 December 1853. In about January 1890…
EventSchools closed in the Western Cape
Carter Ebrahim, Minister of Education and Culture for the mixed race community, announced that 454 out of a total of over 900 schools were going to be closed…
ArchiveRemembering Hugh Masekela: the horn player with a shrewd ear for music of the day by Gwen Ansell (The Conversation), 23 January 2018
Trumpeter, flugelhorn-player, singer, composer and activist Hugh Ramapolo Masekela has passed away after a long battle with prostate cancer. When he cancelled…
Hugh Masekela: the horn player with a shrewd ear for the music of today, not yesterday, 29 October 2017
When trumpeter, flugelhorn-player, singer, composer and activist Hugh Ramapolo Masekela cancelled his appearance at the recent Johannesburg Joy of Jazz…
Durban Mayors and other city officials
This list is listed in chronological order, listing mayors of Durban, starting from 1854 to date. George Cato (1854 - 56) Edward Snell and Savery Pinsent…
EventMore than 400 miners killed in what was the worst mining disaster in South Africa
In the worst mine disaster in South Africa, a large section of the Clydesdale Colliery, at the Coalbrook mine near Sasolburg, Orange Free State, caved in…
Prehistory: Pre colonial farmers in Gauteng
Prehistory of Southern AfricaFarming people did not inhabit the Greater Johannesburg region until the Late Iron Age. Then, beginning in the 15th century,…
EventPres. Nelson Mandela accompanies Queen Elizabeth II on a coach drive through the streets of London.
On 9 July 1998 President Nelson Mandela visited England. On 12 July 1998 he concluded his four-day visit to England by accompanying Queen Elizabeth II on a…
Hunter-Gatherers in Southern Africa
For more than 95% of the last 100 000 years, most people all over the world followed a hunting and gathering way of life. Until recently, people living by…
PlaceGod’s Window
A famous vantage point on the Drakensberg escarpment God's Window stands at an altitude of 1,829m/6,000ft extending northward over the Blyde River Canyon,…
EventThe Flag of the Union of South Africa is hoisted on Prince Edward Island
On 4 January 1948, the National Flag of the Union of South Africa was hoisted on Prince Edward Island. Prince Edward Island is one of two Islands annexed by…
PlaceRaadsaal, 95 St George’s Street, Bloemfontein
The first Raadsaal is probably the most important Historical Building in the Free State, dating back to 1849, it is the oldest building left standing in…
ArticleJune 16 Soweto Youth Uprising timeline: 1976-1986
1976 According to the government-appointed Cillie Commission of Enquiry 575 people died. Police action resulted in 451 deaths. 3 907 people were injured…
PlaceSao Bento Shipwreck, Coffee Bay
The earliest known wreck is the Portuguese carrack, Sao Bento. A carrack is a sailing sailing ship of the 14th–17th centuries that was usually built with three…
ArticleDefeat of the Liberation struggle
Following the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre, the Government declared a State of Emergency (SOE), in 83 magisterial districts – the first state of emergency…
PlaceWindermere
Situated beside Kensington, Windermere was a settlement situated on the N1 highway in Cape Town near the Ysterplaat airbase. The Group Areas Act of 1950…
ArticleBantu education and the racist compartmentalizing of education
In 1949 the government appointed the Eiselen Commission with the task of considering African education provision. The Commission recommended ‘resorting to…
ArticleCradle of Humankind
The Fossil Hominid Sites of Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, Kromdraai, and EnvironsThe Sterkfontein Valley landscape is in both western Gauteng and the North West…
PlaceMarcus Island Marine Protected Area
Marine protected areas aim to conserve marine life and promote the conservation and effective management of biodiverse marine areas. They are an example of…
America, Spanish conquest
All the content in this America section was developed from 2003 lessons, namely; – America in the 1500s – The Slave TradeThe content below has been modified…
ArticleNelson Mandela Timeline 2000-2014
2000 January, The partnership is formalized by South African National Aids Council (SANAC) to review its two years of work against HIV/AIDS being under the…
EventSouth African athlete, Sergio Motsoeneng, admits to cheating in Comrades Marathon
In 1999, Sergio Motsoeneng ran the first 45 minutes of the 89km* Comrades Marathon before he exchanged vests and shoes with his twin brother in a mobile toilet…
ArticleA list of South African Shipwrecks
Antipolis (1977) The Antipolis, a Greek oil tanker, ran aground on the rocks near Victoria Road in Oudekraal in the Cape on 29 July 1977. It was being…