Daniel Francois Malan born at Allesverloren, near Riebeek West on 22nd May 1874 and died at 'Morewag', Stellenbosch on 7th February 1959, statesman, church and cultural leader, was the second child in a family of four sons and two daughters. His parents were Daniël François Malan (12.6.1844 – 22.9.1908) and Anna Magdalena du Toit (5.5.1847-12.6.1893), both of whom came from the Wellington district and were descendants of the French Huguenots. After living in the Wamakersvallei they settled on the farm Allesverloren in January 1872, where they were friends and neighbours of the parents of Jan C. Smuts.*

Malan's father was a well-to-do and respected farmer and churchman and an influential sup-porter of the Afrikanerbond. His mother, from whom he inherited his more striking traits of character and appearance, was a calm, lovable woman of few words but of equable temperament and sound judgement.

He went to school in Riebeek West, where the youthful T. C. Stoffberg* taught him and exercised a profound and enduring influence on him. His progress at school was, however, hampered by myopia and physical frailty. He was an average student and attained the School Higher Certificate in 1890. Realizing that he was not destined to be a farmer, his parents in 1891 sent him to Stellenbosch, where he obtained the Intermediate Certificate at the Victoria College. After his mother's death in 1893 his father married Esther Fourie of Beaufort West, who had a notable influence upon the young M.

Education

Having obtained a B.A. degree in 1895 he decided to become a minister of religion, and in 1896 he completed the Admission Course required for entrance to the Theological Seminary. Although as a student at the Victoria College he was rather aloof and uncommunicative, he was nevertheless methodical and disciplined. He did not take part in organized sport but enjoyed walking and debating.

At the invitation of J. C. Smuts, with whom he had often come into contact on his parents' farm when they were children, M. upon his arrival in Stellenbosch became a member of the Union Debating Society, of which he was chair-man in 1897 and 1899. He was also on the editorial staff of The Stellenbosch Students' Annual. An interesting article which he wrote entitled 'Our Situation' and dealing with the disquieting materialistic spirit of the times, appeared in the society's journal, in 1896.

In the same year M. taught for a term in Swellendam, after which he began his studies at the seminary, simultaneously enrolling at the college for the M.A. course in Philosophy, a degree he obtained towards the middle of 1899. As a student at the seminary he was strongly influenced by the devout example and inspiring lectures of Professor N. J. Hofmeyr.*

In the second half of 1900 he wrote the Candidates' Examination and left for Utrecht, Holland, in September to continue his theological studies. There he was greatly impressed by Professor J. J. P. Valeton, a leading exponent of the doctrines of the 'ethical school' in Theology, which accepted the Bible as a given reality without further argument.

When President S. J. P. Kruger* stopped over in Utrecht in December 1900 on his journey to The Hague and received an overwhelming ovation, M. was also present, and in January 1901 visited him in his hotel in Utrecht.

While he was a student in Utrecht M. under-took various journeys on the Continent and to England and Scotland, and in August 1902 re-presented South Africa at the world conference of the Students' Christian Association in Soro, Denmark. He also became acquainted with the aged Dutch theologian and poet Nicolaas Beets, who had a lasting influence on him.

M. was also much impressed by the visit which the Boer Generals, Louis Botha,* C. R. de Wet* and J. H. de la Rey,* paid to President Kruger in Utrecht on his birthday on 10.10.1902. He made several calls on President and Mrs M. T. Steyn* who were staying in Germany, and a firm friend-ship arose between them. Steyn fundamentally influenced his opinions on political and cultural matters both then and later.

Political Life

From then on he kept abreast of developments in the political and cultural life of South Africa and grew concerned about the submission and conciliatory attitude of some Afrikaners towards their political opponents after the Second Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902) had ended. In April 1904 he addressed two very illuminating letters to the editor of the Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant in which he expounded his view of the South African situation; he dealt in particular with the significance and power that were inherent in the Afrikaner's language and Afrikaner unity as a potential safeguard against Anglicization. These two aspects of Afrikaner identity were developed and formulated in a manner both arresting and, considering the political and cultural background of 1904, surprising. It was the first indication of M.'s extra-ordinary ability to put an idea on paper and convey it to others. These letters show that as early as 1904 M.'s views on the political and cultural situation in South Africa had assumed a definite shape.

On 20.1.1905 he became a Doctor of Divinity, with a thesis on Het idealisme van Berkeley (The Idealism of Berkeley), and in May, at the age of thirty-one, he was formally admitted to the ministry in Cape Town. At the invitation of the Reverend A. J. Louw* of Heidelberg, Transvaal, he was ordained on 29.7.1905 as an assistant preacher of the N.G. Kerk in that town, and for the first time came into contact with many people who still bore the physical and economic scars of the Second Anglo-Boer War. At the same time he became deeply aware of his bond with his people and of the necessity for them to close their ranks and stop niggling over principles, since this could endanger the preservation of the Afrikaner's identity.

After spending about six months in Heidelberg, M. having in 1905 accepted a call to Montagu was inducted on 16 2.1906, and there during his six-year stay began to apply himself to the problem of uplifting the impoverished Afrikaner. At the congregational level his main preoccupation was with mission work and poor-relief, and he maintained that the extent to which its people undertook such work determined the spiritual climate of a congregation.

It was as early as the first decade of this century, while serving the congregation of Montagu, that M. began to come to the fore as an academic, cultural and potential political leader. During the Synods of 1906 and 1909 he emphasized the fundamental importance of training Afrikaner teachers and advocated that a national educational ideal should be formulated. In August 1908, as general chairman of the Afrikaanse Taalvereniging, he made his famous plea for the recognition of Afrikaans as a written language, and in 1909 was active as a founder of De Zuid-Afrikaanse Akademie voor Taal, Letteren en Kunst (The South African Academy for Language, Literature and Art). At the Stu-dents Language Conference in Stellenbosch in April 1911 he delivered his inspiring address on 'Language and nationality'.

M. was also preoccupied with the idea of unity in the ecclesiastical field. During the Synod of 1909 he delivered a strong plea for closer links between the N.G. Kerke of the four colonies and represented the Cape Church in De Federale Raad der Kerken (Federal Council of Churches). He was the driving force behind the campaign for a church association, which, however, foundered in 1912 and became a reality only fifty years later in 1962, after his death.

The Spiritual Side

Of far-reaching importance for both the N.G. Kerk in the Union and the spiritual and cultural interests of the 'exiles', was the extended tour he undertook at the request of the Cape Church between July and November 1912. The object of this was to visit the congregations in Northern and Southern Rhodesia. The diary of his travels published in instalments in De Kerkbode and later in book form under the title Naar Congoland (infra), was extensively read and aroused widespread interest in the welfare of the Afrikaners in Rhodesia.

On 1.2.1913 M. became assistant preacher to the congregation of Graaff-Reinet, this being the year in which the estrangement between the Prime Minister, General Louis Botha, and General J. B. M. Hertzog* reached a crisis. M. was in sympathy with Hertzog's standpoint which was pro-South African in contrast to that of Botha whose policy was to conciliate Britain and the English-speaking population. He voiced his share in the church's opposition to the plans of the government, which aimed to establish an English-orientated teaching university for both language groups in Cape Town, and zealously strove to have the status of the Victoria College at Stellenbosch raised to that of a fully fledged national university. This goal was realized through legislation in 1916.

The outbreak of the First World War in August 1914 shortly afterwards led to the unfortunate Rebellion in South Africa and to unhappy division and confusion among the Afrikaners, in the ecclesiastical as well as in other spheres. M., who was staying in Pretoria during the week-end of 18 to 20 December, tried in vain as one of a six-man deputation to obtain clemency for Commandant Jopie Fourie* who had been sentenced to death. When it seemed that the Rebellion with all its attendant bitterness would cause a schism in the N.G. Kerk, M. provided powerful leadership at the critical 'Ministers' Conference held in Bloemfontein in January 1915.

In 1914 the National Party (N.P.) was founded under the leadership of General Hertzog. The need for an influential newspaper to serve as a mouthpiece for the party led to the establishment of De Nationale Pers Beperkt at Stellenbosch, and through the mediation of W. A. Hofmeyr* in particular M. was earnestly re-quested to become editor of the newspaper. After seeking the advice of prominent politicians and church leaders he accepted the post and on 13.6.1915 delivered his farewell sermon to the congregation of Graaff-Reinet. The first issue of De Burger appeared on 26.7.1915. Since at a conference at Cradock in June 1915 M. had already been elected to the executive of the National Party, in practice he combined the editorship of De Burger and the leadership of the National Party in the Cape. As editor from 1915 to 1923, his editorials, written in a graceful, dignified style, gave direction to the national aspirations of the Afrikaner. De Burger rapidly gained wide respect in the world of journalism and an unusual status, despite its unenviable role in the war situation.

The Afrikaner's republican aspirations and South Africa's right to leave the British Empire often formed the core of M.'s editorials. His views played an important part in formulating party policy; this was particularly so after his election as chairman (and thus unofficial leader of the party in the Cape) at the Middelburg congress of the National Party in September 1915. Three months after leaving the service of the church M. was not only in the thick of politics but in the midst of the crisis with which the First World War (1914-18) and the Rebellion (1914) confronted the Afrikaner.

Influential leaders within the National Party were now anxious that M. should obtain a seat in the House of Assembly as soon as possible. Although he failed twice, first in Cradock in 1915 and then in Victoria West in 1917, in 1919 he became M.P. for Calvinia and retained this seat until 1938. Thereafter he represented the constituency of Piketberg until he retired from politics.

After the First World War the leaders of the National Party, encouraged by the statements of the Allied leaders, particularly the American President Woodrow Wilson and the British Prime Minister David Lloyd George,* on 'the right of self-determination of small nations', decided to send a delegation to the peace conference in Paris; its object would be to plead that the independence of the two former Boer republics should be restored. If this failed, greater constitutional independence for the Union of South Africa would be requested. M. and Advocate F. W. Beyers* represented the Cape in the 'Freedom Deputation' of 1919, which was led by General Hertzog. When the delegation returned without having accomplished anything, M. found that there was a strong desire for reunification among the Afrikaans-speaking people and he consequently began to direct his energies to-wards realizing this ideal. The right of nations to self-determination and the resultant Nationalist claim that the Union should have the right to secede from the British Empire became the major campaign issue in the so-called secession election of 1920. It resulted in a political stale-mate, and after an abortive attempt by Smuts to form a coalition government the Unionist Party disbanded and threw in their lot with the South African Party. A new election in February 1921 gave Smuts a healthy majority, but only threeand-a-half years later his government was defeated through an election agreement between General Hertzog and F. H. P. Creswell,* leader of the Labour Party. M. saw this as a partial victory for the reunion movement to welcome all those who loved their country.

In the cabinet which General Hertzog formed as Prime Minister, M. became Minister of Internal Affairs, Education and Public Health. Although not Deputy Prime Minister (this post was first occupied by Advocate Tielman Roos* and then by N. C. Havenga*), M. nevertheless became a prominent member of the cabinet. In government circles he was regarded as a farsighted political strategist and as such he moved into the forefront. He distinguished himself as an extraordinarily accomplished parliamentarian, an indomitable fighter and an unequalled debater. As a minister he gained a reputation for competent administration and unmitigated hard work, while in the various government departments under his control he was noted for his informed approach.

Among the most important bills which he piloted through parliament in the Pact Government, and in which he was strongly supported by Senator C. J. Langenhoven,* was the amendment to the Union Constitution (1925); in terms of this Afrikaans was recognized as an official language. This decision, which was unanimously carried in parliament, represented the fulfilment of the ideal for which M. had striven for twenty years. In addition he implemented the policy of bilingualism in the public service, over-hauled the public service administration and used the opportunity of obtaining improved facilities and greater financial support for higher and technical education. Immigration from certain countries was limited by means of the quota system. As regards the Indians M. acted in 1927 as chairman of the notable Cape Town conference between representatives of the South African and Indian governments; here he insisted that South Africa should give more generous financial assistance to Indians who wished to leave the Union of their own free will. In order to overcome the stalemate between the House of Assembly and the Senate (in which the opposition was in the majority), M., aided by a joint sitting of both Houses, piloted the Amendment Act on the Composition of the Senate through parliament. In terms of this the governor-general could dissolve the Senate within twelve days after a general election.

Between 1925 and 1927 M., who was the minister responsible, also handled the very delicate negotiations over the bill on South African citizenship and a national flag. The latter was introduced by M. during the parliamentary session of 1925, but was shortly after-wards withdrawn; this was in order to obtain a greater measure of co-operation from the other party, and also because General Smuts had come out in support of the principle. The following year, on 25.5.1926, M. introduced a similar bill, but the difference of opinions between the government and the opposition appeared to be so profound that he withdrew his proposal. Meanwhile a tremendous battle was in progress over this issue both outside parliament and within the Nationalist ranks. Two groups opposed the Nationalists : one wanted nothing but the preservation of the British flag, whereas the other was prepared to accept a new flag provided the Union Jack had a prominent place in it. Even among the Nationalists themselves there were serious differences of opinion. M. was not prepared to make any concessions, while the Prime Minister, encouraged by N. C. Havenga and Tielman Roos, was willing to make concessions to the opposing party. After many discussions the matter was referred to a Select Committee in 1926 and General Hertzog now took the matter in hand himself, M. retreating further and further into the background. Many Nationalists were disappointed that the Union Jack would appear in the Union flag. M. resigned himself to the position because he did not want to cause a schism in the ranks of the National Party. Accordingly he once again submitted a bill in this connection. It was passed on 23.6.1927 and the Union flag was officially hoisted for the first time on 31.5.1928. In the flag issue M. had taken the lead in creating the generally accepted symbol of nationhood and independence, but the struggle had indicated that there was no longer complete unanimity within the ranks of the National Party. A certain amount of estrangement and even mistrust among leading Nationalists had crept in.

After the election of June 1929, which this time brought the Nationalists to power with a clear majority, M. retained his portfolios. In 1930 he played a leading role in gaining White women the vote and placing the general election qualifications on an equal footing in all four provinces.

With the decline of the Labour Party, ally of the National Party, as well as internal squabbles within the party itself, in which Tielman Roos and a republican section were particularly involved, a gradual weakening of the governing party occurred. Moreover, a world-wide economic depression hit South Africa and was accompanied by a devastating drought. When Britain dropped the gold standard in September 1931, Tielman Roos, who had been appointed Appeal Judge in 1929, stormed into the political arena once again towards the end of 1932. His avowed aim was to get South Africa off the gold standard and bring about a coalition. The government was compelled to depart from its professed policy and drop the gold standard. The National Party now entered a period of crisis in its history. Hertzog and M. refused to accept Roos, but after strenuous political negotiations behind the scenes the Prime Minister in February 1933 declared himself willing to accept Smuts's offer of a coalition government.

M. displayed little enthusiasm for this move because he feared that it would jeopardise the Afrikaner's interests. Nevertheless he stood as a Coalition candidate for the election of May 1933, in which the Coalition parties achieved an overwhelming victory, but he refused to serve in the Coalition cabinet, although he continued to support Hertzog. He was opposed to further rapprochment between the National and South African Parties, for he feared that closer co-operation between them represented a threat to the principles and policy of his party.

After the election of 1933 a nation-wide movement arose to consolidate the existing political co-operation into an enduring fusion of the two parties. Time and again M. sounded a warning note and at the Cape congress of the National Party in October 1933 he asserted: 'Reunion means bringing together those who belong together by virtue of political conviction and this rules out the fusion of parties'. M. was convinced that fusion could not succeed, since en-during unity could not be cemented while Hertzog and Smuts differed basically over principles such as the divisibility of the crown, the right to remain neutral and the sovereign status of the Union. The Cape congress followed M.'s lead and he was now diametrically opposed to Hertzog, although negotiations between them continued. However, Nationalists in the other provinces ranged themselves behind Hertzog; thus the fusion of the National and South African Parties became an accomplished fact. The United South African National Party came into being on 5.12.1934, while the Cape National Party, led by M., maintained its identity. M., with eighteen followers, became the National opposition in the House of Assembly.

The years 1934-39 constituted a low ebb in the history of the National Party, but M. enjoyed the support of most Nationalist-orientated people in the Cape and leaned heavily on the influential Nasionale Pers. In addition, he had the efficient party organization in the Cape at his disposal. In these years the strife between the Fusionists and the Purified National Party was relentlessly sharp and often heated. It was expressed in the 1937 report of a Commission on the Coloured franchise which recommended that the Coloureds in all four provinces be granted the vote and that they be placed on the common voters' roll. Raising serious objections to this M. and his party demanded the political and residential segregation of the Coloureds. Another major bone of contention was the question of a republic, which for tactical reasons Hertzog had dropped for the time being since he did not regard it as practical policy, though the National Party was gradually moving in this direction. However, on the question of whether South Africa could remain neutral if Britain were to become involved in a war, Hertzog and M. did not disagree.

In the general election of 1938 the Nationalists increased the number of their seats in the House of Assembly to a still modest twenty-seven. The 247 000 votes this party acquired, as opposed to the 448 000 of the United Party, served as great encouragement to the National Party. Moreover, M. realised that time was on its side since it was clear to him that there was already a serious rift between Hertzog and Smuts over certain fundamental issues. The year 1938 was also the year of the Voortrekker Centenary and the Symbolic Ox-waggon Trek which served as a strong stimulus to the awakening of Afrikaner nationalism. It was at about this time that cultural societies became active and the Reddingsdaadbond did a great deal for the impoverished Afrikaner. In 1938 the Ossewa-Brandwag also came into being – a cultural organization aimed at strengthening the newly awakened enthusiasm for the Afrikaner cause. However, within two years it began to enter the political arena, making propaganda for republican government and later, during the war, even for a totalitarian state.

When the Second World War broke out on 3.9.1939 and it became known that the cabinet was divided on the question of South Africa's participation, M. immediately offered Hertzog his support in writing should he adopt a neutrality stand in parliament. On the next day M. took part in the parliamentary debate on this matter, supported Hertzog's neutrality motion and declared that in terms of the Statute of Westminster and the Status Act, South Africa had the right to remain neutral. If South Africa aided Britain because she had moral ties with that country, she would, according to M., be a country of slavery which no longer had its destiny in its own hands. Hertzog's neutrality motion, supported by M. and his followers, was nevertheless defeated by thirteen votes in the House of Assembly and Hertzog resigned as Prime Minister. A few days later ten thousand anti-war demonstrators met at Monumentkoppie near Pretoria to honour Hertzog and M. who became 'reconciled' there. From this moment on M. renewed his efforts to effect the reunion of all Afrikaners who were obliged by the declaration of war to leave their party and seek a new refuge. These were Nationalists who were still his supporters, and Hertzog's United Party followers. However, mutual distrust rendered his task very difficult.

In January 1940 the 'Herenigde Nasionale Party of Volksparty' (H.N.P. of V.) came into being, in which the followers of Malan and Hertzog found a political home and in which the republican ideal was incorporated in the programme of principles. Although M. was willing to give up the leadership of the new party to Hertzog, on 6.11.1940 the latter retired from politics owing to conflicting views, and in April 1941 M. became the leader of the H.N.P. of V.

The years from 1941 to 1943 were the bitterest and most difficult period of his political career. He not only had to contend with a divided Afrikanerdom but felt, as he had done thirty years before, that it devolved upon him to restore the shattered unity; now he was in the midst of a war-time situation in which he had to endure a great deal of opprobrium from the powerful United Party and its adherents who were in favour of the war. On another front he crossed swords with fellow Afrikaners who though really of the same persuasion envisaged a different approach to the goal of freedom; for instance in 1941, under the leadership of Dr J. F. J. van Rensburg,* the bellicose Ossewa-Brandwag, which had originally supported M. as 'Leader of the People', branched out in another direction and embroiled itself in politics, eventually becoming a threat to the H.N.P. of V. Other dissentient opposition groups such as Advocate Oswald Pirow's* New Order pressed for National Socialism. After Hertzog had retired Havenga, his loyal follower and confidant, formed an organization of his own and called it the Afrikaner Party, while many Afrikaans-speaking people supported General Smuts's war effort. Afrikaners were divided in spirit and for M., to whom Afrikaner unity had become a passion, it was a dark, humiliating time. In August 1941 he found himself compelled to confront the numerically strong Ossewa-Brandwag, from which a growing stream of Nationalists resigned and supported him.

Although in the general war-time election of 1943 M.'s party gained only two more seats, the result was significant, since all the dissenting groups on the 'national' side, which had opposed M. and put up their own candidates, were completely eliminated. This meant that the H.N.P. of V. now formed a united and solid opposition in parliament. Under the circumstances it was a victory for M.'s leadership. Furthermore, the result of the by-election in Wakkerstroom a year later was of far-reaching significance to M. and his followers and a source of consternation to Smuts and his party, since the H.N.P. of V. wrested this constituency from the United Party. Marshalling its forces and improving its organization to a point of unequalled efficiency, the H.N.P. of V. now made intensive preparations for the general election of 1948. M., who realized the necessity for Afrikaner unity if the election was to be won, succeeded in 1947 in concluding an election agreement with Havenga and his Afrikaner Party. This signified the reunion of two wings of Afrikaner Nationalism which had become temporarily estranged. It also brought the hard core of Hertzog supporters back into the arena, which in itself was one of M.'s major achievements as a leader and political strategist.

He concentrated particularly on government policy and measures relating to the racial problem, Communism, the economic interests of the Union, the handling of matters such as health, food and housing and the interests of the returned soldiers. Smuts, on the other hand, was in a strong position as a war hero and inter-national political figure who had reached the zenith of his fame in 1945 and enjoyed a position of unassailable authority in his own party. In the light of the well-known difference in approach to the racial problem between Smuts and his confidant and right-hand man, J. H. Hofmeyr,* M., powerfully supported by the Nationalist newspapers, let slip no opportunity of pointing out this weakness in the government. Thus the racial question, to which M. offered 'apartheid and guardianship' as a solution, be-came the overriding factor in the election. The word 'apartheid' had already been coined by a party member, but it was M. who formulated the policy attached to the word and gave it meaning.

The outcome of the election of 26.5.1948 was a great surprise because the H.N.P. of V. gained seventy seats and the Afrikaner Party nine, a total of seventy-nine. This gave M. and Havenga a majority of five over the United Party, the Labourites and the three Native representatives combined. Smuts called the result a freak, while M. termed it a miracle of God.

When at the age of seventy-four M. became the fourth Prime Minister of the Union, every-one considered this achievement a personal triumph. He formed a cabinet which, for the first time in history, consisted exclusively of Afrikaans-speaking persons; it was, at the same time, also the first to be fully bilingual. Havenga became Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.

The first five years of M.'s premiership were exceptionally stormy. He was continually attacked by his political opponents abroad and at home, particularly by the powerful opposition press. In addition the H.N.P. of V. in spite of the election results found itself in a vulnerable position, being in the minority in the Senate. M. was, however, determined to remain in power and the H.N.P. of V., aided by the deciding vote of the president of the Senate, did on a number of occasions succeed in getting its programme of legislation through. In 1949 M. achieved the measure which gave South-West Africa six members in the House of Assembly and four senators in the Union parliament. The election of 30.8.1950 in South-West Africa was won by the Nationalists in all six constituencies and the position of the H.N.P. of V. in the Senate was greatly strengthened by the election of two Nationalist senators and the appointment of another two for South-West Africa. But the closer links between South-West Africa and the Union meant that the Malan government be-came embroiled in a continual struggle with the United Nations.

The question of incorporating the British protectorates in the Union, previously raised by a South African government, was taken up again by M. but rejected by the British government.

Since at this juncture there were no real differences of principle between the H.N.P. of V. and the Afrikaner Party, M. and Havenga decided in August 1951 to fuse them. It was undoubtedly M.'s confidence in and respect for Havenga which rendered this fusion possible. Once again known as the 'National Party' (N.P.), this was the name which had served to unite those of national sentiments between 1914 and 1940, and was another milestone in M.'s struggle to 'bring together those who belong together by inner conviction'.

M. came to power at a fortunate time from an economic point of view. In July 1949, with the consent of the International Monetary Fund and the Union Treasury, the gold mines were allowed to sell a limited amount of gold at higher prices than the then prevailing sum of thirty-five dollars per ounce. On 19.9.1949 M. devalued the Union's rate of exchange, by which the price of gold in sterling rose from 172s. 6d. per ounce to 248s. 2d. The resulting economic revival and industrial expansion made the Malan regime more acceptable to the general public.

Legislation submitted by his government between 1948 and 1953 was fought tooth and nail and sometimes clause by clause by the United Party and its press. Nevertheless the government succeeded in placing various radical measures on the statute books: the right of appeal to the British Privy Council was abolished; through the Population Registration Act all people over the age of sixteen were classified and registered as White, Coloured, Bantu or Asiatic and issued with identity cards; through the Group Areas Act the government was em-powered to reserve certain parts as residential areas for specific population groups; the act which forbade mixed marriages (between Whites and Non-Whites) and the Suppression of Communism Act were adopted as had been promised in the election (this act, among other things, declared the Communist Party in South Africa an illegal organization, membership of which would be punishable by up to ten years' imprisonment); the Immorality Act was passed and in terms of the Union Citizenship Act dual citizenship (that of Britain and the Union of South Africa) was discontinued and replaced by South African only. With the passing of the Public Holidays Act, Van Riebeeck Day, 6 April, and Kruger Day, 10 October, became national holidays and through the adoption of three important Bantu acts the influx of Bantu into the urban areas was controlled, provision being made for essential services in Bantu townships.

At the Commonwealth Conference of 1949 M. made an important contribution towards gaining Commonwealth members the right to adopt a republican form of government, while the adjective 'British' was no longer used to describe the Commonwealth. In the same year M. piloted the Citizenship Act (Act 44 of 1949) through parliament. In terms of this a British subject was to reside in the Union for four years (it had previously been two) before he could obtain Union citizenship; this in any event depended on the registration certificate which the Minister of Internal Affairs might or might not issue. Four years later M. also amended the royal title attached to the Union by giving it a purely South African character, thus distinguishing it from the titles used by other members of the Commonwealth. It was to be Elizabeth II, Queen of the Union of South Africa and of Her Other Kingdoms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth.

On the series of apartheid measures introduced by the Malan government, that which was em-bodied in the Separate Representation of Voters Act in 1951 was most vehemently attacked by the opposition. In terms of this the Coloureds were taken off the common voters' roll and placed on a separate one. This legislation gave rise to a protracted constitutional crisis in which the question of the sovereignty of parliament was involved. M. attempted to solve the problem by means of legislation which would make parliament a 'High Court' for purposes of Coloured representation, but the attempt failed. His own followers were unhappy about the method employed and there was serious criticism of the measure from both the opposition and the National Party itself, while a court decision declared the method invalid as a constitutional solution. To this M. replied that he accepted the Court of Appeal decision provisionally, but that he would take the matter to the voters in the next election. Meanwhile, the apartheid and anti-communist legislation of the Malan government paved the way for a resistance movement, the 'Torch Commando', and for demonstrations and the threat of strikes, but M. refused to be intimidated.

The results of the 1953 election strengthened the government's hand considerably, since M. now had a majority of twenty-nine (excluding the Speaker) in the House of Assembly. In the light of his statement, before the election, on the decision of the supreme court, M. regarded the election results as a mandate to implement his party's racial policy.

During the first parliamentary session after the election M. tried in vain, by joint sittings of both Houses, to re-enact the Separate Representation of Voters Act, to place the sovereignty of parliament beyond all doubt and to declare the testing right of the courts invalid.

After the election of 1953 he left for London where he attended the coronation of Queen Elizabeth I.I and the Commonwealth Conference. He also paid a highly successful visit to Israel. In fact by 1953 M. was a far less controversial figure both in South Africa and abroad than he had formerly been. His stature as a statesman had increased and he compelled respect in circles other than those of his political supporters. His leadership was confirmed once and for all by the great victory won by the National Party in the general provincial elections of August 1954. After resigning as leader of the Nationalists in the Cape in November 1953, M. astonished the country on 11.10.1956 with the dramatic announcement of his intention to retire from politics altogether on 30 November. He himself would have preferred Havenga to Advocate J. G. Strijdom as his successor; this was mostly out of personal loyalty to Havenga and the fact that he was Deputy Prime Minister. But on 30 November the party caucus designated Strijdom as the new Prime Minister.

After his retirement M. settled at Stellenbosch where he began writing his autobiography, which he was unable to complete because of two strokes in 1958 which partially paralyzed him. After his death the work was completed by his friends. He died at his home after suffering another stroke and was buried in the Stellenbosch cemetery.

M. was the successor to the Generals in South African politics. Since he devoted his life to the study of Theology and Political Science his absorption in these subjects had a considerable influence on his career and outlook, and throughout his life he was the champion of Afrikaans culture and Afrikaner nationalism. His leadership and personal example were an inspiration to the Afrikaner people.

As early as 1915 it had become a passion with him to heal the schism among Afrikaners, and the political division at intervals among the Nationalists frequently placed him in the fore-front of reconciliation and reunion movements. He defined his credo for national unity in the exhortation, 'Bring together those who belong together by inner conviction'. Moreover, he considered a republic, free of constitutional ties with Britain, essential to amalgamate the two White language groups into one nationally conscious people.

While still a member of the opposition M. had a considerable influence on South African politics. His power lay in his objectivity, patience and remarkable administrative ability, added to a gift of extraordinary eloquence, which evinced itself early in his career. He had a deep, sonorous voice, his preparation was thorough, his logic impeccable. These things, added to his powers of persuasion and impressive personality on a platform, contributed to make him one of the greatest orators in South African parliamentary history. M. was a true democrat who would not act unless he was sure of the feelings of the Afrikaner people, from whose response his leadership grew spontaneously. At no stage did he attempt to force it upon them.

As a man he was imperturbable, and although outwardly he was aloof and reserved his friends and relatives found in him a warm humanity and a spontaneous sense of humour. In his public actions he seldom betrayed his feelings and moods and consequently cartoons in opposition newspapers often depicted him as a sphinx.

He was of average height and after 1920 developed a burly physique. When he was a clergy-man he cultivated a heavy, dark moustache. He went bald at an early age and wore spectacles with very thick lenses all his life.

The University of Stellenbosch, of which he was chancellor from 1941 to 1959, awarded him an honorary doctorate, as did the University of Pretoria and the University of Cape Town.

M.'s publications include the following: Het idealisme van Berkeley (1905); Naar Congoland (1913) and Afrikaner-volkseenheid (1959). A volume comprising thirty of his most famous speeches appeared in 1964 under the title Glo in 'n yolk, edited by S. W. Pienaar and J. J. J. Scholtz.

In 1926 M. married Martha Margaretha Elizabeth van Tonder (nee Zandberg), and they had two sons. She died in 1930 and in 1937 he married Maria-Anne Sophia Louw (t1973) of Calvinia. This marriage was childless, but in 1948 they adopted a German orphan girl.

The best portraits of M. were painted by G. Wylde and I. Henkel. That by Wylde hangs in the Parliamentary Buildings, while Henkel's was in the possession of Mrs Malan and hung in their home 'Môrewag' in Stellenbosch. Of the busts of him by Coert Steynberg and Henkel, Steynberg's is in the possession of the University of Stellenbosch. There are four copies of the striking Henkel bust, one of which is in the D. F. Malan Museum of Stellenbosch University and another in Parliament Buildings, Cape Town.

The D. F. Malan Museum in the Carnegie Library, University of Stellenbosch, was opened in 1967. It consists of a museum section, an exact replica of M.'s study at 'Morewag', and a well arranged archive section. When his hundredth birthday was commemorated on 22.5.1974, the D. F. Malan Centre at the University of Stellenbosch was opened.

Born at Bovenplaats, near Riebeek West on  24th May 1870 and died at  Doornkloof, near Irene on 11th September 1950, statesman, soldier and philosopher, was the second child in a family of four sons and two daughters. His parents were Jacobus Abraham Smuts (16.4.1845 – 25.8.1914), afterwards member for Malmesbury in the legislative assembly of the Cape Colony, and Catharina Petronella (Philippina) Gerhardina de Vries (May 1845 – 13.2.1901), a sister of the Rev. Boudewyn Homburg de Vries, then the minister of the N.G. Kerk at Riebeek West. He was of the seventh generation of a family predominently Dutch in descent whose founder, Michiel Cornelis Smuts, emigrated from Middelburg, Zealand, in Holland, some time before 1692. Of 105 forbears on both sides since the seventeenth century, eighty-five were Dutch, eighteen French, and only two of German origin.

The christian names of Smuts derived from his maternal ancestor, Johann Christian Davel, a German from Bautzen who arrived in 1734, through his grandfather, Jan Christiaan de Vries, who was a witness at his christening and after whom he was named. His genealogy shows his descent on the paternal side from the Cape families of Van Aarde, Van der Bill, De Vlamingh, Dreyer, Slabbert, Mostert and De Kock, and on the maternal side from the families of Davel, Pas, Du Plessis, Hartog, De Vries and Niehaus.

His Smuts forbears first settled as farmers in the Swartland region of the south-western Cape in 1786. The farm Ongegund, on the upper portion of which, called Bovenplaats, he was born, was acquired in 1818. His father and grandfather farmed Bovenplaats together for a time, but in 1876 his father moved to Klipfontein, thirteen miles north-west of Riebeek West. On this farm Smuts  spent the greater part of his boyhood and here many of his lifelong interests, tastes and values were formed. His happy childhood implanted a deep love of home and family; his solitary wanderings in the veld, the magnificent presence of the distant Winterhoek range, the proximity of the mountain called Riebeek Kasteel – the first he ever climbed – instilled in him an almost mystic love of nature.

Biography of Ruda Wahl

Ruda was born on 18 November 1953 in Hartswater in the Northern Cape and was educated at Hartswater Primary School, Parow Central Primary, Keimoes High School and Upington High School, where she spent her final school years as a boarder. After matriculating she entered the Civil Defence College in George where she undertook voluntary military service for a year in one of the first women's army camps in South Africa.

In November 1977, she married JP Landman and begun her career as a TV newsreader in 1983. Her hobbies include r eading, movies, spending time with friends over good wine and good food and she, like many other South African women, belongs to a monthly book club. Ruda has one son Johannes Petrus who is 20 years old.

Ruda has few memories of her grandparents as most of them died when she was small. She remembers: "Oupa Gert" was my father and Oupa Wahl, his father, "Oupa Jonnie" as we called him, lived with us when I was little. He died when I was four. Unfortunately I don't remember much about him, but my dad talked about his family of course – I knew most of them, and so did my mum.

Oupa Wahl fought in the Anglo-Boer War as a young man and the legend was that he took so many Grandpa headache powders that his sleeping spot was surrounded by little pink papers in the morning. He also fought in the Rebellion – one of his sons (my uncle, my father's brother) was called Manie Maritz Wahl after General Manie Maritz.

Do you have any family heirlooms that belonged to your ancestors?

I have a handcarved wooden jewellery box. Written on the side is "From S van der Merwe T Miss G/T/C (very ornate) Verster Aandenking uit Tokai 1903". That would mean the jail after the Anglo Boer War. I don't know who made it, probably Schalk Willem Jacobus van der Merwe, my mother's grandfather. But who is the mystery Miss Verster? In 1903 he was a married man with children! And the jewellery box is in our family, i.e. his daughter inherited it. My brother has a hand-tied shawl and a little wooden chest from the same period.

Did any of your family members make an impact in your life and why?

I only knew my mother's father, Andries Petrus Viljoen. I lived with him and his sister (his wife died in childbirth in 1933) for a few months when I was nine, and we often visited them for holidays before and after that. He was "Oudad", devoted to his newspaper every evening, quietly comfortable with the neighbours we shared evening with. I was probably more affected by the place, the desert heat and simplicity, than by specific people.

What aspect of you family's history has fascinated or interested you the most?

The War and the Rebellion. I wish I could have talked to my grandfather about that.

Do you have a personal motto which you live by?

From Byron Katie: What is, is. Don't resist what is; don't waste energy on how other people should behave. Accept what is, and decide how you want to respond to it.

Memoirs of the Wahl Family

Stofvlei Farm, in the Magisterial District of Springbok, is where Gert Kotze Wahl was born. The old farm had a petrol pump and a post office. There were three buildings on the farm which included the house, the shop and about 300 metres west from the house was a third tin cottage. According to family legend Grandmother Gerrie's family (the Kotze's – had "money"). Initially grandmother Gerrie was the postmaster, and later it was Grandfather John. Grandpa John, who was General Maritz's attendant, promised him that he would name his next son after the General, and so the Manie Maritz name was brought into the Wahl family on 21 November 1914.

Naturally they were pro-German. Grandfather made a knives/forks bowl from wood in the Johannesburg Jail, as well as a tray. On the bowl it says: "Aan mijn lieve Vrouw van John, Johannesburg Tronk 28 Oktober 1915".

The Wahl's enjoyed playing Bridge and their ancestors were wagon makers. Grandfather John was an Elder in the N.G. Kerk in Loeriesfontein his entire life and the middle services, in-between Holy Communion, was always held on Stofvlei farm.

According to grandchild, Andries Wahl: "We knew grandfather as "Oupa Wahl" and all the other people I ever heard talking to or of him, used the diminutive – or in Afrikaans pronounced with a long "ô", or in English pronounced as "Johnny". During my stay in Keimoes I also managed an agency from the office in Pofadder, and there I dealt with 5 or 6 people who knew him. All of them added the "ie/y". A guy who rebelled against the English didn't want to be "John" if his name was "Adam Johannes".

Many of the area's children went to school at Nuwerus. The school lorry's destination, which was the transport of the area's schoolchildren to and from Nuwerus, was Stofvlei. Both Grandma and Grandpa Wahl's graves are in Stofvlei.

Grandfather Johnie had two sisters and as the family story goes there were two Wahl's that came from Germany. The one Wahl settled himself in Paarl and became Afrikaans and the other in Cape Town who became English – this part of the family included the well-known optometrist.

Grandfather Wahl's one sister married an Englishman, and grandfather never spoke to her again after that – remember it was the time of the Anglo-Boer War. I knew the other sister. She was Aunt Bettie Bodley and lived in Paarl. She had three daughters. Aunt Bettie's husband was Tom Boyley, but he died very young. The daughters were Hettie (her husband was a Van der Westhuizen, teacher at Boys High in Paarl), Magdaleen – married to a Hugo (English pronunciation), and Elise. Elise was a famous artist, especially for her sketches of wild flowers. She was married to Apie van Wyk, also an artist.

Grandfather John was a dignified, strict man with a good sense of humour who could always tell a good story – a trait that goes through all the Wahl's

Behind the scenes

Ruda Landman's birthplace in the dry and dusty town of Keimoes, in the Northern Cape, is a far cry from where her family's humble beginnings started in the lush and fertile valleys of Europe. From the Persecution of her family in France in the 1600's, her ancestry consists of a kaleidoscope of French refugees as well as Dutch and German Immigrants.

When the French Huguenots arrived at the Cape in 1688 as a closely linked group, in contrast to the Germans, they all lived together in Drakenstein, although they never constituted a completely united bloc; a number of Dutch farms were interspersed among them. Until May 1702 they had their own French minister, Pierre Simond, and until February 1723 a French reader and schoolmaster, Paul Roux. The Huguenots clung to their language for fifteen to twenty years; in 1703 only slightly more than one fifth of the adult French colonists were sufficiently conversant with Dutch to understand a sermon in Dutch properly, and many children as yet knew little or no Dutch at all. The joint opposition of the farmers toward W. A. van der Stel shortly afterwards brought the French more and more into contact with their Dutch neighbours; as a result of social intercourse and intermarriage they soon adopted the language and customs of their new country. Forty years after the arrival of the Huguenots, the French language had almost died out and Dutch was the preferred tongue.

In South Africa we are extremely lucky to have such superb and dedicated family historians, as well as exquisite records in our Archives, which begin prior to Jan Van Riebeeck landing at the Cape. Jan's diary of his voyage to South Africa is documented and stored in the Cape Town Archives.

This mammoth task of tracing Ruda's family tree in record time, was compiled to find out how far back the Wahl family and its branches can be traced as well as how many sets of grandparents can be found.  Click here to view Ruda's family tree.

The Wahl Family

Daniel Hendrik Wahl was born circa 1850 and research has proven that there is no legitimate documentation to prove his parentage. On the 17th February 1874, Daniel Hendrik applied for a special marriage license to marry Maria Catherina Reynecke.

Photographer of the Paarl: Daniel Hendrik Wahl's Insolvent Estate (In further documentation, and finding the Liquidation and Distribution account, it is noted that Daniel was known as the “Photographer of the Paarl and Wheelwright of Paarl” in 1883)

And in another image one section of the document refers to the surname as "de Wahl" and not "Wahl", which meant that one would now have to search under the many variants of including de Wahl, Waal and de Waal. Mr D.H Wahl's Insolvent Estate

Further documentation also mentions the "widow Reynecke" Elisabeth Wilhelmina Reynecke, which was his mother in law, as well as a Constant Wahl and Adam J Wahl who thus far cannot be linked to this immediate family as no parentage exists for Daniel. It is assumed that the two men mentioned are possibly brothers as they fit well with other documentation of the same period.

Unfortunately the common problem with variants of name spelling has been a classic example of the "brick wall" scenario, which has been encountered here thus the time limit on this research has been halted. The original Wahl Family whom Daniel Hendrik would have descended is (1) Johan(n) Christia(a)n Wahl, from Strelitz in Mecklenburg (Germany). Arrives here in 1752 as a soldier. Citizen in 1756. Married 10th September 1757 to Christina Gerrits, daughter of Herman Gerrits (2 children) or (2) Johan(n) Coenraad or Conrad Wahl, from Wildungen (Germany). Arrives here in 1774 as a soldier. Citizen in 1780. Died 15th October 1814. Married 12th November 1780 to Catharina Hilledonda van Dyk (7 children). Motto: Factis non verbis.

Most family pedigrees of this extent can take many years to complete and we at Ancestry24 have managed to go back 10 generations in two weeks.

A lineage and direct relation to South African actress Charlize Theron has also been illustrated and Ruda finds herself as the ½ 5th cousin to this Hollywood star.  Click here how Ruda and Charlize are related.

Jaques De Savoye

Jaques De Savoye (Ruda's 7 times great grandfather on her maternal side) was born in Ath, Belgium around 1636 and died in the Cape in October, 1717. He was a merchant and Cape free burgher and was the son of Jacques de Savoye and his wife, Jeanne van der Zee (Delamere, Desuslamer).

Jacques was a wealthy merchant in Ghent, Belgium, but his devotion to the Protestant religion led to his persecution by the Jesuits, and there was even an attempt to murder him. In 1687 he moved to the Netherlands and left for the Cape in the Oosterland on 29th January 1688. In addition to his wife, mother-in-law and three of his children, he was accompanied by the brothers Jean, Jacob and Daniel Nortier.

De Savoye soon became a leader among the French community at the Cape: he was one of the deputation which, on 28th November 1689, asked the Governor and Council of Policy for a separate congregation for the French refugees, and the following year he helped to administer the funds donated to the French refugees by the charity board of the church of Batavia. At various times he also served on the college of landdros and heemraden.

To begin with, Jacques farmed at Vrede-en-Lust at Simondium and in 1699 was also given Leeuwenvallei in the Wagenmakersvallei ( Wellington ), but settled at the Cape soon afterwards. He apparently experienced financial difficulties since in 1701 he owed the Cape church council 816 guilders and various people sued him for outstanding debts. In 1712 he described himself as being without means.

In March 1712 he left for the Netherlands in the Samson, accompanied by his wife and mother-in-law. He enrolled as a member of the Walloon congregation in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on 16th December 1714, but only four months later, on 20th April 1715, it was reported that he had returned to the Cape. There is, however no documentary proof of his presence neither at the Cape neither after 1715, nor in C.G. Botha's assertion that he died in October 1717.

De Savoye often clashed with other people. During the struggle of the free burghers against Wilhem Adriaen van der Stel, he was strongly opposed to the Governor and was imprisoned in the Castle for a time. He was also involved in a long-drawn-out dispute with the Rev. Pierre Simond, and he and Hercules des Pré went to court on several occasions to settle their differences.

He was married twice: first to Christiana du Pont and then to Marie Madeleine le Clercq of Tournai, Belgium, daughter of Philippe le Clercq and his wife, Antoinette Carnoy. Five children were born of the first marriage and three of the second. Three married daughters and a son remained behind at the Cape, as well as a son who was a junior merchant in the service of the V.O.C. and who died without leaving an heir.

Acknowledgements & Sources:

Ruda Landman
Gert Wahl
Keith Meintjies
National Archives Respository Cape Town
Dr Chris Theron
Janet Melville
Genealogical Institute in Stellenbosch
SAG Genealogies Volumes 1 – 13 www.gisa.org.za

Images Acknowledgement:

Images.co.za / Die Burger / Werner Hills; National Archives Respository Cape Town
Who's Who of Southern Africa (Ruda Landman)

Christiaan (Frederik) Louis Leipoldt

Born in Worcester, 28 December 1880 and died in Cape Town, 12 April 1947. Physician, poet and author, Louis was the fourth child of Christiaan Friedrich Leipoldt (Died: 11 November 1911), a Rhenish missionary and N.G. Kerk minister, and his wife Anna Meta Christiana Esselen (Died: 24 December 1903), the daughter of the Rev. Louis F. Esselen, a Rhenish missionary of Worcester, in whose home in Adderley Street Leipoldt was born and where he lived with his parents until he was four years old. His maternal grandfather gave Leipoldt his first lessons in reading and writing, guided his general education and exerted great influence on him during his formative years. His paternal grandfather, J. G. Lepoldt, was a Rhenish missionary at Ebenhaezer on the Olifants River and at Wuppertal. Leipoldt’s father was also a missionary, first in Sumatra and from 1879 at Worcester. In 1883, however, he became an N.G. Kerk minister and settled in 1884 at Clanwilliam in the N.G. parsonage in Park Street.The relationship existing among the members of the Leipoldt family was not a happy one, while Leipoldt’s relations with his mother were decidedly unhappy. However, he held his father in high esteem and greatly respected him.

An intellectually gifted child, Leipoldt received an exceptionally good grounding at home in the natural sciences, history, geography, languages (Greek, Latin, French), literature and Eastern religious conceptions. His father had an extensive library and gave Leipoldt informal instruction and guided him towards independent study by teaching him to consult source material and to solve problems on his own. This laid the foundation for his independent trend of thought in later years. His curiosity and spirit of investigation also manifested themselves in later life in his diversity of interests apart from literature: in education, the supernatural, in politics, psychology, philosophy, history, botany and in the culinary art. Even as a child his general knowledge was exceptional.

Leipoldt’s three home languages were English, German and Dutch. As a child he was able to read the language of the Malays. At a very early age he read a great deal, evinced a thirst for knowledge, a great capacity for work and an astonishing memory. He read the works of Dante, Bunyan, Milton, Racine and Scott, and before he was ten years old he knew long passages from the works of some of these authors. English became the language he used for journalism, while his poetry, prose and plays were written mainly in Afrikaans, although he began by writing his poetry in English.

Leipoldt’s childhood days were not happy. As his mother prevented his association with other children, he led a very lonely life in Clanwilliam. He remained at home until he had passed his matriculation examination. Two trips to Cape Town (1886 and 1890) made a deep impression on him. Although he attested to his unhappy life right to the end, nevertheless some of his poems reveal the intense joy which as a child he experienced in nature.

As an artist Leipoldt developed at an early age. His father encouraged him to read literary works and made him write essays which he criticized. This encouraged the artistic qualities dormant in him. From his sixth year he corresponded with his grandfather Esselen and this first conscious setting down of his observations trained him in the art of writing. Because of his loneliness he, even before his eighth year, created imaginary playmates in his writings. Throughout his life he continued to converse with himself in his poems, especially in his “Slampamperliedjies” (vagabond songs).

As the age of eight he wrote a tragedy inspired by Van Limburg Brouwer’s Akbar. Between the ages of ten and twelve he earned his first money with stories, which were published in the London Boy’s Own Paper and The Cape Argus, as well as with journalistic literature in The Cape Times, Cape Monthly Magazine and Scientific African. His creative and journalistic work during these early days was thus combined. At the age of fourteen he became a reporter for The Cape Times in the North-Western Cape. During these early years he also furnished news items for Johannesburg and Bloemfontein newspapers. He was helped with his poetry by an English minister, the Rev. C. D. Roberts, who also wrote poetry.

Leipoldt’s love for botany was awakened early in his life. In his twelfth year he met the well-known German botanist Rudolph Schlechter collecting plants in the veld outside Clanwilliam. Schlechter invited Leipoldt to accompany him on his trip by ox-waggon to Namaqualand. He later also became friendly with other well-known botanists such as Peter MacOwan, Harry Bolus and Rudolph Marloth.

Journalism was Leipoldt’s first profession. In 1896 he wrote to The Cape Times on the colour question, which gave rise to a violent controversy and F. S. Malan the editor of Ons Land devoted a leader to it. In 1898 Leipoldt published a number of sketches on Clanwilliam in the Cape Industrial Magazine. He also matriculated in that year. As the life in Clanwilliam was too confining for his budding genius, he moved to the Cape where he became a journalist for De Kolonist. Before his twentieth year he was already a contributor to several leading newspapers abroad. When the Second Anglo-Boer War broke out Leipoldt was unable to reconcile himself with the pro-Rhodes sentiment of De Kolonist and Het Dagblad and became the Dutch correspondent for the pro-Boer newspaper the South African News, which sent him to the North-eastern front. He also wrote communiques on the war for overseas newspapers such as the Manchester Guardian and Daily Express (England), Het Nieuws van de Dag en De Telegraaf (Holland), Petit Bleu (Belgium), the Hamburger Neueste Nachrichten (Germany), the Chicago Record and the Boston Post (U.S.A.). During the war Leipoldt travelled about a great deal in the Cape Colony as a shorthand recorder for the circuit court, and in 1900-01 he attended the court sessions dealing with Cape rebels. During this period he wrote a number of poems which appeared later in his first volume of poetry, such as ‘Oom Gert vertel’, which originated in Dordrecht in 1901, based on incidents related to him by an old man shortly after the engagement at Labuschagnesnek. His first published verses were war poems which appeared during the war in English in the pro-Boer New Age. In 1900 he published two sketches ‘De Rebel’ and in 1901 ‘Bambinellino’ in the Dutch art publication Elesevier’s Geïllustreerd Maandschrift . They were written in Dutch but with an Afrikaans dialogue. It was the first belletristic contribution by an Afrikaans author to a Dutch paper. ‘De Rebel’ was the forerunner of the poem ‘Oom Gert Vertel’.

At the end of 1899 the editor of the South African News was imprisoned under martial law and the nineteen-year-old Leipoldt became editor until October 1901, when the paper was temporarily suspended under martial law. Leipoldt refused an offer from a Rhodesian newspaper and in 1902 went abroad. He travelled through Holland, Belgium, France and Spain as a reporter for the Manchester Guardian. In 1903 he enrolled at Guy’s Hospital, London, as a medical student but continued with his journalism, writing for English and American papers. In addition he attended lectures on law, and on occasion he travelled to the Netherlands to interview Pres. S. J. P. Kruger in Utrecht on behalf of the British press. In 1904 he became the editor of Sir Henry Burdett’s The Hospital, travelling to Europe and America to collect in-formation about hospitals. He also edited School Hygiene, the official publication of British school physicians.

In 1907 Leipoldt completed his medical studies, being awarded the gold medal for surgery as well as for medicine. He became a houseman at Guy’s hospital and furthered his studies in orthopaedics and children’s diseases in Berlin, Bologna, Vienna and Graz. In 1909 he went on a six-month luxury yachting excursion along the coast of America as personal physician to the eleven-year old son of the millionaire press-magnate, Joseph Pulitzer. In the U.S.A. he visited orthopaedic centres. In 1909 he received the F.R.C.S. in London and again travelled to France, Italy, West Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. In 1909 his first book appeared: The ideal graduate study institution: what Germany has done (London, 1909). Between 1910 -11 he was attached to the large children’s hospital in Chelsea, London, and to the German hospital at Dalston. At this time he published his first book on nutrition and diet: Common sense dietetics (London, 1911), an adaptation of which he issued a quarter of a century later entitled The belly-book or diner’s guide (London, 1936).

He became a school doctor, first in south London and then in Hampstead, and in this capacity he frequently travelled to the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and the U.S.A. In January 1912 for health reasons he accepted the post of ship’s doctor in the Ulysses, on its voyage from England to the Dutch East-Indies, where he visited Java, Sumatra and Borneo. In June 1912 he returned, resumed his work in Hampstead and wrote a manual entitled The school nurse: her duties and responsibilities (London, 1912). While in London Leipoldt studied for and obtained various diplomas in cookery. Throughout his life he was interested in the culinary art and is known for his Kos vir die kenner (Cape Town, 1933). During the war in the Balkans (1912 -13) he again acted as war correspondent, for the allies, the Bulgarians, Roumanians, Servians and Greeks in their struggle against Turkey, but as a physician he on occasion even tended wounded Turks and as a mark of gratitude the University of Constantinople conferred an honorary degree on him.

Leipoldt’s poetical talent flourished during the years that he spent overseas, but as a poet he still felt the indelible effect of the Second Anglo-Boer War. In 1910 his friend J. J. Smith helped him in London with the editing of his first volume of poems, Oom Gert vertel en ander gedigte (Cape Town, 1911). It consisted of poems which dated from 1896 and is one of the most important volumes of early Afrikaans poetry. Together with J. F. Celliers and Totius (J. D. du Toit), whose volumes of poems appeared more or less simultaneously, he became known as one of the ‘Driemanskap’. The poems included in Leipoldt’s first volume are written in a magnificent colloquial Afrikaans bearing the characteristic Afrikaans and South African stamp; the volume has also some of the finest Afrikaans war poems. The poem which also furnishes the title of the volume is a dramatic monologue and Oom Gert is regarded as the first vital character in Afrikaans literature. This volume also contains brilliant nature poems and illustrates Leipoldt’s interest in the child, both in his role as a physician and later as a foster father.

Leipoldt in his role of the child’s friend reveals himself at an early stage in his other literary works. One of his most attractive stories entitled ‘Die weeskindjie wat ‘n moeder wou hê’, appeared in 1914 in Die Brandwag.

In 1914 Leipoldt returned to South Africa, and in April of the same year he became chief medical inspector of schools in the Transvaal, the first post of its kind in South Africa. When the First World War broke out in August, Gen. Louis Botha commandeered him for service in the Department of Defence. Later on he accompanied Botha as his personal physician, but in June 1915 he resumed his duties as school medical inspector.

In the meanwhile Leipoldt continued his work as a creative artist, and in this year revealed his ability as a dramatist. His first published play, Die Laspos, a one-act play which appeared on 25 May 1919 in Die Brandwag, was followed in 1920 by his second volume of poems Dingaansdag (Pretoria, 1920) which did not attain the high standard of the first. It dealt with the Great Trek and the Afrikaner nation during the First World War and the Rebellion. In his first volume the poet had sympathised and associated himself with the suffering and fortunes of his people, but in the new volume his political sentiments had undergone a change. Shortly afterwards a third volume of poems entitled Uit drie wêrelddele was published in Cape Town in 1923, and these poems were a great improvement on those of the previous volume. Some of them were written in England and others in the East Indies. Three of the best known poems in this volume are ‘By die vlei’, ‘Die man met die helm’, and ‘Grys-blou butte’, depicting a lonely man advanced in years. In ‘Droom en doen’ Leipoldt endeavours to forget the Second Anglo-Boer War and sallies forth to meet a new future. The poet who was so indignant about the war in Oom Gert vertel en ander gedigte now sought conciliation. He also revealed a strong cosmopolitan outlook.

Leipoldt evinced a strong interest in the East, its religion, customs, inhabitants and scenery, as is illustrated by his journey to the Orient (1912) and his poems on the East Uit Drie wêrelddele and Uit my Oosterse dagboek (Cape Town, 1932). His art was permeated by his interest in the exotic, the strange and extraordinary, the supernatural, the problem of death, the here-after, and in abnormal and deviate characters. Whereas Leipoldt had always been a man of sober, sound judgement in the scientific field, in journalism and in his everyday relationship with people, in the sphere of art he tended to be swayed by emotion.

In 1916 he assisted with the medical inspection of schools in Natal and in 1919 in the Cape. As a medical inspector of schools he did much for school tours, school holiday camps and convalescent homes for ailing children. His love of teaching was not only clearly discernible in his medical work but also came to the fore in various writings, such as Praatjies met die oumense (Pretoria, 1918), in which he proffered a miscellany of advice to parents on educational, medical and other topics. In 1919 Leipoldt and Dr Anne Cleaver established a school clinic in Johannesburg, the first of its kind in South Africa, and in the following year he published Die Afrikaanse kind in siekte en gesondheid (Cape Town, 1920). Among his best-known books for children are the educational Praatjies met die kinders (Pretoria, 1920), Stories vir kinders (Cape Town, 1922) en Kampstories (Pretoria, 1923), which appeared at a time when there was comparatively little in the way of Afrikaans reading matter for children.

During the time that Leipoldt was living in Pretoria in the capacity of medical inspector of schools he was also a regular contributor to Die Brandwag . He edited the Transvaal Medical Times and published poems and popular science articles in periodicals and newspapers such as De Goede Hoop, Ons Moedertaal, Die Boervrou, Die Volkstem and Die Huisgenoot. In Pretoria he became friendly with Dr F. V. Engelenburg, the editor of De Volkstem. In 1922 Leipoldt joined the editorial staff of the newspaper and in 1923 became its assistant-editor. However, he could not agree with Gustav S. Preller who succeeded Engelenburg in 1924 and was dismissed in 1925, butLeipoldt continued to write the column ‘Oom Gert se diwigasies’ for the paper until 9 December 1931.

In the early twenties Leipoldt published his greatest dramatic work entitled Die heks (Cape Town, 1923), which he had commenced writing in English during the years 1910-11 while in London. It was rewritten in Afrikaans in 1914 prior to his return to South Africa and he continued working on it until it was published in 1923. Even today it is regarded as one of the most important Afrikaans dramatic works and established Leipoldt as one of the pioneers in this field.
In the 1924 general election he stood as a candidate for the South African Party in the Wonderboom constituency, but was defeated. In April 1925 he again moved to Cape Town to set up practice as a child specialist, and spent some of his happiest years there until his death. Leipoldt cherished a deep affection for Cape Town with its scenic beauty and historical associations with the past.

Leipoldt opened his home ‘Arbury’ in Kenilworth to underprivileged boys who resided with him as his foster children. He legally adopted one boy, Jeffrey Leipoldt. In 1928 he accompanied a group of school children on a two-month holiday tour to England.

In Cape Town Leipoldt wrote medical articles for The Cape Argus. In 1926 he became secretary of the Medical Council of South Africa and editor of the South African Medical Journal, and also acted as a part-time lecturer on children’s diseases at the University of Cape Town (1926 -39). In 1939 he became part-time secretary of the South African Medical Council, travelled throughout the country and attended congresses and meetings. In 1934 an honorary D.Litt. degree was conferred on him by the University of the Witwatersrand.

From the thirties onwards Leipoldt showed a growing interest in his literary work, and these years proved particularly rewarding for him as an artist. Die laaste aand (Cape Town, 1930) was the first Afrikaans play ever written in verse form, although he had begun working on it as early as 1915. It is one of his best works, for which together with Die heks he was awarded the Hertzog prize in 1944. Die Bergtragedie (Cape Town, 1932), a long poem on which he had begun working before 1900 (originally in English), is not of a high standard although Leipoldt considered it good. A volume of poems entitled Skoonheidstroos (Cape Town, 1932), appeared at this time and included poems written during the period 1923-32. This work was also awarded the Hertzog prize and contains a number of Leipoldt’s loveliest poems, such as ‘n Kersnaggebed’, although it never achieved the heights attained by Oom Gert vertel en ander gedigte. At the beginning of the thirties a number of less successful works appeared: Afgode (1931), Die Kwaksalwer (1931) and Onrus (1931). Apart from these dramatic works Leipoldt also published three one-act plays: Jannie (1919), ‘n Vergissing (1927) en Die byl (1950).

His prose works were chiefly a product of the thirties. The first to appear was Waar spoke speel (Cape Town, 1927); it was followed by Wat agter lê en ander verhale (Cape Town, 1930); a long psychological novel: Die donker huis (Cape Town, 1931); and a lengthy historical novel set in the period shortly after the Great Trek: Galgsalmander (Cape Town, 1932). Die moord op Muizenberg (Cape Town, 1932) is a detective novel. Die rooi rotte (Cape Town, 1932) is a book of short stories. Uit my oorsese dagboek (Cape Town, 1932) is an absorbing travel book. Die verbrande lyk (Cape Town, 1934) is another detective story. Die dwergvroutjie (Cape Town, 1937), is a psychological story and was originally written in English. Bushveld doctor (London, 1937) is a well-written autobiography. This was followed in 1939 by Die Moord in die bosveld (Cape Town, 1939). In his prose works, which consist mainly of murder and detective stories, Leipoldt’s preoccupation with the abnormal in psychology, and with the supernatural and the mysterious comes to the fore. His prose works never attain tLeipoldthe heights achieved in his plays and poetry, yet he possesses a flowing and absorbing narrative style; and although it was small, he undoubtedly had a share in the development of Afrikaans prose. During these years he also wrote stories for children: Paddastories vir die peetkind (1934), Die wonderlike klok, Die mossie wat wou ryk word (1931) en Die goue eier (1937). He also published popular science fiction for children as exemplified in As die natuur gesels (two volumes, Cape Town, 1928, 1931).

Apart from his creative work during the thirties he published a number of works such as Medicine and faith (London, 1935) and various historical works based on secondary source material: firstly, Jan van Riebeeck: a biographical study (London, 1936), of which a German translation also appeared : Holland gründet die Kapkolonie: Jan van Riebeeck Leben and Werke (Leipzig, 1937). There is also an Afrikaans version entitled Jan van Riebeeck: die grondlegger van ‘n blanke Suid-Afrika (Cape Town, 1938). Leipoldt had begun to collect the material for his biography as early as 1896. The most significant facts about the Voortrekkers were summarised by him for young people in Die groot trek (Cape Town, 1938), which coincided with the Voortrekker centenary. During the Huguenot jubilee year he also published Die Hugenote (Cape Town, 1939). After his period of office as secretary of the South African Medical Council and editor of the council’s journal had ended in 1944, he devoted himself mainly to journalism and to acquiring information for a biography on Pres. S. J. P. Kruger which he had begun in 1906 but never completed. In his poetry and plays Leipoldt also showed an interest in historical characters such as Wolraad Woltemade, Pieter Gijsbert Noodt and other figures like De Lesseps and Multatuli.

When the Second World War broke out Leipoldt favoured South African participation. He wrote sonnets on the war for The Cape Times, the Forum, Die Volkstem, en De Stoep, a Curacao newspaper.

Leipoldt died shortly after the war of a heart complaint caused by rheumatic fever which he had contracted at the age of seven. The casket containing his ashes was interred at the entrance of a cave surrounded by boulders in the rocky country of the Pakhuispas near Clanwilliam, that countryside which he had loved so deeply, a short distance from the Clanwilliam-Calvinia road near Kliphuis. It is a picturesque part of the country where he roamed as a child. After his death three volumes of his poems were published: Die moormansgat en ander verhalende en natuurverse (Cape Town, 1948); Gesëende skaduwees (Cape Town, 1949) which contained poems written during the period 1910 to 1947; and The ballad of Dick King and other poems (Cape Town, 1949), Leipoldt’s only volume of English poems. This contains verses written at the time of the Second World War and also older poems, some even dating from his youth. They appeared under the name Pheidippides, a pseudonym whichLeipoldt had used in newspapers when publishing his English poems on the Second World War.

After Leipoldt’s death, 300 years of Cape Wine (Cape Town, 1952) and Polfyntjies vir die proe (Cape Town, 1963) also appeared, compiled from particularly absorbing articles written under the pseudonym K. A. it. Bonade in Die Huisgenoot (1942-7). His valuable collection of cookery books and his manuscripts of recipes are in the S.A. Library, Cape Town.

The University of Cape Town has a valuable and comprehensive collection of Leipoldt’s letters, manuscripts and journalistic work, as well as books which he donated to the library, such as the comparatively unknown poems which he wrote for the University of Cape Town Quarterly in the thirties.

Biographical information written by Leipoldtand published in Die Huisgenoot, include ‘Clanwilliam: herinneringe aan ‘n ou dorpie’ (5 November 1926), ‘Eerste skoffies’ (1 December 1933), ‘Oor my eie werk’ (6 December 1940), ‘Jeugherinneringe’ (9 May 1947) and ‘My jubileumjaar’ (17 January 1947). His ‘Outobiografiese fragment’ appeared post-humously in Standpunte (18 December 1950). He never succeeded in carrying out his resolution to write an autobiography.

Leipoldt’s literary output constitutes only a part of his rich, versatile life, and yet it represents one of his greatest contributions to South Africa. Remarkably diverse in nature, his works include articles on popular science, journalistic work, translations, and numerous volumes of poetry, plays, novels, short stories and travel reminiscences. The quality of his work is not uniform and his poems frequently lack finish; nevertheless he is still one of the greatest Afrikaans poets and dramatists.

Leipoldt, who from childhood had received a strongly English-orientated education, enjoyed moving in English circles and during his later years spent most of his time among the English-speaking section. As a poet, although he wrote typically Afrikaans poetry and transformed the then unmoulded literary Afrikaans of the early twenties into an elevated medium for poetry, later he tended to ridicule the Afrikaner, the typically Afrikaans characteristics, and the Afrikaans language which he had employed so skillfully as a writer. He even spoke disparagingly of his war poems, describing them as a product of youthful immaturity. He had always been opposed to the Afrikaans-Calvinistic viewpoint, although he frequently employed Christian sentiments in his poems and was without difficulty able to identify himself with the aspirations of the Afrikaner. The English press devoted a good deal of space to Leipoldt in their columns at the time of his death; nevertheless, his passing was felt most keenly by the Afrikaans-speaking section and his memory remains indelibly imprinted among the Afrikaner people. There are two facets discernible in Leipoldt’s character: on the one hand his astounding versatility, his ability to contend with a number of interests simultaneously, and on the other the picture of a person of many conflicting emotions.

Although Leipoldt confessed to being lonely, he had a wide and influential circle of friends and acquaintances, including Gen. J. C. Smuts, Dr Engelenburg, Prof. P. D. Hahn, John X. Merriman, the Roman Catholic priest F. C. Kolbe, Prof. P. MacOwan, Dr Rudolph Marloth, Marcus Viljoen and Dr Harry Bolus. It was Dr. Bolus who encouraged Leipoldt’s love of nature, made him conscious of the beauty of Shakespeare’s sonnets, and provided him with financial backing when he went overseas in 1902. Abroad Leipoldt made the acquaintance of Pres. S. J. P. Kruger, Dr W. J. Leyds and Ramsay Macdonald. Leipoldt also numbered Cecil John Rhodes and a few prominent women among his acquaintances. Although he never married and on occasion made odd pronouncements about women and also wrote little love poetry, he was known for his conspicuous gallantry towards ladies and there are agreeable female characters in his poetry, in “Die heks” and in “Van Noot se laaste aand”.

In his poetry Leipoldt created an impression of strong individualism and detachedness, yet he contrived to serve his fellowmen in public life in many spheres: as a physician, as a journalist and as a lover of children.

There is a statue of Leipoldt in plaster of Paris by Florencio Cuairan in the Jagger Library of the Cape Town University, and one in bronze in the public library, Clanwilliam, and in the Medical Centre, Wale Street, Cape Town. Photographs taken at different stages in his life appear in Burgers (infra).

Source: Dictionary of South African Biography (Volume II)

Image: Cape Town Archives

An almanac is here taken to be a book containing a full calendar as well as information on social, economic and similar topics. It becomes a directory if it contains a list of people’s names and addresses, and in its most comprehensive form it becomes a year-book. The old almanacs and their successors are of great value in research into social, economic and cultural history, because they often contain data not easily found elsewhere. A complete survey of those published in South Africa cannot possibly be given, and only those preserved in public libraries will be dealt with here.The earliest South African almanacs appeared at the Cape in 1795-1797 and were printed by J. C. Ritter. A fragment of his Almanach for 1796 is the oldest piece of South African printing that has come down to us. Cape Town was the main centre for the publication of almanacs all through the 19th century. The most important issues, or series of issues, were the following:

1801-27 (1801 is preserved only in manuscript, and 1803 is missing. Known as The African Court Calendar (De Afrikaansche Staatsalmanak), this publication was published ‘under Government approval’ and consisted principally of an account of the Colony’s government as well as the civil list, the army list and the calendar itself, which was bilingual. The 1807 issue gives a summary of the history of the Cape Colony and has a supplement, African theatricals. From 1815 onward each issue includes Governor W. A. van der Stel’s century-old gardening calendar, and from 1810 a list of the principal inhabitants of the Cape.

1828-35. The South African Almanack and Directory , issued by the well-known publisher and printer George Greig. This was a private undertaking, as were all the succeeding almanacs. From 1830 it was considerably enlarged, and contained advertisements, articles and a ground-plan of Cape Town. From 1832 it included lithographs by H.C. de Meillon of important Cape buildings.

1836-50. Continuation of the previous almanac by B. J. van de Sandt. The name varies, but from 1841 is The Cape of Good Hope Almanack and Annual Register. In 1843 it contains an etching of Table Mountain and an account of the fight of Comdt. J. I. Rademeyer near Trompetter’s Drift in the Frontier War of 1835. The issues for 1845 and 1846 are, typographically and otherwise, editions de luxe, for example in the advertisements, which give a good picture of the times.

1852-62. Continuation of the preceding by Van de Sandt’s foster-son, B. J. van de Sandt de Villiers. The almanac has now a smaller and handier format. Attention is given to new parts of South Africa : Natal , the Orange Free State and the Transvaal, to the explorations of Livingstone and others, and to local events and politics. The almanac for 1853 contains lists of edible fishes, and that for 1855 lists of indigenous trees by C. W. L. Pappe.

1863. Continuation of the preceding by a new proprietor, John Noble. There was no issue in 1864.

1865-67. Continuation by C. Goode under the title of The Cape Town Directory . There are interesting articles on the history of the Cape Colony by A. Wilmot.

1868-97. The Almanac was taken over by Saul Solomon & Co., at first under the title (sometimes slightly changed) of The General Directory and Guide Book to the Cape of Good Hope and its Dependencies. In 1888 this became The Argus Annual and Cape of Good Hope Directory , from 1889 to 1894 The Argus Annual and South African Directory, and from 1895 to 1897 The Argus Annual and South African Gazetteer. The almanac had now become a statistical year-book and directory; it is comprehensive and instructive, and crammed with information about the whole of South Africa. Other important publications were the following: 1819: The Cape of Good Hope Calendar and Agriculturists’ Guide, by Geo. Ross, published for the British Settlers of 1820.

1826: The Cape of Good Hope Almanack, by W. Bridekirk, which contains a chronological list of events at the Cape in 1824-25.

1832-54 (probably with interruptions): De Kaapsche Almanak en Naamboek, by Joseph Suasso de Lima.

1840: De Zuid-Afrikaansche Blygeestige Almanak en Naamlyst, by J. J. de Kock (Cape Town), a remarkable literary almanac.

1850-1926: Almanak voor de Ned. Geref. Kerk van (since 1885: in) Zuid-Afrika. With alterations to its title from time to time, the well-known ‘Kerkalmanak’ has appeared regularly up to the present day. Its founder and compiler – until his death in 1882 – was Dr. Philip Faure. Immediately afterwards the Cape Synod accepted responsibility for the work, which was since then undertaken by the church administration of the N.G. Kerk. After 1926 the title appears in Afrikaans as hereafter.

1927-29: Almanak vir die Nederduits(-)Gereformeerde Kerke in Suid-Afrika. In 1927 the Almanak was taken over by the Raad van Kerke (Council of Churches) with the archivist of the N.G. Kerk, the Rev. A. Dreyer, mainly responsible for its compilation. He remained the central figure in the evolution of this work until his death in 1938. He changed its title.

1930-43: Jaarboek van die Ned. Geref. Kerke in SuidAfrika. In 1940 the work was entrusted to the Church archivist, Dr. J. A. S. Oberholster. He continued it until 1950, with a slight change in the title as hereafter.

1944-62: Jaarboek van die Gefedereerde Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerke. From 1950 until his death in 1964 the Rev. J. Norval Geldenhuys was the chief compiler.

1963- : Jaarboek van die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerke (Mother, Mission and Bantu churches). Under its new title this work remains an indispensable source of information regarding ecclesiastical and related matters and is by far the oldest South African work of reference in this field.

1870 until today : Almanak voor de Geref. Kerk in Zuid-Afrika. The title later appears in Afrikaans.

1907 until today: Almanak voor de Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk in Zuid-Afrika (later: Afrika). From 1930 in Afrikaans, it developed greatly under Prof S. P. Engelbrecht.

1866-1908: The S.A. Agriculturists’ Almanac, by J. H. F. von Wurzburg-Schade (Wynberg).

1877-1918 with some interruptions: Die Afrikaanse Almanak, burgerlik en kerkelik , by the Rev. S. J. du Toit and others (Paarl). One of the principal publica ions of the First Afrikaans Language Movement.

1887: Deutscher Volkskalender , published by Hermann Michaelis at Cape Town . Continued 1912-14 as (Illustrierter ) Sud-Afrikanischer Volkskalender in Johannesburg. A rich source of knowledge about the German community and literature in South Africa.

1875: Descriptive Handbook of the Cape Colony : its condition and resources, by J. Noble.

1886: Official Handbook: History, productions, and resources of the Cape of Good Hope, by J. Noble.

1893 and 1896: Illustrated Official Handbook of the Cape and South Africa, by J. Noble.

1848-72: Eastern Province Annual Directory and Almanac, continued as Eastern Province Year-book and Commercial Directory, Grahamstown, 1872-78 (?).

1872-1874-8; 1883-90; 1892-93: Port Elizabeth Directory and Guide to the Eastern Province, Port Elizabeth.

1896-1910: P.E. Year-book and Directory, Port Elizabeth.

1888-89 et sqq.: The General Directory of South Africa, etc. by Dennis Edwards. This gradually supplanted the Argus Annual (see above). From 1909/10 it bore the title United South Africa.

Outside the Cape may be mentioned:
1863-?: The Natal Almanac, Directory and Yearly Register, P. Davis & Sons (Pietermaritzburg). A comprehensive and compendious almanac, which continued at least into the 1920′s.

1876: De Oranjevrijstaatsdshe Almanak ( Bloemfontein ). A kind of almanac of public affairs, which two years later became:

1878- 1939(?): De Boerenvriend Huisalmanak (Bloemfontein). Its title was afterwards preceded by the word ‘Express’; it was eventually published in Afrikaans. Carl Borckenhagen was the principal figure in its production.

1904-32 (or after): De Boerenvriend (afterwards Die Boerevriend ) Huisalmanak ( Bloemfontein ). An imitation of the above-mentioned almanac, which in consequence added the word Express to its title.

1893-94: Vijstaatsch Jaarboek en Almanak – Free State Annual and Trades Directory, Bloemfontein.

1892-99: Staats-Almanak der (later: voor de ) Zuid Afrihaansche Republiek. This was an official publication, a complete and dependable annual review of the government institutions of the Transvaal, with a historical calendar.

1877-98(?) with interruptions: Jeppe’s Transvaal Almanac and Directory. Compiled by the well-known F. H. Jeppe, cartographer and publisher.

1893 et sqq.: De Kaap Annual (Transvaal), printed at Barberton.

Towards the end of the 19th cent. the transition from almanacs to directories is much clearer, as appears from the following list:

1891; 1893-97: Natal Directory, later Braby’s Natal Directory.

1893: 1897-98: The Dennis Edwards Cape Town Directory

1894; 1896: Longland’s Johannesburg and Districts Directory

1897: Juta’s Directory of Cape Town

1898: Juta’s Directory of Cape Town and Suburbs

1899-1927: Juta’s Directory of Cape Town, Suburbs and Simonstown. There are further changes of title to Cape Peninsula, etc.

1899: The Dennis Edwards S.A. Year-book and Directory of Cape Town. This year-book appeared until 2932.

1899: Longland’s Transvaal and Rhodesian Directory

1900-03; 1906-0: Kimberley Year-book and Directory, by Mark Henderson.

1900; 1904-05: Donaldson and Hill’s Eastern Province ( Cape Colony ) Directory

1901 : Complete Guide to Cradock – professional and trade directory, compiled by W. Taylor and published by Thomas Scanes, Cradock.

1901/2; 1905/06;1908/09; 1909/10 et sqq.: Guide to South Africa for the use of tourists, sportsmen, invalids and settlers. This continued until at least 1949, with a change of title to Guide to South and East Africa, etc.

1901; 1902-04: Longland’s Cape Town and District

Owing to the growth of communal life year-books and directories became dominant in the 20th century as information and reference books concerning social, political and commercial conditions. The contents are usually sufficiently indicated by the titles. Among the most important should be mentioned:

1902/03 ; 1903/04: The South African Year Book , by S. M. Gluckstein ( London and Cape Town ).

1905-10: Het Z.A. Jaarboek en Algemene Gids, by G. R. Hofmeyr and C. G. Murray ( Cape Town ), (later B. J. van de Sandt de Villiers), the first complete general South African year-book in Nederlands.

1910 until today: Official South African Municipal Year Book. An indispensable source of information about cities and towns.

1911-12: The South African Almanack and Reference Book, by E. Glanville, Cape Town . Excellent summaries of a diversified nature.

1914 et sqq. (?): The South African Year Book, by H. W. Hosking, London

1914 et sqq.: Laite’s Commercial Blue Book for South Africa. A good and popular work in its field. Along with the General Directory of South Africa of Dennis Edwards, it belongs to the stream of bulky South African directories published during the present century, among which those of Donaldson and Hill (afterwards Ken Donaldson and Co., or Donaldson and Braby, or Braby, etc.) are particularly important.

They are indispensable sources of social and commercial information. Mention must also be made of:

1898 et sqq.: The Transvaal and Rhodesia Directory

1901 et sqq.: The Natal Directory

1902 et sqq.: The Orange River Colony Directory

1902/03 et sqq.: The Western Province ( Cape Colony ) Directory

1907 et sqq.: The United Transvaal Directory

1912/13 et sqq.: Cape Province Directory

In due course titles change (e.g. Colony becomes Province), as do regional divisions. So there are now Cape Times Directory of Southern Africa (1964, 31 st edition), Directory of Southern Africa and Buyers’ Guide (1964, 31 st edition ), Braby’s Commercial Directory of South, East and Central Africa (1964, 40th edition), to which may be added the special Braby’s Directories for Natal , Transvaal, the O.F.S. and the Cape, and many city directories.

Since 1907 Donaldson produced an annual South African Who’s Who, with photographs; the title for a time included the words Social, Business and Farming. Since 1961 Who’s Who of Southern Africa, under this new title, has been published by Wootton & Gibson, Johannesburg. It is an indispensable work of reference about people. The following English works of this Directory nature, with photographs, may also be mentioned:

1905, 1907, 1909: Anglo-African Who’s Who and Biographical Sketch Book with photos in 1909, by W. H. Wills ( London ).

1905: Men of the Times: Pioneers of the Transvaal and glimpses of South Africa, Transvaal Publishing Company, Johannesburg

1906: Men of the Times: Old Colonists of the Cape Colony and Orange River Colony , Transvaal Publishing Company, Johannesburg. A particularly valuable work, with excellent pictures.

1910: Souvenir of the Union of South Africa, Cape Town. People of political importance in the Union and the four provinces.

1913 : Women of South Africa, Cape Town, by C. I. Lewis.

1926: Sports and Sportsmen in South Africa, Cape Town

1929: Sports and Sportsmen in South Africa and Rhodesia, Cape Town

1933-34: The Arts in South Africa, W. H. Knox. Knox Printing and Publishing Co., Durban. Photos of artists are included.

1938: The South African Woman’s Who’s Who, Biographies Ltd., Johannesburg

1958/9 and 1959/60: Who’s Who in Entertainment and Sport in South Africa, by Don Barrigo, Johannesburg

Smaller, sporadic publications were The Natal Who’s Who, 1906.

Who is Who – Wie is Wie in Pretoria, 1951.

In Afrikaans there are no regular publications of this nature. The following sporadic publications may, however, be mentioned:

1930: Die Nasionale Boek, compiled by I. M. Goodman, Johannesburg, and dealing with the history, leaders and members of the National Party.

1942: Die Afrikaner Personeregister, Johannesburg, compiled by N. Diederichs and others.

1953: Die Triomf van Nasionalisme in Suid-Afrika (1910-53), compiled by D. P. Goosen and others. A commemorative album of the National Party.

1955: Die Afrikanerfamilienaamboek en Personalia, Cape Town, by J. J. Redelinghuis.

1958 et sqq. (irregularly): Wie is Wie in Suid-Afrika, Johannesburg, compiled by D. F. Kruger. Bilingual.

There are also, mainly in English, numerous national, provincial, and municipal handbooks and guide-books, generally well illustrated. Only a few can be mentioned here. From the S.A. Railways we have Natal, 1903; Cape Colony today, by A. R. E. Burton, 190 et sqq.; Natal Province, 1911; Travel in South Africa, 1921 et sqq. The Cape Town City Council came out with a series of handbooks: The Cape of Good Hope, 1909 et sqq., and the Pretoria City Council (with the Railways) with The City of Pretoria and Districts, 1913. An excellent handbook dealing with economic and social matters, Die Afrikanergids (1942-1944/5) by J. J. Haywood, was’specifically intended for the Afrikaner.

Particularly important is the Government’s Official Year Book of the Union of South Africa -Offisiele jaarboek van die Unie van Suid-Afrika, 1910-60, though it did not actually appear every year. In 1964 it was supplemented by a Statistical Year Book – Statistiese Jaarboek. Since 1957 there has also appeared an unofficial year-book State of the Union , in 1962 renamed State of South Africa. There are also the calendars of the various universities. Another important private publication is the Year Book and Guide to Southern Africa, compiled by the Union-Castle Mail Steamship Company since 1893, of which the 67th edition appeared in 1967. It was divided into two volumes in 1950, since when the Year Book and Guide to East Africa has been appearing separately each year. Both were edited by A. Gordon-Brown until 1967.

Another type of annual, of a literary nature, is represented by the many Christmas and New Year annuals appearing from time to time. Mention may be made, for example, of the Cape Times Christmas Number, 1899-1905, and Cape Times Annual, 1910-41; Ons Land Kerstmisnummer, 1906-29; Die Burger Nuwejaarsnommer (at first Kerstmis Nummer ), 1915-25; Suid-Afrika, 1938/39-40/41; the British S.A. Annual, 1915/16 et sqq.; the South African Annual , 1906 et sqq.; De (afterwards Die) Koningsbode Kerstnummer (afterwards Kersnommer), 1914 up to the present, etc. At the year’s end popular magazines such as Die Huisgenoot and Sarie Marais regularly issue bulky Christmas or holiday numbers.

Today there are also year-books for almost every industry in South Africa – for farming, mining, engineering, fisheries, textiles, footwear, finance, the hotel industry, medical services, etc.

MALMESBURY, C.P. Town. Principal town of the magisterial district and division of Malmesbury, 79 km by rail and 66 km by national road north of Cape Town. 33° 27′ S., 80° 44′ E.; altitude 140 metres; rainfall 450 mm.

Population (1970): White 3 477; Coloured 5 663; Asiatic 58; Bantu 268.

The first mention of the name Het Zwartland (The Black Country) appeared in a report for the year 1701. The origin of this name is not obvious. It has been suggested that it is a reference to the peculiar colour of the soil in this region but, as the soil is reddish brown, not black, this is unlikely.

A more plausible explanation is that the profusion of renosterbush, which covered most of the veld in the early days and can still be seen in patches today, turns blackish at times. At the instigation of Baron G. W. van Imhoff, who touched at the Cape in 1743, Governor Hendrik Swellengrebel and the Council of Policy decided to establish a N.G. Kerk congregation in the Swartland. The church was built on the farm of the widow of Pieter van der Westhuizen, and for this the Council of Policy gave her 2 500 Cape guilders (approx. 1350) and, in exchange, the farm Kerze-Vonteijne in the neighbourhood of Perdeberg. The first church council of the new congregation was elected on 20 April 1745 and the congregation was officially established on 27 June 1745. Until 1829 the church farm or town was known as Swartlandskerk. In 1828 it was announced that the Government intended establishing a town in the Swartland and that the first erven would be offered for sale in November of that year in the neighbourhood of the existing church building. The first erven were sold by auction on 10 Nov. 1829 and the town was officially proclaimed on 21 May 1829. The Governor, Sir Lowry Cole (1829-34), named the new town Malmesbury in honour of Sir James Harris, first Earl of Malmesbury, whose daughter Frances he had married in IBIS. A board of commissioners for the town was formed in 1860, and this was followed by a municipality in 1896. Water is obtained from a reservoir with a capacity of 236m litres and electricity is supplied by Escom.

The Bokomo flour mill at Malmesbury is one of the largest in South Africa and the Westelike Graanboere-Kooperasie, which has an annual turnover of about 17m, is the largest distributor of wheat in the country. The curative hot springs, used in IBoS by Dr. Hassner for the treatment of rheumatism and other ailments, used to provide the town’s swimming-bath with water. Local newspaper: Die Swartlander; weekly; bilingual.

District. Area 4 468 km². The Swartland produces about a sixth of the country’s wheat. According to the agricultural census of 1962/3, 82 000 short tons of wheat were produced. In addition, there is mixed farming and the district is renowned for its vineyards, dairy farming, sheep, mules, pigs, poultry and watermelons. While Malmesbury is essentially a wheatgrowing area, it is also one of the more important livestock-farming areas in South Africa. In 1962/3 there were 447 733 sheep and 4i 516 cattle, and the production of 14 869 bales of wool in the 1966/’7 season was exceeded by only six other districts. The pioneer work of C. C. P. Wagener in connection with the use of lupins brought about an agricultural revolution in the Swartland and paved the way for the effective rotation of crops. A small monument has been erected to his memory at the head-office of Westelike Graan in the centre of Malmesbury. The bust on its pedestal stands about 12 metres high. The Swartland is likely to benefit from the proposed Berg River project.

Groote Kerk

The history of the Churches in South Africa – especially the Dutch Reformed Church – is so closely interwoven with the general history of the Cape since the days when Johan van Riebeeck first planted the flag of the United Netherlands on the shore of Table Bay, that the two might be said to be identical in scope.

The Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa began with a small congregation of servants of the East India Company, who assembled in a hall of the small fort.

When Van Riebeeck arrived here he brought no regularly ordained clergyman, but with him was one Willem Barents Wylant,” a Ziekentrooster,” which literally means a “comforter of the sick,” who conducted services on a Sunday in the great hall of the old fort.

When ships called, the chaplains conducted service during their stay, and usually administered the sacraments. The first who is recorded to have acted in this capacity was the Rev. Mr. Backerius, chaplain of the Walvisch.

In 1678, a site was granted for a new church at the lower end of the great garden, and the foundation stone was laid by Governor Van der Stel on 28th December, 1700; but it was not until 1704 that the building was finished, which is now the Adderley Street Church. The first service was held therein on the 6th of January, 1704, the Rev. Petrus Kalden being the preacher. The Church was enlarged in 1779 and again in 1836. The eastern wall and the tower still standing were portions of the original building. The Church contains a fine specimen of wood-carving by Anthon Anreith, and in the aisles are some stones bearing inscriptions relating to the early pioneers who were buried there.

Dutch Reformed Churches
Others are at:
Bree Street
Somerset Road
Leeuwen Street
Hanover Street
Buitenkant Street
Main Road, Three Anchor Bay
Arthur’s Road, Sea Point
Van Kamp Street, Camps Bay
Aberdeen Street, Woodstock
Collingwood Road, Observatory
Central Square, Pinelands
St. Andrew’s, Rondebosch
Albert Road, Wynberg
Tokai Road, Retreat
Main Road, Kalk Bay
St. George’s Street, Simonstown
Toronga Road, Lansdowne
Voortrekker Road, Maitland
Forridon Street, Brooklyn

Anglican

Window of St. Georges Cathedral

During the English occupation of the Cape from 1795 to 1803, the Dutch Reformed Church, in accordance with the terms of the capitulation to the English arms, was known as the Established Church. The only Anglican Church services were conducted in the Castle by the military chaplains, and the con-sent of the Governor, as Ordinary, was necessary to marriages and baptisms. When the Colony was handed over to the Batavian Republic in 1893, and the English officials and troops were withdrawn, certain restrictions were placed upon the exercise of religious liberty.

Though services were conducted at the Castle by the chaplains regularly from the date of the second occupation, the arrival of the Rev. D. Griffiths in 1806, as Garrison Chaplain, was followed by great activity and energy on the part of the Anglicans.

Mr. Griffiths’ successor was the Rev. Robert Jones, during whose incumbency the use of the Dutch Reformed Church was granted for the celebration of the English services. The Dutch Reformed Church continued to be used for the Anglican service till the opening of St. George’s in 1834. The first English Church erected in South Africa was St. George’s at Simonstown.

The building of St. George’s Cathedral was not the work of a few days. Several projects were adopted, and abandoned owing to lack of funds. It was not till the visit in 1827 of Bishop James of Calcutta, in whose See the Cape was situated, that the Cathedral site was consecrated. The laying of the foundation stone was, however, delayed for three years after that date, when the Governor, Sir Lowry Cole, performed the ceremony with masonic honours, all the clergy taking part in the proceedings being Freemasons.

The new Cathedral of St. George, designed by Mr. Herbert Baker, is a dignified and inspiring building of Table Mountain sandstone but is only partially completed. The memorial stone in the buttress adjoining the Government Avenue was laid by H.M. King George V., when, as the Duke of Cornwall and York, he visited Capetown in 1901.
There is the Memorial Chapel adjoining which was erected as a memorial to the officers and men of the Imperial Forces who gave their lives in the South African War. A Roll of Honour emblazoned on vellum and bearing the names of all those who gave their lives in this campaign is enshrined within this Chapel and may be inspected upon application to the Very Rev. the Dean of Cape town. Adjoining the Cathedral are the buildings of the St. George’s Grammar School where the boys of the choir are trained and educated.

A list of Anglican Churches:

St. Mark’s Church, Bamford Avenue, Athlone
Church of the Transfiguration, Coronation Av., Bellville
St. Peter’s Church, Park Avenue, Camps Bay
St. Saviour’s Church, Main. Road, Claremont
Christ Church, Constantia Nek Road, Constantia
All Saints Church, Church Street, Durbanville
St. Margaret’s Church, cr. Fifth Avenue and Kommetjie Road, Fish Hoek
St. Alban’s Church, Alice Street, Goodwood
St. Alban’s Church, Cheviot Place, Green Point
St. Peter’s Church, Main Road, Hout Bay
St. Philip’s Church, Chapel Street, Cape Town
Holy Trinity Church, Main Road, Kalk Bay
St. Aidan’s Church, St. Aidan’s Road, Lansdowne
St. Anne’s Church, cr. Suffolk Street and Coronation Road, Maitland
Church of the Good Shepherd, Main Road, Maitland
St. Oswald’s Church, Jansen Road, Milnerton
St. Nicholas’ Church, Elsies River Road, Matroosfontein
All Saints Church, Main Road, Muizenberg
St. Peter’s Church, Durban Road, Mowbray
St. Andrew’s Church, Kildare Road, Newlands
St. Michael’s Church, St. Michael’s Road, Observatory
St. Margaret’s Church, Hopkins Street, Parow
St. John’s Church, Frankfort Street, Parow
St. Stephen’s Church, Central Square, Pinelands
All Saints Church, Tiverton Road, Plumstead
St. Cyprian’s Church, Station Road, Retreat
St. Paul ‘s Church, Main Road, Rondebosch
St. Thomas Church, Camp Ground Road, Rondebosch
St. Luke’s Church, Lower Main Road, Salt River
St. James’ Church, St. James’ Road, Sea Point
Church of the Holy Redeemer, Kloof Road, Sea Point
St. Frances’ Church, Main Road, Simonstown
St. Bartholomew’s Church, Queen’s Road, Woodstock
St. Mary’s Church, Station Road, Woodstock
Church of Christ the King, Milner Road Extension, Claremont
Christ Church, Summerly Road, Kenilworth
St. John’s Church, Waterloo Green, Wynberg

Roman Catholic

The history of the Roman Catholic Church in South Africa dates back to 1486, when Bartholomew Diaz erected a cross at Angra Pequena, and later on, in the same voyage, another which gave its name to Santa Cruz in Algoa Bay. Passing over many years and many interesting incidents, one reads of a call made at the Cape in 1685 by six Jesuits who were on their way to Siam, and who were sent thither for scientific purposes by Louis XIV. On their arrival they were kindly received by Governor Van der Stel, who granted them an observatory in the shape of a pavilion in the Gardens. Here in the course of their astronomical investigations they observed an eclipse of Jupiter’s moons; but in addition to scientific pursuits they visited many of their co-religionists who were sick, though they were not permitted to say Mass. In fact, it was not till 1805 that that privilege was granted to priests by Commissioner-General De Mist.
The Roman Catholic Church passed through various vicissitudes before its members were in a position to worship in their Cathedral, which stands on an elevated situation in Roeland Street, at the top of Plein Street. It was during the Episcopate of Bishop Griffiths that the Cathedral was begun, and he lived long enough to see it completed and opened for divine worship in 1857.

Catholic Churches

The Catholic Cathedral (St. Mary’s) faces Stalplein
Holy Cross, 36, Nile Street, Cape Town
Sacred Heart, 32, Somerset Road, Cape Town
St. Mary of the Angels, Lawrence Road, Athlone, Cape Flats
St. Vincent de Paul, Weltevreden Street, Bellville
St. Ignatius, Wade Road, Claremont
St. Joseph, 30, Anderson Street, Goodwood
The Most Holy Redeemer, Heathfield
Church of Our Lady Help of Christians, Lansdowne
St. John, 202, Coronation Road, Maitland
Holy Trinity Church, Matroosfontein, Cape Flats
St. Patrick, Langton Road, Mowbray
St. Francis Xavier, Pinelands
The Holy Name, Station Road, Observatory
St. Joseph, Philippi
St. Mary, Retreat
St. Michael, Rouwkoop Road, Rondebosch
St. James, St. James
St. Francis of Assisi, Coleridge Road, Salt River
Our Lady of Good Hope, St. Andrew’s Road, Sea Point
SS. Simon and Jude, St. George’s Street, Simonstown
St. Peter, Gordon’s Bay Road, Strand
St. Agnes, Dublin Street, Woodstock
Corpus Christi, Wittebome
St. Dominic, Wynberg
St. Anthony, Hout Bay

Congregational

The history of the Congregational Church in South Africa dates back to the year 1800, when the first settlement was established in Cape Town under the Reverend Mr. Reid, of the London Missionary Society. The Rev. Dr. Philip with whose name the establishment of the Congregational Church in Cape Colony is intimately associated, arrived at the Cape in the year 1819, and the first Independent church was definitely formed under his pastorate in the year 1820, principally for the congregationalists in the English Garrison stationed in Cape Town. The first Union Chapel was erected in Church Square in 1828, which was followed by the erection of the Caledon Square Church in 1859. This church however has been recently closed owing to the removal of the congregation to the suburbs of Cape Town, and the Congregational services are now carried on in the Union Church, Kloof Street. Congregational churches are established at Sea Point, Observatory Road, Claremont and Rondebosch.

Congregational Churches are at:
Main and Franklin Roads, Claremont
Wrensch Road, Observatory
Belmont Road, Rondebosch
Marais Road, Sea Point
Clarence Road, Wynberg
Lot, Harrington Street

Presbyterian

Another building worthy of a visit of inspection is St. Andrew’s Church on the Somerset Road, the foundation stone of which was laid in 1827, and the first service held there on May 24th, 1829. The services on that occasion were remarkable as bearing evidence of the extreme liberality and charitable feelings of the members of the Dutch Reformed Church to the Presbyterian cause.
“A deputation from the consistory of the Dutch Reformed Church attended divine service, bringing a letter of Christian sympathy and a contribution of £75 for the building fund.”
Since then St. Andrew’s has been, as it were, the Cathedral of Presbyterianism in the Cape. The building is regarded as one of the purest specimens of architecture in the city.

Other Presbyterian Churches are at Gardens and Rosebank, as well as:
Somerset Road
Hatfield Street
Upper Orange Street
Main Road, Kenilworth
Clyde Street, Woodstock
Cor. Main and Bisset Roads, Wynberg
Albert Road, Mowbray
Central Square, Pinelands
Lower Station Road, Maitland.

Baptist Church

The Baptist Church is situated in Wale Street, between Long and Burg Streets, having been erected in 1882 at a cost of 5,000, including site. The congregation have established a Mission Hall in Jarvis Street, off Somerset Road, and have erected a Mission Station at Mpotula, near Bolotwa in Kaffraria, where three missionaries are supported by the Cape Town Church.
Baptist Churches are at:
Wale Street – 9
Dane Street, Observatory
High Level Road, Three Anchor Bay
Grove Avenue, Claremont
Maynard Road, Wynberg

Metropolitan Wesleyan

Metropolitan Wesleyan

Another ecclesiastical edifice worthy of a visit is the Metropolitan Wesleyan Church at the corner of Burg and Longmarket Streets. The foundation stone of that handsome structure was laid on May 6th, 1875, by the Governor, Sir Henry Barkly.
Services had been carried on prior to that in the old Burg Street Church, now known as the Metropolitan Hall, which served as the central church for the Methodists from 1822.
There are also Wesleyan churches at Sea Point and various parts of the Southern Suburbs.
The best-known Wesleyan Church is the Metropolitan facing Greenmarket Square.
Others are to be found at :

Sea Point
Woodstock
Observatory
Rosebank
Claremont
Wynberg
Retreat
Plumstead
Pinelands
Maitland
Parow
Fish Hoek
Simonstown
Muizenberg
Kalk Bay

Jewish Synagogues

The Jewish Synagogue in Government Avenue is also worthy the attention of visitors. It is situated near Avenue Street. It seats about 1,500 persons. Its exterior has a very bold effect towards the Avenue, with two towers and saucer dome over the centre of the main area.
The Synagogue of the New Hebrew Congregation is situated in Roeland Street, and there are other synagogues at Muizenberg, Claremont and Wynberg.
Synagogues include the Great Synagogue at Hatfield Street, (facing the Avenue), also:
Vredehoek
Sea Point
Muizenberg
Rondebosch
Wynberg – recently closed down
Jewish Reform Congregation Synagogue ( Temple Israel ), Portswood Road, Green Point.

Dutch Lutheran

Lutheran Church in Strand Street

The Lutheran Church in Strand Street enjoys a unique situation on the hill commanding a fine view of the city. It dates back to the-year 1780, and the first certified “predikant” was the Rev. Andreas Kohler, who arrived at the Cape in November, 1780. Its architectural design is both simple and severely strict.

Its pulpit is another good example of the skill of the wood carver, and the old specification and agreement with the carver Anthon Anreith, are preserved in the vestry of the Church. The organ loft is the work of the same artist. The old Dutch alms dishes of brass which stand in the vestibule are beautiful specimens of the brass-worker’s art, and the quaint Dutch silver-ware used for the communion service will be of considerable interest to lovers of early eighteenth century work.

St. Stephens Church

The clock and belfry of this Church may be seen by visitors who care to climb the curious circular staircase in one of the buttresses.
St. Stephens Strand Street, Cape Town.
German Lutheran (St. Martin’s Church), Long Street, Cape Town.
Also at : Albert Road, Wynberg – Philippi, Cape Flats.

Church of Christ, Scientist

The First Church of Christ, Scientist, is in Grey’s Pass facing the S.A. College School cricket ground.

The Church of England in South Africa

This must not be confused with the Church of the Province of South Africa ) has its own places of worship, namely, at:
Holy Trinity Church, Harrington Street
Holy Trinity Hall, Vriende Street, Gardens.
St. Stephen’s Church, Belvedere Road, Claremont.

Christian Science

First Church of Christ, Scientist, corner of Orange Street and Grey’s Pass, Cape Town
Second Church of Christ, Scientist, 15, Main Road, Newlands
First Church of Christ, Scientist, Muizenberg; Albertyn Road, False Bay
Reading Rooms:
Southern Life Buildings-15, Main Road, Newlands
Masonic Building, Main Road, Muizenberg.

Mormons
Church of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints (Mormons)
South African Headquarters : Cumorah, Main Road, Mowbray
Meodowridge

Seventh Day Adventist Church

56, Roeland Street, Cape Town
Carr Hill, Wynberg
Grove Avenue, Claremont
York Street, Woodstock

Spiritualist

Cape Town Psychic Club, 203, Parliament Chambers, Parliament Street.

Society of Friends Meeting House (Quakers)
7, Green Street, Cape Town.

Theosophical Society

Room 816, 8th Floor, Groote Kerk Building, Adderley Street. Phone 2-9098.
Enquiries: Mrs. Mitford Barberton. Phone 4-2542.

Unitarian Church

(Free Protestant), Hout Street, Cape Town.
If you know of any other churches that may have been left out – please let us know and email us here

Image Source: National Archives Cape Town
Image Captions (from top): It was not until 1677 that land was set aside for the building of a church which was completed in 1703 and consecrated on 6th January 1704. Services were previously held in the Castle. The only remaining part of the original church is the steeple
The First Wesleyan Mission House Cape Town. Until a new church was completed in 1822 the Methodists held their services in a hayloft and later in an unoccupied wine store in Barrack Street. The church was open by Dr. Philip of the London Missionary Society. It is hidden behind the Mission House shown here.
The Lutheran Church, Sexton’s House and Pastorie in Strand Street.
St. Stephens Kerk, die eerste teatergebou in Suidelike Afrika wat in 1799 op Boerenplein (later bekend as Hottentotplein-die huidige Riebeeckplein), Kaapstad, gebou is. Die gebou is 1838 gekoop deur ds. G. E. Stegmann v.d. Lutherse Kerk wat sedert 1830 godsdiensonderrig aan slawe in een v.d. kelders gegee het. Hy het dit in ‘n kerk omgeskep en dit St. Stephens-na die eerste Christenmartelaar wat gestenig is-genoem omdat persone wat teen die opvoeding van slawe was, die gebou met klippe bestook het. Stegmann, bygestaan deur eerw. Adamson v.d. Presbiteriaanse Kerk, het dit as ‘n onafhanklike kerk bestuur tot 1857, toe die Kaapse Sinode v.d. N.G. Kerk op sy versoek dit oorgeneem het. St. Stephens is geen sendingkerk nie, maar die enigste N.G. Kerk vir Kleurlinge wat tot die Moederkerk behoort. Die gebou waaraan uitgebreide herstelwerk uitgevoer is, is in 1966 tot historiese gedenkwaardigheid verklaar.

Aberdeen in the Cape is the Principal town of the magisterial district and division of Aberdeen, 32.2 km south of the Camdeboo Mountains on the national road from Cape Town via Graaff-Reinet, 54.7 km. south-west of Graaff-Reinet. A road motor service links the town with the nearest railway station at Aberdeen Road, 37 km away.

The altitude is 2,400 ft and annual rainfall is 10.5 in. Population in 1960 consisted of Whites 1,353; Coloureds 2,363; Asiatics 1 and 940 Bantu.

 History

On 10 September 1855 the council of the N.G. Kerk of Graaff-Reinet gave permission for the establishment of a new congregation on the farm Brakkefontein, which was bought for the purpose from Jan Vorster for £4,875. The village which sprang up was named after Aberdeen in Scotland, birthplace of Andrew Murray senior, who was minister at Graaff-Reinet and relieving minister of the new congregation. The large church which can seat 2,000 has the highest steeple in South Africa (164 ft. 2 in.), and is 18 in. out of plumb. The first village management board established in 1858 developed into a municipality soon afterwards. The irrigation water-supply is from a permanent fountain, and domestic water from boreholes. Electricity is supplied by the municipal power station.

Local newspaper: Aberdeen Pos, weekly, bilingual.

District: Area 4,266 square km. It is principally a stock-farming district with Merino sheep and cattle, but agriculture is also practised. Cattle auctions are held in the town every month. The Camdeboo and Kraai Rivers flow through the district.

Source: Text and Image – Standard Encyclopaedia of South Africa

Acknowledgment: kind permission Nasou Via Afrika