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The following lists events that happened during 1915 in South Africa.


Incumbents

*
Monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...
: King
George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...
. *
Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
and
High Commissioner for Southern Africa The British office of high commissioner for Southern Africa was responsible for governing British possessions in Southern Africa, latterly the protectorates of Basutoland (now Lesotho), the Bechuanaland Protectorate (now Botswana) and Swaziland ...
: The Viscount Buxton.Archontology.org: A Guide for Study of Historical Offices: South Africa: Governors-General: 1910-1961
(Accessed on 14 April 2017)
*
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
:
Louis Botha Louis Botha (; 27 September 1862 – 27 August 1919) was a South African politician who was the first prime minister of the Union of South Africa – the forerunner of the modern South African state. A Boer war hero during the Second Boer War, ...
. * Chief Justice:
James Rose Innes Sir James Rose Innes (8 January 1855 – 16 January 1942) was the Chief Justice of South Africa from 1914 to 1927 and, in the view of many, its greatest ever judge. Before becoming a judge he was a member of the Cape Parliament, the Cape Colo ...


Events

;February * 4 – The
Maritz rebellion The Maritz rebellion, also known as the Boer revolt or Five Shilling rebellion,General De Wet publicly unfurled the rebel banner in October, when he entered the town of Reitz at the head of an armed commando. He summoned all the town and dema ...
of disaffected
Boer Boers ( ; af, Boere ()) are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape Colony, Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controll ...
e against the government of the
Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Trans ...
ends with the surrender of remaining rebels. ;May * 1 – General
Louis Botha Louis Botha (; 27 September 1862 – 27 August 1919) was a South African politician who was the first prime minister of the Union of South Africa – the forerunner of the modern South African state. A Boer war hero during the Second Boer War, ...
,
Prime Minister of South Africa The prime minister of South Africa ( af, Eerste Minister van Suid-Afrika) was the head of government in South Africa between 1910 and 1984. History of the office The position of Prime Minister was established in 1910, when the Union of Sout ...
, leads the army in the occupation of
German South West Africa German South West Africa (german: Deutsch-Südwestafrika) was a colony of the German Empire from 1884 until 1915, though Germany did not officially recognise its loss of this territory until the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. With a total area of ...
. ;July * 9 – Dr Theodore Seitz, governor of German South West Africa, surrenders to General Louis Botha at the farm Khorab, between
Otavi Otavi is a town of 4,000 inhabitants in the Otjozondjupa Region of central Namibia. Situated 360 km north of Windhoek, it is the district capital of the Otavi electoral constituency. Geography The towns of Otavi, Tsumeb (to the north) and Gro ...
and
Tsumeb , nickname = , settlement_type = City , motto = ''Glück Auf'' (German language, German for ''Good luck'') , image_skyline = Welcome to tsumeb.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption ...
. ;September * The International Socialist League of South Africa is established in
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
.


Births

* 2 February –
Abba Eban Abba Solomon Meir Eban (; he, אבא אבן ; born Aubrey Solomon Meir Eban; 2 February 1915 – 17 November 2002) was an Israeli diplomat and politician, and a scholar of the Arabic and Hebrew languages. During his career, he served as Fo ...
, Israeli foreign affairs minister. (d. 2002) * 26 February –
Elisabeth Eybers Elisabeth Françoise Eybers (26 February 1915 – 1 December 2007) was a South African poet. Her poetry was mainly in Afrikaans, although she translated some of her own work (and those of others) into English. Eybers was born in Klerksdorp, ...
, poet. (d. 2007) * 10 May –
Beyers Naudé Christiaan Frederick Beyers Naudé (10 May 1915 – 7 September 2004) was a South African Afrikaner Calvinist Dominee, theologian and the leading Afrikaner anti-apartheid activist. He was known simply as Beyers Naudé, or more colloquially, ...
, cleric, theologian and activist. (d. 2004) * 2 December –
Marais Viljoen Marais Viljoen, (2 December 1915 – 4 January 2007) was the last ceremonial state president of South Africa from 4 June 1979 until 3 September 1984. Viljoen became the last of the ceremonial presidents of South Africa when he was succeeded in ...
, politician and State President. (d. 2007) * 13 December –
B.J. Vorster Balthazar Johannes "B. J." Vorster (; also known as John Vorster; 13 December 1915 – 10 September 1983) was a South African apartheid politician who served as the prime minister of South Africa from 1966 to 1978 and the State President of Sou ...
, politician, Prime Minister and State President. (d. 1983)


Deaths


Railways


Railway lines opened

* 12 April – Natal –
Dalton Dalton may refer to: Science * Dalton (crater), a lunar crater * Dalton (program), chemistry software * Dalton (unit) (Da), the atomic mass unit * John Dalton, chemist, physicist and meteorologist Entertainment * Dalton (Buffyverse), minor cha ...
to Glenside, .''Statement Showing, in Chronological Order, the Date of Opening and the Mileage of Each Section of Railway'', Statement No. 19, p. 187, ref. no. 200954-13 * 31 May – Free State – Westleigh to
Vierfontein Vierfontein is a settlement in Fezile Dabi District Municipality in the Free State province of South Africa. Vierfontein is a coal-mining village, formerly associated to the Vierfontein Power Station, which was active from 1953 to 1990. When the ...
, . * 31 May – Free State –
Fauresmith Fauresmith is located 130 km south west of Bloemfontein, South Africa. The town, named after Rev Phillip Faure and Sir Harry Smith, is the second oldest town in the Free State. Fauresmith is the only town in South Africa, and one of only t ...
to
Koffiefontein Koffiefontein is a small farming town in the Free State province of South Africa. The name means ''coffee fountain'' in Afrikaans. History In the 1800s, Koffiefontein was a stopover spot for transport riders traveling between the coast and the di ...
, . * 30 June – Cape – Klipdale to Protem, . * 1 August – Cape –
Prieska Prieska is a town on the south bank of the Orange River, in the province of the Northern Cape, in western South Africa. It is located on the southern bank of the Orange River, 130 km north-west of Britstown and 75 km south-east of Mary ...
to South West Border, . * 1 August – Cape – Walvisbaai to
Swakop River The Swakop River ( naq, Tsoaxaub) is a major river in western central Namibia. Its river source is in the Khomas Highland. From there it flows westwards through the town of Okahandja, the historic mission station at Gross Barmen, and the set ...
(at
Swakopmund Swakopmund (german: Mouth of the Swakop) is a city on the coast of western Namibia, west of the Namibian capital Windhoek via the B2 main road. It is the capital of the Erongo administrative district. The town has 44,725 inhabitants and covers ...
), . * 4 August – Transvaal –
Tzaneen Tzaneen () is a large tropical garden town situated in the Mopani District Municipality of the Limpopo province in South Africa. It is situated in a high rainfall fertile region with tropical and subtropical agriculture taking place in a region. ...
to Soekmekaar, . * 16 August – Natal – Paddock to
Izingolweni Izingolweni or Ezinqoleni is a town in Ugu District Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. It was founded in the 1870s as a police and administration post. The name comes from the Zulu language word for "place with very shal ...
(Narrow gauge), . * 5 October – Natal – Schroeders to Bruyns Hill, . * 15 November – Cape – Birdfield to
Klawer Klawer is a town in the Matzikama Municipality in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is situated on the right bank of the Olifants River, south-east of Vredendal and north of Cape Town. According to the 2011 census it has a populat ...
, . * 29 November – Cape – Motkop to New England, . * 1 December – Cape – Carnarvon to Williston, .


Locomotives

;Narrow gauge Two narrow gauge locomotive types enter service in South Africa: * Thirteen out-of-service Mozambican Falcon
4-4-0 4-4-0 is a locomotive type with a classification that uses the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement and represents the arrangement: four leading wheels on two axles (usually in a leading bogie), four po ...
narrow gauge tender steam locomotives are acquired by the Union Defence Force for use in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
to replace narrow gauge South African Railways (SAR) locomotives that are being commandeered for the war effort in
German South West Africa German South West Africa (german: Deutsch-Südwestafrika) was a colony of the German Empire from 1884 until 1915, though Germany did not officially recognise its loss of this territory until the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. With a total area of ...
. They will later be designated Class NG6 on the SAR.Railway Modelling Scene, South Africa, May/June 1985, article written by Neill Mardell * The first of six narrow gauge
4-6-0 A 4-6-0 steam locomotive, under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, has four leading wheels on two axles in a leading bogie and six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles with the abse ...
steam locomotives enter service on the
Avontuur Railway The Avontuur Railway is a closed railway line between Port Elizabeth and the town of Avontuur in the Western and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. It is the longest narrow gauge route in the world at a length of . "Avontuur" is the Afrika ...
. They will later be designated Class NG9 by the SAR. ;Cape gauge Five Cape gauge locomotive types enter service on the
South African Railways Transnet Freight Rail is a South African rail transport company, formerly known as Spoornet. It was part of the South African Railways and Harbours Administration, a state-controlled organisation that employed hundreds of thousands of people ...
(SAR): * In May six Rhodesian 7th Class 4-8-0 locomotives are purchased by the SAR and reclassified, five of them to Class 7D and the remaining one to Class 7B. * Fifteen
Class 14B Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differently ...
4-8-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels, eight powered and coupled driving wheels and two trailing wheels. This type of steam locomotive is commonly known as t ...
Mountain type locomotives without superheating. * Two Class 16A
4-6-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. The locomotiv ...
Pacific type four-cylinder simple expansion passenger locomotives. * Five Class MH
2-6-6-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, a is a locomotive with one pair of unpowered leading wheels, followed by two sets of three pairs of powered driving wheels and one pair of trailing wheels. ...
Mallet articulated compound steam locomotives, the largest and most powerful locomotive in the world on
Cape gauge A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...
at the time. * Six Class J 4-6-4 tank
steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
s on the Natal South Coast.


References

{{Africa topic, 1915 in, state=collapsed
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
Years in South Africa History of South Africa