The following lists events that happened during 1947 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 VI
George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952. ...
.
*
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:
Gideon Brand van Zyl.
*
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 ...
:
Jan Christiaan Smuts.
*
Chief Justice:
Ernest Frederick Watermeyer
Ernest Frederick Watermeyer, PC, QC (12 October 1880 – 18 January 1958), was the Chief Justice of South Africa from 1943 to 1950.
Watermeyer was born in Graaff-Reinet in 1880. He was educated at Stellenbosch Gymnasium, Bath College and Go ...
.
Events
;March
* 9 – The Three Doctors' Pact (also known as the Dadoo-Naicker-Xuma Pact) is signed by Dr
A.B. Xuma (
African National Congress
The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...
), Dr
Monty Naicker
Gangathura Mohambry Naicker (30 September 1910 – 12 January 1978) was a medical doctor and a South African anti-apartheid activist of Indian Tamil descent.
Early life
His father was a trader, exporting bananas. He studied in Durban at ''Mari ...
(Natal Indian Congress) and Dr
Yusuf Dadoo (Transvaal Indian Congress).
;April
* 18 –
Mrs. Ples
__NOTOC__
Mrs. Ples is the popular nickname for the most complete skull of an ''Australopithecus africanus'' ever found in South Africa. Many ''Australopithecus'' fossils have been found near Sterkfontein, about northwest of Johannesburg, in a r ...
is discovered near
Sterkfontein
Sterkfontein (Afrikaans for ''Strong Spring'') is a set of limestone caves of special interest to paleo-anthropologists located in Gauteng province, about northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa in the Muldersdrift area close to the town of K ...
.
;May
* 4 – The Natal Indian Organisation is formed.
;December
* 29 –
Marion Island
The Prince Edward Islands are two small uninhabited islands in the sub-Antarctic Indian Ocean that are part of South Africa. The islands are named Marion Island (named after Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne, 1724–1772) and Prince Edward Island ...
is annexed by South Africa.
Births
* 23 March –
Ray Phiri, musician (d. 2017)
* 2 June – King
Ingwenyama Mayitjha III of the Ndzundza-Mabhoko
Southern Ndebele people. (d. 2005)
* 2 July –
George Weideman, poet and writer. (d. 2008)
* 16 July –
Roelf Meyer, politician.
* 5 August –
Angus Buchan
Angus Buchan is a Christian author and evangelist based in South Africa.
Early life
Buchan was born in Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). The son of immigrants from Scotland, he farmed maize and cattle in Zambia until he moved in 1976 ...
,
televangelist
Televangelism (wikt:tele-, tele- "distance" and "evangelism," meaning "Christian ministry, ministry," sometimes called teleministry) is the use of media, specifically radio and television, to communicate Christianity. Televangelists are minister ...
, pastor & farmer.
* 15 September –
Sandra Prinsloo, actress
* 28 October –
Busi Mhlongo
Busi Mhlongo (28 October 1947 – 15 June 2010), born as Victoria Busisiwe Mhlongo, was a singer, dancer and composer originally from Inanda in Natal, South Africa.
Biography
Mhlongo drew on various South African styles such as Mbaqanga, Mask ...
, musician. (d. 2010)
Deaths
Railways
Locomotives
Two new Cape gauge locomotive types enter service on the
South African Railways (SAR):
* Twelve
Class S1
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 ...
0-8-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and no trailing wheels. Locomotives of this type are also referre ...
shunting steam locomotives, designed and built in the Salt River workshops in Cape Town.
* The first of twenty-eight
Class 3E electric locomotives.
Sports
Cricket
; May–August
The
South Africa national cricket team
The South Africa national cricket team, also known as the Proteas, represents South Africa in men's international cricket and is administered by Cricket South Africa (CSA). South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council (I ...
tours England and plays five
Test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to:
* Test cricket
* Test match (indoor cricket)
* Test match (rugby union)
* Test match (rugby league)
* Test match (association football)
...
against the
England national cricket team.
;Test matches
1st Testat
Trent Bridge – match drawn
2nd Testat
Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...
– England won by 10 wickets
3rd Testat
Old Trafford
Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...
– England won by 7 wickets
4th Testat
Headingley – England won by 10 wickets
5th Testat
The Oval
The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...
– match drawn
Football
;May–July
The
South Africa national football team
The South Africa national soccer team represents South Africa in men's international Association football, soccer and it is run by the South African Football Association, the governing body for Soccer in South Africa. The team's nickname is Baf ...
tours Australia and New Zealand and plays five games against the
Australia national association football team and four against the
New Zealand national football team.Team-H.Smethurst (capt.),L.G.Anley,A.G.Falconer,D.A.Wilson,H.D.McCreadie,R.H.F.Nicholson,D.D.Forbes,E.G.Dowell,S.van Rensburg, C.Kurland,R.Ferriman,H.E.Naish,J.H.Classens,H.J.Pretorius,J.H.M.Pickerill,C.L.Brink,B.Clack,S.O'Linn.J.H.Barbour (mgr).M.Taylor (ast.mgr).
*;Australia
** 10 May – South Africa wins 2–1 at the
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and as ...
s, Australia.
** 24 May – South Africa wins 4–2 at the
Brisbane Cricket Ground
The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as the Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. The nickname Gabba derives from the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located. Over the years, the Gab ...
s, Australia.
** 31 May – South Africa and Australia draw 3–3 at the Sydney Show Grounds, Australia.
** 7 June – Australia wins 5–1 at the
Newcastle Sports Grounds, Australia.
** 14 June – South Africa wins 2–1 at the
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and as ...
s, Australia.
*;New Zealand
** 28 June – South Africa wins 6–5 at the
Lancaster Park,
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
, New Zealand.
** 5 July – South Africa wins 6–0 at the
Carisbrook Stadium,
Dunedin
Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...
, New Zealand.
** 12 July – South Africa wins 8–3 at the Athletic Park,
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
, New Zealand.
** 19 July – South Africa wins 4–1 at the
Eden Park
Eden Park is New Zealand's largest sports stadium, with a capacity of 50,000. Located in central Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, it is three kilometres southwest of the CBD, on the boundary between the suburbs of Mount Eden and King ...
,
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
, New Zealand.
References
{{Africa topic, 1947 in, state=collapsed
History of South Africa