Durban starts its engines
Patrick Coyne writes about the birth of motoring in the city
AFASCINATING yet often forgotten part of South Africa’s history is the story of the earliest cars, their indomitable drivers and how they ventured on what passed for roads in those days.
The contribution Durban and Natal made to this story is considerable.
During the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902) cars were still unheard of in Durban. The first man to change this state of affairs was, strangely enough, a young Frenchman.
George Chapart arrived in Durban towards the end of the war knowing no English, but possessing what would be a far more valuable asset: practical experience in the fledgling car industry. He had worked at the well-known De Dion Bouton motor works in Paris, before travelling south and trying out a business venture in Madagascar, which failed.
But once established in Durban, Chapart’s fortunes changed. He began importing French automobiles which he sold or hired out to would-be Natal motorists. In five years he had supplied Durban with the bulk of its 30 cars.
One of the earliest cars Chapart hired out was a 1901 CGV (built by French racing motorists Charron, Girandot and Voigt).
Then, in 1902, Chapart made a pioneering trip from Durban to Amanzimtoti in his Benz car at an average speed of 10km/h – to the amazement of onlookers.
In 1905 Chapart drove a Charron car (a later version of the CGV) from Durban to Pietermaritzburg and back in two days. It is worth pointing out that this road was then notorious as being one of the worst in the country, partly because of Natal’s extreme weather conditions.
In 1907 the first Ford car, the “Model N”, arrived in Durban, which Chapart sold to farmers in Natal and even further afield.
The Natal Automobile Club was founded in 1906.
During World War 1 (19141918) Durban chemists showed great enterprise in developing a motor spirit based on alcohol, a by-product of molasses, which was in turn a by-product of sugar cane. This was called Natalite, and Natal Cane By-products Ltd – which patented it – hoped to sell its product all over the world.
The Merebank firm claimed that Natalite could be manufactured anywhere from sugar beet or even potatoes. By 1920 Natalite was being railed all over South Africa.
However, with the ever-increasing number of cars in South Africa and the subsequent burgeoning of its petroleum industry, Natalite and the sugar industry found itself unable to keep up with the increasing demand for motor-spirit.
It did not take long for drivers to realise cars were an exciting means of competing with each other. By the early 1920s, record-breaking dashes between Durban and Johannesburg had become something of a craze.
In the days before air travel, if a motorist could beat what was then the fastest method of distance travel – the mail train – then he automatically became a public hero.
The Irishman TB Adair, known as “Paddy” Adair, had imported a 30/98 Vauxhall and had tuned it until it became a legend. In 1922 Adair drove the Vauxhall from Durban to Johannesburg in 10 hours, 20 minutes, a distance that normally took a motorist two-anda-half days. This record stood for four years.
Though most of South Africa’s famous grands prix were held on circuits at East London, Cape Town and Johannesburg, Durban held its own version of car racing at the Clairwood track, where the Durban Light Car Club organised its popular events.
The Durban weather has never been kind to cars, especially in the days of fabric roofs. A great hailstorm on the night of June 27, 1929 ruined numerous cars that had been left out in the open.
Today, however, the humidity and general dampness are notorious for causing steel bodies to rust, with the result that increasingly manufacturers are seeking to build cars using aluminium or non-metallic materials such as carbon-fibre and glass-fibre.
When one considers the advanced technology incorporated into today’s new cars, and the even more amazing features that manufacturers promise us in the future – and when one looks back on the design of South Africa’s earliest cars, one has to admit that the drivers of those days must have been very confident, very rash or very brave.
The pictures illustrating this article and some of its facts are from the book Early Motoring in South Africa by RH Johnston (C Struik Publishers, 1975) to whom grateful thanks are due. The writer remembers with respect and affection the occasion when, many years ago, he personally visited Bob Johnston and was shown his immaculate Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost car.