News of the day

September 16, 1871 Arrival of the SS Edinburgh The steamer Edinburgh, Captain WR Cate, arrived in Table Bay on Thursday afternoon, a splendid steamer of about 1 817 tons. She is bound to Port Darwin, Australia, and has on board 800 miles (1 300km) of the Australian telegraph cable intended to connect that continent with the line laid between Europe and Batavia. September 19, 1876 The address of President Brand In his address to the Town Council, his Honour President Brand said: “I rejoice with you at the happy settlement of the question which existed between Her Majesty’s Government and that of the Orange Free State, and I entertain the fond hope that the friendly feeling which prevails will promote the harmonious action for the general welfare, whilst the most amicable relations will continue to exist between the Cape Colony and the Orange Free State, which are so intimately connected by ties of common interest and family relations. Cape Town, where I was born, I shall always remember with fond affection.” September 21, 1876 The Transvaal – horrible atrocities The following from WV Phelan, editor of the Gold Fields Mercury in Pilgrim’s Rest: The grand army having been defeated by Seccocoeni, a gang of filibusters, under that reckless adventurer Von Schlickmann of Diamond-fields notoriety, are committing the grossest outrages in the neighbourhood of Steelpoort. They are butchering helpless women and children, burning kraals promiscuously, laying waste to fine country. For God’s sake, sirs, for the sake of humanity, for the credit of “civilised” Africa, try and get this infamy put a stop to. The infamy that has been committed in the name and under the sanction of the Volksraad is such as will leave an indelible stain on the history and civilization of South Africa. September 18, 1940 Plotters against the state Mr HG Lawrence was able, by his disclosures, to convince a university audience last night that the Ossewabrandwag movement contains the seeds of active rebellion against the State. Rev JD Vorster – apparently a “General” in the movement – has furnished us today with a hot, though vague denial of advocating a Nazi system in South Africa, but seems unconscious of the fact that when he advised students to take Mein Kampf as their guidebook to greatness, when he adjured them to follow Hitler’s example, and, when he advocated an expulsion of the democratic system of the ballot-box and elections, he was, in fact, propelling students into the path of a Nazi revolution. September 18, 1968 SA plunged into worst sports crisis With one devastating political blow, the Prime Minister (Mr BJ Vorster) delivered his verdict last night on the “D’Oliveira issue” and plunged the country’s sporting bodies into the worst crisis in their history. He announced South Africa was not prepared to accept a “political” MCC team with Basil D’Oliveira in it. It is not the MCC tour, nor even the sport of cricket alone that is affected by the decision. The blast from the bombshell dropped by Mr Vorster at the Free State congress of the National Party in Bloemfontein last night affects other sports and all the country’s sporting ties with the outside world. September 15, 1976 Stay-away With today’s high rate of absenteeism in the city centre, many Whites had to knuckle down to unaccustomed chores. Mr Dave Heath, a trainee manager at a clothing store, wielded a mop and pail, while baker Theo Steinmetz, whose work keeps him in the kitchen of his Claremont confectionery, had to shoulder a tray of freshly baked doughnuts. September 20, 1978 Hush hush ex-Beatle caught at breakfast Former Beatle John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono completed their hush hush visit to South Africa today with an interrupted breakfast at a five-star Johannesburg hotel. News of Lennon’s unscheduled arrival from a holiday in the Seychelles could not be confirmed as the man who made the Mersey beat famous checked into the Carlton Hotel under the name of Wilson. But after he had successfully eluded the Press for two days, our representative finally tracked him down at his breakfast table, dressed in slacks and a T-shirt and wearing his famous pebble glasses. “Just go… okay?” he admonished wearily, breaking into a tired grin. September 20, 1978 But you expect us to play the game Sir, Let’s face it, you, my fellow South African citizens, are not “playing the game”. Yet you expect us – and the rest of the “double standards” “outof-step” world to play a normal game – in an abnormal society. For God’s sake, White South Africa, show some real honest to goodness Christian love and good-will. And be pleasantly surprised – I promise you! Patrick Ford, Lansdowne. September 15, 2005 South Africa is the genetic lab for the study of a rare disease South Africans are a “living inventory” of their history, information that, thanks to the Human Genome Project, will guide research and technical breakthroughs that promise to bring answers to life-threatening diseases, among them, porphyria. About 30 000 South Africans carry the gene for porphyria, a disease which has unfairly and without foundation been associated with vampires and werewolves, along with the madness of Britain’s King George 3. South Africa is referred to as the porphyria capital of the world. September 20, 2006 Peace-keeping increases need for defence equipment – Lekota South Africa’s deep involvement in peacekeeping operations around Africa was vital for sustainable development and this has increased the need for specialised defence equipment, said Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota. Speaking at the opening of the Africa Aerospace and Defence 2006 exposition in Cape Town today, Lekota said the country’s huge transformation since 1994, and the change from an offensive to a defensive posture, had led to its increasing involvement in peace-keeping operations.