RIFLES ON THE RANGE
A RATHER SPECIAL OCCASION
Rhodes University’s 2019 graduation weekend, which commenced on Thursday (today) morning, will comprise six separate ceremonies on the cavernous stage of the Guy Butler Theatre of the 1820 Settlers National Monument on which will be seated a large number of the university’s academic staff.
Thursday’s ceremonies are at 9.30am and 2.30pm, Friday at 9.30am, 2.30pm and 6.30pm, and Saturday at 9.30am.
The traditional garden party will be held on the lawns between the main administration building and Drostdy Arch on Saturday afternoon.
STRIKING WORKERS BACK AT WORK
Municipal refuse collection workers returned to work on April 1 after being on strike for more than two months, without the public being notified in advance for them to place refuse bags on sidewalks.
A Sunnyside resident who spotted a refuse truck doing its rounds, said workers’ overalls “looked new” and they were wearing safety gloves.
Many residents did not leave refuse bags outside their properties for the Sunnyside collection on Mondays.
Then, in a statement issued later in the week, Makana executive mayor councillor Mzukisi Mpahlwa, apologised to residents affected by the two-month strike, and at the same time thanked those who “helped keep the town clean” during this period.
The statement confirmed that striking workers had received protective clothing and “tools of trade” on March 29.
“This means employees can now perform their duties efficiently,” stated Mpahlwa.
He concluded his statement with the words: “Working together in unison we shall be able to make our city the cleanest in the province.”
HEFTY SENTENCE FOR POACHERS
There was jubilation inside the courtroom, outside the courtroom, on the streets, and indeed across the country – particularly amongst those connected with game reserves – last week when the three-member ‘Ndlovu Gang’ were sentenced.
Jabulani Ndlovu (41), Forget Ndlovu (38) and Sikhumbuzo Ndlovu (39) were sentenced in the High Court in Makhanda (Grahamstown) to an effective 25 years’ imprisonment each on 55 counts related to rhino poaching in the Eastern Cape.
The courtroom was packed with Green Scorpions members, staff from game reserves, poaching unit members, Eastern Cape Parks & Tourism Agency staff and members of the public.
HUGE COUNTRY OCCASION
Not too far from Makhanda, as the crow flies, is Kwandwe Private Game Reserve, and the Signature Wildlife Auction held there on March 30 was a huge success.
The sellers were Kwandwe Signature Wildlife, Woody Cape Wildlife, Buffalo Kloof Private Game Reserve and Piet du Toit, while buyers came from across the country. There were 72 lots on auction in the mammoth marquee that accommodated about 900 people
Also contributing to the success of the event were sponsors Pam Golding Properties, Kuda Insurance, Meadowfeed, Smartview and Settler City Toyota. Other “locals” on the reserve for the auction were Rotarians who sold their famous burgers, and the Victoria Girls’ High School choir members who were much appreciated.
RHODES TO CONFER HONORARY DOCTORATES
Five remarkable individuals will be honoured with honorary doctorates by Rhodes University during its 2019 annual graduation ceremonies between Thursday and Saturday.
They are Professor Emeritus George Ellis, Professor Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, Professor Glenda Gray and Professor Ian Scott who will each be conferred with a doctor of laws (LLD), while Chief Nike Okundaye-Davies will receive a doctor of fine arts (DFA).
Ellis, an internationally renowned academic, researcher and author, will be honoured for his stellar scholarly contributions in general relativity, cosmology, theoretical physics and policy.
Gobodo-Madikizela is an author and research chair for historical trauma and transformation in the faculty of arts and social sciences at Stellenbosch University.
In 2017, she was awarded the Rhodes University Distinguished Old Rhodian Award.
President of the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) and a professor in paediatrics at Wits University, Gray will be bestowed an honorary doctorate for her unwavering dedication in the field of paediatrics.
Scott will be recognised for his tireless work and immense contribution in higher education.
Chief Okunike Okunsaye-Davis is principally a social entrepreneur and well-known philanthropist championing the cause of the neglected Nigerian rural women through using art as a tool.
LOCAL TEAMS VICTORIOUS
On Day One of the Kingswood College jubilee rugby festival for schools’ first teams last Saturday, hosts Kingswood beat Kearsney College from KwaZulu-Natal 23-15, and Graeme College defeated Clifton School from Durban 27-21.
DRAW ON LOWER
In an evenly-contested First XV rugby clash on Lower field on Saturday hosts St Andrew’s College and Grey High School from Port Elizabeth played to a thrilling 17-17 draw. under-16 and U15 netball teams respectively. They are the only girls from Makhanda to have been selected for the Sarah Baartman teams.
Jessica and Erin were selected for the Makana U16 and U15 netball teams at trials in mid-March, earning them the opportunity to attend the Sarah Baartman trials in Humansdorp last Saturday. Hundreds of players in the age groups from U12 to U18 attended the trials.
The next step for Pautz and Powers will be the Eastern Cape netball trials in East London on Saturday.
GOOD TIMES IN THE GARDENS
No less than 19 personal best times (PBs) were recorded at last Saturday’s parkrun in Makana botanical gardens out of a total of 129 participants.
Those achieving PBs, were: Ian Bamber, Janine Bamber, Michael Brown, Chengetai Chakurungama, Callum Cox, Ezra Dassah, Kelly Hobson, Bevan Low Kee, Banathi Mata, Izipho Matebese, Tonderai Musarurwa, Ian Robertson, Judy Rogan, Gregory Shaw, Kennedy Simango, Zinathi Singata, Rachael Ssekimpi, Reuben Thifhulufhelwi and Lyle Vorsatz.
First finisher on the day was teenager Cee-Jay Porthen who completed his 134th parkrun in 21 minutes 04 seconds. First lady was Charlotte Abraham in 26:07.
Parkruns are held at 8am each Saturday from the entrance to the botanical gardens in Lucas Avenue. Entries close on April 26 for the Eastern Province small-bore shooting championships on the Rhodes University rifle range on May 4 to be shot in A, B, C and F classes from 9am.
Entry fees are R120 for senior shooters and R60 for students and pupils, plus a range fee of R25 per person.
For more information, contact Gerrit Vlok via e-mail
SUBURBAN GO-KART SPEEDSTERS
The Makhanda leg of the Eastern Province and Border round-the-houses go-kart series in October 1974 saw some high-speed racing taking place in the area above the City Lords rugby ground, then home to Albany Rugby Football Club.
Streets making up the track included Trollope, Fitzroy, Wolseley, Ayliff, Livingstone and Carnarvon. Racers came from Port Elizabeth and East London for the event, which was organised by Grahamstown Round Table and the Grahamstown Car Club, and promoted by the East London Motorcycle & Car Club.
I’m afraid no round-the-houses go-kart racing could possibly take place in Makhanda nowadays, what with the hundreds of potholes in any neighbourhood where a track may be laid out.
OBSERVE THE OPENING lbany Museum management has announced that, after a lengthy period of closure due to renovations, the Observatory Museum in Bathurst Street is set to re-open in June, prior to the 2019 National Arts Festival.
The R2.8m project focused on a complete restoration of the building, including the roof, floors, walls and fencing. The exterior has been changed to the original colours of buttercream and green.
The restoration has been completed, and fixtures, exhibits and furniture are presently being installed.
Resident Emily O’Meara is a former curator of the Observatory Museum, and she wrote in the coffee-table book that the museum was “the most unusual home and business premises in the country, with the captivating camera the cherry on the top. Bric-a-brac galore, surprises on every floor”.
O’Meara added the building started life as a humble structure bought by jeweller and clockmaker Henry Carter Galpin in 1850.
With his additions, it rose to great heights, but had hit such a low by the 1970s that it was doomed for demolition,” she wrote.
And now, in 2019, the building has been renovated in its entirety.
HONOURS IN THE POOL
Congratulations to captain of swimming at Diocesan School for Girls (DSG) Toni Rafferty on being awarded swimming honours. The matric pupil has broken numerous records and won a multitude of medals since her grade 8 year in 2015.
MARKET AT THE PROVOST
The Provost Café in Lucas Avenue celebrates its sixth birthday this weekend, and teams up with SupUrban Market on Saturday when they will offer food and drink specials, market stalls and live music from 11am to 5pm.
FORMER BOK’S FATHER DIES
Former Grahamstonian Piet le Roux died in Port Alfred on March 31 and his memorial service was held at Kasouga last week. He was the husband of Tinkie and father of former Springbok rugby flyhalf, Hennie le Roux.
As far as I can recall, Piet le Roux worked for the then Cape Eastern Meat Co-op in Bathurst Street, while Tinkie le Roux held a senior position in the Town Clerk’s department of the then Grahamstown Municipality.
Meanwhile, a photo was posted on a social media page last week of a rugby team comprising Graeme College Old Boys/Parents and, reclining in front, is Piet le Roux. On that occasion in 1984, the team played Graeme Staff.
Other players in the photo, who readers may remember, are Dennis Wicks, Ronnie Gleaves, Gavin Reid, Angus Barnard, Fanie Maritz, Ernie Rothman, Cliff ‘Mac’ MacKenzie, Chicken Gendall, Willie Kingsley, Tony Perry, Butch Zimmerman and John Hubbard.
SIXTIES SOCCER SCENE
Last week I wrote, under the heading “City on the Green” about football in Makhanda in the 1960s.
Former Grahamstown City player Trevor Wiblin, now living in Port Elizabeth, shared some thoughts on the local football scene in those days.
He wrote that in the early to mid-1960s the East Cape National Football League (NFL) came into being and Saints Grahamstown (later to become Grahamstown City) was admitted, as were Port Elizabeth and East London teams.
In 1966 Brian Smith, Derek Smith, Smiley Moore, Toy Rischbiter, Albert Levings and Trevor Wiblin made their debuts as schoolboys in the ‘big league’.
Other names Wiblin recalls from the 1960s are Saints Football Club players Turk Perkins, Bennie McLean, Franz Marmetscke, Rodney Mortimer, Chappie Dyson, Stewart Fullarton, Neil Eardley and Ronnie Wise, while the Bodill brothers – Joey, Harold and Stanley – turned out for Albany United Football Club.
NOT MUCH AT HOME
Graeme College’s remaining rugby fixtures for April are:
Saturday April 13 – Senior teams play Cambridge High in East London, while the junior teams are at home to Port Alfred High.
Thursday April 18 to Monday 22nd – First XV takes part in the St John’s College rugby festival in Johannesburg where they will play Windhoek High, St Charles College and St David’s College.