Historical Monthly Vehicle Sales in SA, 1960 – 2020: A Reflection of Events and Society

By Dean McCleland in Animals, Historical, Landscapes, Other Galleries 0 Comment

Events

  1. June 1976 – Soweto Riots and preceded by the invasion of Angola in October 1975.
  2. 15 August 1985 – Rubicon speech when PW Botha dashed hopes of a ‘soft’ landing for Apartheid.  This had been preceded by more than a year of money outflows and devaluation of the Rand
  3. 27 April 1994 – Democratic elections
  4. 5 October 2007 – Dow peak before subprime crisis
  5. 15 September 2008 – Lehman Brothers files for bankruptcy
  6. 27 March 2020 – Covid lockdown

Periods

  1. Good economic growth rate in the 60’s and early 70’s.
  2. Tumultuous times and the uncertain future kept sales flat for roughly 26 years.
  3. The rise of the nouveau riche with AA and BEE seriously kicking in.
  4. Subprime crisis and the global recession and its resolution.
  5. The onset of serious state capture and the policy chickens coming home to roost. The drop in car sales started in about 2012 pushing car sales back to 1975 levels although the population had increased by 2.3 times over that period – not a pretty sight and it is mirrored by our massive unemployment and a nearly bankrupt fiscus.

The Port of Cape Town of Yore

By Dean McCleland in Historical 0 Comment

Is one even able to contemplate what Cape Town’s harbour was like in the days of sail? These photographs evoke that period. Imagine the harbour without a steamship in sight. The first regular service between SA and the UK was only commenced in 1857 by the Union Steam Company.

Main picture: Sailing ships at anchor in Table Bay mid 1800s

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Where is the Safety Officer?

By Dean McCleland in Other Galleries 0 Comment

Often one wonders how somebody could have sustained a peculiar injury. Now I know how. These acts are not merely stupid but rather imbecilic. One could even conclude that they possess a death wish. Will any of these cretins survive to old age or will Lady Luck play an inordinate role in their lives?

Main pictures: If they pull this off, they’re engineering geniuses

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The Great Depression of the 1930s

By Dean McCleland in Historical 0 Comment

The Great Depression lasted from 1929 to 1939, and was the worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialized world. It began after the stock market crash of October 1929, which sent Wall Street into a panic and wiped out millions of investors. Over the next several years, consumer spending and investment dropped, causing steep declines in industrial output and employment as failing companies laid off workers. By 1933, when the Great Depression reached its lowest point, some 15 million Americans were unemployed and nearly half the country’s banks had failed.

The motto of the era was “Use it up — wear it out, — make it do or do without!” 

This photographic depiction of the era vividly highlights the devastation that it left in its wake in America.

 

Main picture: Amongst the countless millions reduced to penury
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Animal Bridges

By Dean McCleland in Other Galleries 1 Comment

Generically these are known as Animals Crossings as any fabricated structure, which facilitates the movements of animals across an impeding obstacle such as roads, or railway line could serve as a crossing. 

However, as the most spectacular crossings are bridges, the focus will be on bridges. 

Main picture: A Green Wildlife Bridge over an Autobahn in Germany

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