South Africa of 60 years Ago

South Africa of 60 years ago was a vastly different place than the South Africa of today. The changes are more than the cosmetic ones such as apparel and motor vehicles. Apart from the fact that the black man had to “know his place”, the white community was riven with divisions. Inspite of also being white, the English speaking was discriminated against in terms of the unwritten Afrikaans Affirmative Action Policies.

Much like the current policies, with limited promotion possibilities for English speakers within the Civil Service, they fled the government service in droves. From the majority of Civil Service being English Speaking in 1948, by 1960 it was overwhelmingly Afrikaans speaking.

Main picture: Cape Town Station

The South Africa penchant for renaming places after the current political milieu has a long tradition. A military base just south of Pretoria epitomises that practice. Anointed with the name of Robert’s Heights in 1905 after Lord Roberts, it was renamed Voortrekkerhoogte in 1930. On the 19 May 1998, following the end of apartheid, it was renamed again, receiving the name Thaba Tshwane.