Historically South Africa has always experienced segregation except that with the accession to power of the National Party in 1948 separation in all facets of one’s life was now governed by its own separate and restrictive legislation.  Amongst the avalanche of legislation in the early years of Nationalist rule was one law that mandated the separation of beaches by the local councils.

This is the story of the ascendance of beach segregation and its ultimate demise.

Main picture: Map of segregated beaches along Port Elizabeth’s coast

Beach segregation was practised voluntarily or by convention in South Africa throughout the 20th century but only after coming to power of the Nationalists in 1948 did the rise and enforcement of beach apartheid achieve prominence amongst the deluge of racist legislation enacted. Many of the prominent pieces of segregation legislature had been enacted prior to 1948 such as the Native Urban Areas Act which was promulgated in1923. Ironically by being  a constituent part of the British Commonwealth until 1961, much of the racist legislation was enacted in the name of the British Crown.  

In terms of what became known as “petty apartheid” the Nationalists sought to restrict racial contact in public spaces by separating amenities such as beaches, swimming pools, park benches, pedestrian bridges and even graveyards. The foundation legislation for defining petty apartheid was the Separate Amenities Act of 1953. Like all legislation while the intention might be clear the definitions to implement it required extensive clarification and amendments. At the enforcement level, the Act did not empower the local authorities to implement beach segregation. The restriction might have been defined as representing the “land” but this term only applied to land above the high water mark. Further confusion regarding enforcement arose when cognisance had to be taken of the Sea Shore Act of 1935 which declared the Queen the owner of the seashore and the sea and in which the seashore was defined as the land situated between the high water mark and the low water mark. In yet another amendment to the Act, “public premises” was deemed to include the seashore. Finally the Act was made watertight by empowering the Minister of Agriculture to delegate to provinces and local authorities the legal right for the enforcement of apartheid on beaches.

Zoning of beaches
A flurry of governmental committees and investigations were formed regarding the zoning of beaches in Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. These bodies were empowered to apply pressure  on these local councils to comply with the requirements of these Acts. In turn the beach space allocated had to comply with the stringencies of the Group Areas Act.

As regards  Port Elizabeth the National Minister of Planning made recommendations in 1965 with regard to beach apartheid in the City. These recommendations were in conflict with alternative suggestions proposed by the City Council which had been rejected by the Minister. These alternative proposals included a request that beaches traditionally used by the city’s Coloured bathers be allowed to continue. Ultimately after much consultation with the Minister, the Town Council drew the conclusion that further objections were pointless as the Minister was intractable in his determinations that the main beaches had to be allocated for White use only. In terms of the proposals only small strips of beach were allocated to the other races and in order to prevent the races from being in close proximity to other races, buffer strips were inserted to ensure the separation the races.

By 1965 Port Elizabeth had demarcated the beach space between the various races yet made a tepid response to the requirement to install discriminatory signage until such time as they were compelled to do so by the National Government. To prevent continuing prevarication, the National Party introduced an amendment to the Sea Sore Amendment Act compelling the local authorities to install notice boards.

Life-saving contest
Over the years Port Elizabeth was involved in controversy regarding Blacks on beaches designated as White. One such issue was a proposed life-saving contest in which non-Whites were permitted onto the white beach during the contest. After an uproar, the word Black was supplanted by the words “black contestants”. Groups of black spectators could watch the life-saving contests but were barred from using the toilets on these beaches as the facilities were for whites only. Accordingly black spectators were compelled to travel 5kms to King’s Beach as it had segregated facilities.

Demise of beach apartheid
By the mid-1980s Apartheid was being assailed from all quarters, locally and internationally. South Africa was on the defensive, the proverbial back foot. The assaults came in many forms, and some used the fact that beaches were racially designated could be utilised to embarrass the government. Allen Hendrickse, the leader of the Labour Party representing the Coloured population in the Tricameral parliament scandalised the government by swimming in a White’s only beach in 1995. Against Hendrickse’ better judgement, but under enormous pressure from the government, he apologised to the President, PW Botha much to the chagrin of his supporters

One innovative approach adopted by the Durban Municipality was to declare portion of Battery Beach as a Multiracial Beach. On the other hand, the Port Elizabeth municipality adopted an alternative approach viz terminate the prosecution of non-compliance with the beach segregation laws.

Source
Rogerson J.M., 2017: ‘Kicking Sand in the Face of Apartheid’: Segregated Beaches in South Africa

Transcription of article on the arrest of ten for using a beach designated as white

By Simon Bloch

In another beach apartheid incidence,six paddle surferswere ordered from the sea off the “whte’s only” beach at Flat Rock yesterday afternoon.

It was claimed that the paddle surfers, who have been riding waves at Flat rock for three years were ordered from the water by a plain clothes policeman who said that they would otherwise be “locked up”

According to one of them, Mr Beharodien Jappie, the surfers were warned that if theydid not leave the water immediately, the police would return in a boat and tow them out.Mr. Jappie felt that he and his friends were not offending or disturbing anyone.

There is hardly ever anybody here. We don’t want to lie on the beach or swim. We just want to ride the waves. Each of use has spent R300 on equipment. We can’t go out to Jeffreys every day. We cam here because there is nowhere else to surf.

There are sandsharks at St. Georges Strand and the waves are not that good there, said Mr Jappie. His five paddle -surfing friends who were also ordered out were Farouk Agherdien, Jameel Agherdien, Omar  Mallick, and Mr. Jappies brothers, Foezie and AbDullah.

Mr Jappie said that he saw our Coloured lifesavers  also being ordered to leave. He knows one of them as a Mr Astrie. The Progressive Federal Party MPC for Constantia and his party’s chief spokesman for Nature and Environment, Mr. Jan van Gent said today: ’These laws  are very dangerous and do an enormous amount to damage relationships between the different groups.”

“Police actions this summer strengthen my belief  that the Government has no intention of removing beach apartheid. One is horrified every time that it happens. I disapprove of the law, naturally, but while the law is in force there must obviously be signs clearly demarcating segregated bathing areas.

“People shouldn’t be surprised by people being removed from the beaches. It is a logical conclusion to apply the law. The real evil applies in the law itself. These matters must be given publicity so that people can see how stupid the law is.  Mr van Gend said the amount of money spent at provincial level for separate beach facilities for different racial groups added strengh to his belief that there was no end in sight for beach apartheid.

An Eastern Province paddle surfing team selector, Atholl Anderson, said he had surfed with Malays before and found them to be “a pleasant bunch”. “They are not a problem. I have no objections to them being in the water, he said.

The Press Liason officer for the South African Police in Port Elizabeth, Major Gerrie Van Rooyen confirmed that the Flat Rock incident took place. He said that six paddle surfers were warned after a compalint had been received. TheDirector of Parks, Mr Peter Gibbs, said Blacks could not be allowed to use white area to paddle surf unless  there was a change in the allocation of beaches. Council is considering the matter at the moment but I do not know what the outcome will be, said Mr Gibbs.

In East London there has been an outcry over the location of the all-race tidal pool near the site of a proposed sewerage works. Port Elizabeth’s non-racial Brighton Beach boasts impressive new facilities but it is near the Carbon Black factory and is affected by the pungent smell

Rogerson J.M., 2017: ‘Kicking Sand in the Face of Apartheid’: Segregated Beaches in South Africa