1958 in South Africa

The following lists events that happened during 1958 in South Africa.

Incumbents

• Monarch: Queen Elizabeth II.
• Governor-General and High Commissioner for Southern Africa: Ernest George Jansen.
• Prime Minister: Johannes Gerhardus Strijdom (until 24 August), Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd (starting 2 September).
• Chief Justice: Henry Allan Fagan.

Events

April

• 16 – The last general election of the Union of South Africa takes place.

May

• 6 – Margaret Rheeder is hanged in Pretoria for poisoning her husband, Benjamin Fredenman.

September

• 2 – Hendrik Verwoerd becomes the 6th Prime Minister of South Africa.

October

• 13 – Penny Coelen is crowned as Miss World 1958 during the 8th Miss World pageant, the first South African to win the title.

December

• 12–14 – The 46th Annual Conference of the African National Congress is held in Durban.

Births

• 27 February – Naas Botha, rugby player
• 14 April – Danie Gerber, rugby player
• 14 April – Blade Nzimande, politician, national minister, General Secretary of the South African Communist Party
• 21 April – Senzo Mchunu, politician, national minister
• 21 April – Lindiwe Zulu, national minister
• 30 April – Mbhazima Shilowa, trade unionist and politician.
• 27 May – Cheryl Carolus, activist and politician.
• 5 June – Jackson Mthembu, politician, national minister
• 17 June – Barbara Creecy; anti-apartheid movement activist, member of the African National Congress, national minister
• 28 July – Deon van der Walt, tenor. (d. 2005)
• 4 August – Steve Kekana, singer & songwriter
• 7 August – Aaron Motsoaledi, politician, national minister
• 24 October – Gcina Mhlophe, actress, storyteller, poet, playwright, director and author
• 27 October – Jonathan Shapiro, cartoonist
• 15 December – Don Laka, jazz musician, songwriter, producer. Most well known for being the co-founder of record label, Kalawa Jazmee Records.

Deaths

• 2 May – Henry Cornelius, film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. (b. 1913)

Railways

Locomotives

Two new Cape gauge locomotive types enter service on the South African Railways.

• The first of fifty-five Class 5E, Series 3 electric locomotives.
• In June and July forty-five Class 1-DE General Electric type U12B locomotives are the first diesel-electrics to enter SAR service in quantity.

References