1924 in South Africa

The following lists events that happened during 1924 in South Africa.

← 1923 1922 1921 1924 in South Africa → 1925 1926 1927
Decades:	1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s
See also:	List of years in South Africa

Incumbents

• Monarch: King George V.
• Governor-General and High Commissioner for Southern Africa:
  • Prince Arthur of Connaught (until 20 January).[1]
  • The Earl of Athlone (from 21 January).[1]
• Prime Minister:
  • Jan Smuts (until 29 June).
  • J.B.M. Hertzog (from 30 June).
• Chief Justice: James Rose Innes.

Events

January

• 21 – Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone is appointed the 4th Governor-General of the Union of South Africa.

March

• 5 – The first one-day flight between Cape Town and Pretoria takes place.

June

• 30 – J.B.M. Hertzog becomes the third Prime Minister of South Africa.

Unknown date

• The Taung Child is discovered.

Births

• 23 February – Allan Cormack, South African-American physicist and 1979 Nobel Prize laureate. (d. 1998)
• 14 July – Stephen Fry, Springbok rugby captain. (d. 2002)
• 26 July – Elias Motsoaledi, political activist. (d. 1994)
• 8 September – Hazel Brooks, actress (d. 2002)
• 28 November – Dennis Brutus, poet and anti-apartheid activist. (d. 2009)

Railways

Railway lines opened

Class GC

Class ES1

• 16 April – Free State – Wepener to Zastron, 46 miles 62 chains (75.3 kilometres).[2]
• 19 April – Cape – Klipdale to Bredasdorp, 25 miles 36 chains (41.0 kilometres).[2]
• 1 May – Transvaal – Balfour North to Grootvlei, 11 miles 30 chains (18.3 kilometres).[2]
• 16 June – Cape – Pinelands to Langa, 2 miles 51 chains (4.2 kilometres).[2]
• 24 July – Free State – Heilbron to Petrus Steyn, 31 miles 6 chains (50.0 kilometres).[2]
• 10 September – Transvaal – Lydenburg to Steelpoort, 74 miles 40 chains (119.9 kilometres).[2]
• 19 September – South West Africa – Gobabis Junction in Windhoek to Ondekaremba, 29 miles 70 chains (48.1 kilometres).[2]
• 22 September – Transvaal – Naboomspruit to Singlewood, 20 miles 47 chains (33.1 kilometres).[2]
• 3 November – Cape – Franklin to Kokstad, 25 miles 54 chains (41.3 kilometres).[2]
• 4 November – Cape – Franklin to Matatiele, 47 miles 76 chains (77.2 kilometres).[2]
• 14 November – Cape – Oudtshoorn to Calitzdorp, 35 miles 20 chains (56.7 kilometres).[2]
• 15 December – Cape – Touws River to Kareevlakte, 41 miles 59 chains (67.2 kilometres).[2]
• 15 December – Transvaal – Hercules to Schoemansville, 17 miles 64 chains (28.6 kilometres).[2]

Locomotives

• The first of six Class GC branchline 2-6-2+2-6-2 Garratt articulated locomotives.[3][4][5]
• A single Class ES1 battery-powered shunting locomotive at the construction site of the Colenso power station.[4]

References

1. Archontology.org: A Guide for Study of Historical Offices: South Africa: Governors-General: 1910-1961 (Accessed on 14 April 2017)
2. Statement Showing, in Chronological Order, the Date of Opening and the Mileage of Each Section of Railway, Statement No. 19, p. 188, ref. no. 200954-13
3. Holland, D. F. (1972). Steam Locomotives of the South African Railways. 2: 1910-1955 (1st ed.). Newton Abbott, Devon: David & Charles. pp. 43–44. ISBN 978-0-7153-5427-8.
4. Paxton, Leith; Bourne, David (1985). Locomotives of the South African Railways (1st ed.). Cape Town: Struik. pp. 90, 135. ISBN 0869772112.
5. Hamilton, Gavin N., The Garratt Locomotive - Garratt Locomotives produced by Beyer, Peacock, retrieved 10 November 2012