1925 in South Africa

	1925 in South Africa
1922 1923 1924 « 1925 » 1926 1927 1928
Years in South Africa

Events

May

• 1 – The Prince of Wales arrives in Cape Town on a visit to South Africa.

Augustus

• 1 – The New Cape Central Railway and its 204 miles 69 chains (329.7 kilometres) long line between Worcester and Voorbaai is taken over by the South African Railways (SAR).^[1]

Unknown date

• Afrikaans officially replaces Dutch as the second language after English.
• The manor house of Groot Constantia is gutted by a fire.
• The University of Pretoria starts the tradition of Jool in South Africa.^[2]

Births

• 14 April – Colin Wells Eglin, founding member and leader of the Progressive Federal Party, is born in Sea Point, Cape Town. (d. 2013)^[3]
• 30 April – Dot Serfontein, author and mother of poet Antjie Krog, is born.
• 4 May – Heloise Ruth First, journalist, academic and activist, is born in Johannesburg.

Deaths

• 9 January – Willem Johannes Conradie, minister of the Dutch Reformed Church and author of the first children's bible in Afrikaans, dies in Stellenbosch.
• 30 August – Cathcart William Methven, harbour engineer and painter, dies in Pietermaritzburg.

Railways

Railway lines opened

• 21 January – Transvaal – Rustenburg to Boshoek, 15 miles 17 chains (24.5 kilometres).^[1]
• 26 May – Transvaal – Magaliesburg to Schoemansville, 33 miles 20 chains (53.5 kilometres).^[1]
• 26 June – Natal – Eshowe to Extension, 74 chains (1.5 kilometres).^[1]
• 1 September – Transvaal – Ermelo to Lothair, 30 miles 51 chains (49.3 kilometres).^[1]
• 25 September – Transvaal – Elandshoek to Solarvale (Narrow gauge), 9 miles 40 chains (15.3 kilometres).^[1]
• 1 October – Transvaal – Nylstroom to Vaalwater, 45 miles 62 chains (73.7 kilometres).^[1]
• 14 October – Free State – Senekal to Marquard, 29 miles 78 chains (48.2 kilometres).^[1]
• 19 October – Cape – Kareevlakte to Ladismith, 46 miles 38 chains (74.8 kilometres).^[1]
• 26 November – Free State – Frankfort to Villiers, 19 miles 40 chains (31.4 kilometres).^[1]
• 1 December – Cape – Fort Beaufort to Katberg (Narrow gauge), 24 miles 36 chains (39.3 kilometres).^[1]

Locomotives

Six new Cape gauge locomotive types, five steam and one electric, enter service on the SAR:

• The first four Class GD branchline 2-6-2+2-6-2 Garratt articulated locomotives.^{[4]:90[5]:47–48[6]}
• The first six of eighteen Class GE 2-8-2+2-8-2 Garratt locomotives.^{[4]:91[5]:43–45[6]}
• A single Class GG 2-6-2+2-6-2 Double Prairie type Garratt on fast mainline passenger service.^{[4]:92–93[5]:47–49[6]}
• Two American-built Class 15C 4-8-2 Mountain type steam locomotives.^{[4]:61–62, 66}
• The first two of seven Class 16D 4-6-2 Pacific type passenger locomotives.^[5]:47
• The first of altogether 172 Class 1E electric locomotives, spread over seven orders, the first mainline electric locomotive to be introduced in South Africa.^[4]:125[7]

References