1983 in South Africa

Events

January

• 26 – One person is killed and five injured by a bomb that explodes at the New Brighton Community Council offices.
• 30 – A bomb explodes at the Pietermaritzburg Supreme Court.
• Dieter Gerhardt is arrested by the FBI in New York.

February

• 7 – Cedric Mayson, a former Methodist minister, is charged with treason and being a member or an active supporter of the African National Congress. The case was to resume on 18 April but he fled to Britain while on bail.
• 10 – Umkhonto we Sizwe saboteurs burn 5 square kilometres of land in the Richards Bay area in an arson attack.
• 11 – The Drakensberg Administration Board offices are damaged by a bomb.
• 12 – A bomb injures 76 people at the Free State Administration Board offices.
• 20 – Umkhonto we Sizwe saboteurs try to set the Pelindaba Nuclear Research Station on fire in an arson attack.

March

• 12 – A bomb explodes on a railway coach on a Johannesburg-bound passenger train.
• 21 – A second bomb explodes at the Supreme Court in Pietermaritzburg.

April

• 21 – A third bomb explodes at the Supreme Court in Pietermaritzburg.
• 30 – The Prime Minister of South Africa, Pieter Willem Botha, meets with Lesotho's Minister of Foreign Affairs to discuss the Lesotho Highlands Water Project.

May

• 13 – An improvised explosive device, 37 kg of explosives in a gas cylinder, is found under a bridge on the Southern Freeway in Durban and defused by police.
• 20 – An Umkhonto we Sizwe car bomb, planted by Abubakar Ismael, explodes outside the South African Air Force Headquarters during the afternoon rush hour period, opposite a building housing military intelligence personnel in Pretoria. 19 people are killed and 220 injured.^[1]:45
• 23 – The South African Air Force retaliates by attacking African National Congress facilities in the suburb of Matola in Maputo, Mozambique during Operation Skerwe.
• Two explosions cause R250,000 worth of damage to the Offices of the Department of Internal Affairs in Roodepoort.
• A skirmish on the Botswana border leaves four insurgents and a South African Army soldier dead.

June

• 17 – Police defuse a bomb found on a power pylon at New Canada railway station in Soweto.
• 28 – A bomb explodes at the Department of Internal Affairs in Roodepoort.

July

• 7 – Two bombs are found and defused at the Durban Supreme Court while two bombs detonate in Roodepoort at 00:40, causing structural damage to the Department of Internal Affairs offices and the Police Station.

August

• 6 – A bomb explodes at Temple Israel in Hillbrow just before Marais Steyn is due to speak there. There are no injuries.
• 20 – A bomb causes R100,000 in damage to a sub-station near Mamelodi.
• 20 – The United Democratic Front is launched.^[1]:56–62
• 26 – A Limpet mine explodes at the Ciskei Consul General's offices in the Carlton Centre, Johannesburg at 18:50. One person is injured.

September

• 8 – Two bombs damage sub-stations in Johannesburg, in Randburg and Sandton.
• 11 – More sub-stations are damaged by Limpet mines in Johannesburg, in Bryanston North and Fairlands.
• 12 – Ciskei offices in Pretoria are damaged by a Limpet mine.
• 13 – A bomb explodes at 19h45 in the Rowntree's factory in Umbilo, Durban.
• 29 – The Police defuses a bomb on an electrical pylon in Vereeniging.

October

• 11 – Limpet mines explode at 02:20 and damage a large fuel storage tank, three rail tankers and one road tanker at Warmbad. Two more devices, set to explode 1 hour later, are found on the door of the Civil Defence office. PW Botha was due to speak in Warmbad.
• 14 – Two electricity pylons near Pietermaritzburg are destroyed by Limpet mines at 02:00 and 03:00.

November

• 1 – Buses at a municipal bus depot in Durban are damaged by a bomb that explodes at midnight.
• 1 – The railway line at Germiston is damaged by a bomb.
• 1 – Police defuse a bomb on the railway line near Springs.
• 1 – The South African Defence Force launches Operation Askari.
• 2 – A white referendum on a new Constitution to provide for a White, Coloured and Indian Tricameral Parliament yields a 66% yes vote.^[1]:56
• 2 – A bomb explodes at 02:55 at the Police workshop in Wentworth, Durban and damages vehicles and the adjacent Alan Taylor student residence.
• 3 – The Bosmont railway station is damaged by a bomb.
• 3 – The Bosmont-Newclare railway line is damaged in an explosion.
• 3 – The railway line near Germiston is damaged by an explosion.
• 3 – Police defuse explosives on the railway line near Springs.
• 22 – Electrical pylons are damaged by two explosions near Durban.

December

• 3 or 7 – A bomb explodes at the office of the Department of Community Development in Bree Street, Johannesburg.
• 8 – The railway line 1 km from Bloemfontein is maliciously damaged and a locomotive and two trucks are derailed.
• 12 – Seven people are injured when a Limpet mine explodes at the offices of the Department of Community Development and Commissioners Court in Johannesburg.
• 15 – Three bombs explode on the beach front outside the Natal Command HQ in Durban.
• 19 – A bomb causes R60,000 worth of damage to the KwaMashu township offices in Durban.
• 29 – Dieter Gerhardt is sentenced to life imprisonment for treason.

Births

• 13 April – Schalk Burger, Springbok rugby player.
• 12 June – Bryan Habana, Springbok rugby player.
• 23 August – Wayne Sandilands, footballer.

Deaths

• 10 September – John Vorster, former Prime Minister and State President, dies at the age of 67.
• 19 September – Yusuf Dadoo, doctor and politician, dies at the age of 74.
• James Arthur Calata, African National Congress leader and Anglican clergyman, dies in Cradock.

Railways

Locomotives

Four new Cape gauge locomotive types enter service on the South African Railways (SAR):

• Forty 25 kV AC Class 7E2, Series 2 electric locomotives.^{[2][3]:129–131}
• The first of sixty 25 kV AC Class 7E3, Series 1 Hitachi electric locomotives.^{[2][3]:129–131[4]:50, 61}
• The first of one hundred Class 8E centre-cab electric shunting locomotives. Seven more are built for the mining industry.^{[2][4]:51, 59, 63}
• Five Class 12E electric locomotives dedicated to the planned MetroBlitz high speed interurban service between Johannesburg and Pretoria.^[2][5]

Sports

Athletics

• 30 April – Kevin Flanegan wins his first national title in the men's marathon, clocking 2:16:21 in Durban.

References