1919 in South Africa

← 1918 1917 1916 1919 in South Africa → 1920 1921 1922
Decades:	1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s
See also:	List of years in South Africa

The following lists events that happened during 1919 in South Africa.

Incumbents

• Monarch: King George V.
• Governor-General and High Commissioner for Southern Africa: The Viscount Buxton. ^[1]
• Prime Minister:
  • Louis Botha (until 27 August).
  • Jan Smuts (from 3 September).
• Chief Justice: James Rose Innes

Events

April

• 23 – The Potchefstroom Teachers' College opens.

August

• 27 – Prime Minister Louis Botha dies in office.

September

• 3 – Jan Smuts becomes the 2nd Prime Minister of South Africa.
• 17 – German South West Africa is placed under South African administration.

November

• 7 – Inspired by Cape Town's daily Noon Gun Three Minute Pause, King George V institutes the Two Minute Silence following a suggestion by Sir Percy Fitzpatrick, to be observed annually at the Eleventh Hour of the Eleventh Day of the Eleventh Month. ^[2]
• 7 – The first Remembrance Day is observed in the British Empire with a two-minute silence at 11:00 hours. ^[2]

Births

• 1 January – Eustace Fannin, tennis player
• 3 March – Peter Abrahams, South African-born Jamaican novelist and journalist. (d. 2017)
• 8 December – Mary Benson, activist and author. (d. 2000)

Deaths

• 19 March – Jack Hindon, Boer soldier. (b. 1874)
• 27 August – Louis Botha, Boer general, statesman, first Prime Minister. (b. 1862)

Class 12A

Class 16C

Class NG G11

Railways

Railway lines opened

• 9 January – Natal – Deviation from Umlaas Road to Pentrich, 19 miles 19 chains (31.0 kilometres). ^[3]

Locomotives

Two new Cape gauge and one narrow gauge locomotive types enter service on the South African Railways (SAR):

• The first of sixty-seven Class 12A 4-8-2 Mountain type locomotives. ^[4]
• The first ten Class 16C 4-6-2 Pacific type passenger steam locomotives. ^[5]
• Three Class NG G11 2-6-0+0-6-2 Garratt articulated steam locomotives on the Avontuur narrow gauge line through the Langkloof, the first Garratt locomotives to enter service in South Africa. ^{[4] [5]}

References

1. Archontology.org: A Guide for Study of Historical Offices: South Africa: Governors-General: 1910-1961 (Accessed on 14 April 2017)
2. Royal Canadian Legion Branch # 138."2-Minute Wave of Silence" Revives a Time-honoured Tradition. Accessed on 5 June 2014.
3. 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
4. Paxton, Leith; Bourne, David (1985). Locomotives of the South African Railways (1st ed.). Cape Town: Struik. pp. 55, 105–106. ISBN   0869772112.
5. Durrant, AE (1989). Twilight of South African Steam (1st ed.). Newton Abbott: David & Charles. pp. 92–93, 123. ISBN   0715386387.