Justus Cornelias Dirks

Cor Dirks
Personal details
Born	Justus Cornelias Dirks (1911-02-28)February 28, 1911 Volksrust, Transvaal, South Africa
Died	October 15, 2000(2000-10-15) (aged 89) Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
Spouse	Elsje Christina van Niekerk
Children	2
Alma mater	Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education
Known for	Youth fiction writer

Justus Cornelias Dirks (1911-2000) was a writer from South Africa.

History

Dirks was born on 28 February 1911 in Volksrust, Transvaal, South Africa to Justus Dirks and Cornelia Petronella Herselmann. He married Elsje Christina van Niekerk on 7 July 1939. The couple had two children. Dirks died on 15 October 2000, in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. ^[1]

Education

Having passed standard 10 (grade 12) in 1928 at Volksrust High School, Dirks studied from 1929 to 1937 at the Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education and obtained a BA (History and English), MA (History) and a diploma in Education. ^[2]

Career

From 1934 to 1973 Dirks taught at schools in Duiwelskloof, Potchefstroom, Belfast, Boksburg and Johannesburg. He was Vice-Headmaster at Voortrekker High School in Boksburg and Headmaster of Linden High School, in Johannesburg for 18 years. ^{[3] [4]}

Writing

In addition to books, other writings were published or broadcast: ^{[5] [6]}

• short stories in magazines and newspapers namely Die Jongspan, Die Naweek, Die Brandwag, Die Huisgenoot , Die Huisvrou, Die Ruiter and 10-Plus,
• a drama, televised by the SABC during South Africa's first day of television in 1976, named Die Dubbele Alibi (translated from Afrikaans: The Double Alibi),
• a series: Die Honde van Donkerkrans (translated: The Dogs of Dark Cliff), broadcast on radio in 1976.

Books written:

Year	Title	Title translated	Part of a series	Reference
1946	As Die Galg Dreig	When you face the Gallow	No	[7]
1947	Arendnes se Moordenaar	Eagle Nest's Murderer	No	[8]
1948	Hoefslag van Die Dood	Hoofbeat of The Death	No	[9]
1949	Die Uile van Kranskop	The Owls of Kranskop	Yes	[10]
1950	Bloed in die Weste	Blood in the West	No	[11]
1950	Moord wek Moord	Murder begets Murder	No	[12]
1950	Wadda van die Woestyn	Wadda from the Desert	No	[13]
1950	Die Uile en die Rampokkers	The Owls and the Gangsters	Yes	[14]
1951	Arend van As	Arend van As	No	[15]
1953	Breuk Onder die Uile	The Owls Split Up	Yes	[16]
1954	Die Uile in die Wildtuin	The Owls in the Game Reserve	Yes	[17]
1956	Ghoerie : die Musketier	Ghoerie – the Musketeer	No	[18]
1956	Die Uile in die Kalahari	The Owls in the Kalahari	Yes	[19]
1957	Die Uile en die Verlore Stad	The Owls and the Lost City	Yes	[20]
1958	Die Uile langs die Limpopo	The Owls beside the Limpopo	Yes	[21]
1959	Die Uile by die See	The Owls by the Sea	Yes	[22]
1961	Die Uile in die Wapad	The Owls on the Wagon Trail	Yes	[23]
1965	Vyf Uile en ’n Tier	Five Owls and a Tiger	Yes	[24]
1966	Rooi Oog, Geel Oog	Red Eye, Yellow Eye	No	[25]
1966	Die Uile in die Gimnasium	The Owls in the Gymnasium	Yes	[26]
1971	Ben Opperman van Hoogland	Ben Opperman of Highland	NO	[27]
1971	Die Uile in Mosambiek	The Owls in Mozambique	Yes	[28]
1976	Die Smits gaan See toe	The Smits visit the Sea	No	[29]
1977	Joof van Doringkop	Joof of Doringkop	Yes	[30]
1979	Joof en sy Maats by Doringspruit	Joof and his Friends at Thorn Creek	Yes	[31]
1980	Joof en sy Maats in Etosha	Joof and his Friends at Etosha	Yes	[32]
1981	Joof en sy Maats op Doringkruin	Joof and his Friends on Thorn Crest	Yes	[33]
1981	Joof en sy Maats onder die Koeëls	Joof and his Friends Under Fire	Yes	[34]
1981	Die Otters	The Otters	Yes	[35]
1983	Joof en sy Maats se Bergavontuur	Joof and his Friends' Mountain Adventure	Yes	[36]
1983	Joof en sy Maats in Tongaland	Joof and his Friends in Tonga Land	Yes	[37]
1983	Joof en sy Maats : Platina uit Wes-Transvaal	Joof and his Friends – Platina from Western Transvaal	Yes	[38]
1983	Die Otters op die Bosveldplaas	The Otters on the Bushveld Farm	Yes	[39]
1983	Die Otters se Koshuisstreke	The Otters' escapades at the School Hostel	Yes	[40]
1984	Die Otters en die Huis op die Krans	The Otters and the House on the Cliff	Yes	[41]
1985	Die Otters se Fietstoer	The Otters' Cycle Tour	Yes	[42]
1986	Joof en sy Maats en die Dwelmsmokkelaars	Joof and his Friends and the Drug Dealers	Yes	[43]
1986	Die Otters en die Skateiland van die Seychelles	The Otters and the Treasure Island of the Seychelles	Yes	[44]
1988	Joof en sy Maats en die Ivoordiewe	Joof and his Friends and the Ivory Thieves	Yes	[45]
1988	Die Otters se Veldskoolavonture	The Otters' School Trip Adventures	Yes	[46]
1989	Die Otters in die Okavango-moeras	The Otters in the Okavango Marsh	Yes	[47]
1990	Die Uile Vlieg Weer	The Owls Fly Again	Yes	[48]

Note: "The Owls and the Otters" refer to a group of friends and their adventures. Joof is a boy's name.

Recognition

• Linden High School named a building after him. ^[49]
• He received an academic award in 1999 at the Aardklop Art Festival in Potchefstroom for his contribution to children's literature. ^[2]

References

1. "Cor Dirks". Springbok Books. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
2. "Cor Dirks". storiewerf.co.za. Storiewerf. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
3. Botha, D. (20 October 2011). "Cor Dirks". Litnet. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
4. Protea Boekhuis (3 October 2013). "Cor Dirks". Protea Books. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
5. Rosseau, L. (25 August 2018). "Cor Dirks". Rapport newspaper. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
6. "(Afrikaans) Die Otters en die Uile (translated: The Otters and the Owls)" (PDF). Protea Books. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 February 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
7. As die galg dreig. OCLC   86040087.
8. Arendnes se moordenaar. OCLC   808623656.
9. Hoefslag van die dood. OCLC   123710229.
10. Dirks, Cor (1949). "Die Uile van Kranskop".
11. Bloed in die Weste. OCLC   37498541.
12. Moord wek moord. OCLC   37498569.
13. Dirks, Cornelias (1950). "Wadda van die woestyn".
14. Dirks, Cor (1957). "Die Uile en die rampokkers".
15. Arend van As. OCLC   638473758.
16. "Breuk onder die Uile".
17. "Die Uile in die wildtuin". 5 December 2011.
18. Ghoerie die musketeer. OCLC   819334223.
19. "Die Uile in die Kalahari".
20. "Die Uile en die verlore stad".
21. Dirks, Cor (1974). Die Uile langs die Limpopo. Perskor. ISBN   9780628006110.
22. "Die Uile by die see".
23. "Die Uile in die wapad".
24. "Vyf Uile en 'n tier".
25. Dirks, Cor (1966). "Rooi oog, geel oog".
26. "Die Uile in die gimnasium".
27. Ben Opperman van Hoogland. OCLC   814191103.
28. "Die Uile in Mosambiek".
29. "Die Smits gaan see toe" (PDF).
30. Joof van Doringkop. OCLC   819390234.
31. Dirks, Cor (1981). Joof en sy maats by Doringspruit. Perskor. ISBN   9780628018922.
32. Dirks, Cor (1992). Joof en sy maats in Etosha. Perskor. ISBN   9780628035103.
33. Dirks, Cor (1981). Joof en sy maats op Doringkruin. Perskor. ISBN   9780628021397.
34. Joof en sy maats onder die koeëls. OCLC   819466800.
35. Die Otters. OCLC   672149673.
36. "Joof en sy maats se bergavontuur".
37. Joof en sy maats in Tongaland. OCLC   819384256.
38. "Joof en sy maats: Platina uit Wes-Transvaal".
39. Die Otters op die Bosveldplaas. OCLC   705963091.
40. Dirks, Cor (2010). Die Otters se koshuisstreke. Protea Boekhuis. ISBN   9781869193805.
41. "Die Otters en die huis op die krans".^{[ permanent dead link ]}
42. Die Otters se fietstoer. OCLC   760757602.
43. Joof en sy maats en die dwelmsmokkelaars. OCLC   819482626.
44. Die Otters en die skateiland van die Seychelles. OCLC   819490034.
45. "Joof en sy maats en die ivoordiewe". 1988.
46. Die Otters se veldskoolavonture. OCLC   813535052.
47. Die Otters in die Okavango-moeras. OCLC   122273148.
48. Dirks, Cor (1990). Die Uile vlieg weer. Perskor. ISBN   9780628033956.
49. "News" (PDF). Retrieved 31 August 2018.