Misplaced Pages

← 1945 1944 1943 1946 in South Africa → 1947 1948 1949
Decades:	1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s
See also:	List of years in South Africa

The following lists events that happened during 1946 in South Africa.

Incumbents

• Monarch: King George VI.
• Governor-General: Gideon Brand van Zyl (starting 1 January).
• Prime Minister: Jan Christiaan Smuts.
• Chief Justice: Ernest Frederick Watermeyer.

Events

January

• 1 – Gideon Brand van Zyl is appointed the 7th Governor-General of the Union of South Africa.

March

• 12 – The South African Indian Congress delegation is received by the Viceroy, Lord Wavell, in Delhi, India, and submits a petition drafted in consultation with Mohandas Gandhi.
• 12 – The Indian Representative Act is repealed.
• 12 – India terminates the trade agreement with South Africa.
• 15 – The Asiatic Land Tenure Act, the "Ghetto Act", is amended to state that Indians may only live where Indians had resided in non-proclaimed areas.
• 31 – 6,000 Indians march in Durban in protest to the Asiatic Land Tenure Act.

April

• 16 – The Eureka Diamond, the first diamond discovered in South Africa, is sold in London for £5,700.

June

• 11 – India recalls its High Commissioner from South Africa.
• 22 – During a prayer meeting in New Delhi, India, Mahatma Gandhi calls for South Africa to stop hooliganism by whites.
• 23 – A group of white men attack and assault a group of Indian Passive Resisters.

July

• 8 – Indian protests against government legislation lead to the arrest of hundreds of Indians.

Births

• 8 January – Whitey Basson, businessman and billionaire, former CEO of Shoprite
• 18 January – Jakes Gerwel, academic and politician. (d. 2012)
• 19 July – Lucas Malan, Afrikaans poet, author and academic
• 15 September – Mike Procter, cricketer (d. 2024)
• 5 December – Sarel van der Merwe, former rally and racing driver
• 18 December – Steve Biko, anti-apartheid activist. (d. 1977)

Deaths

• 24 January – Morris Alexander, politician (b. 1877)
• 13 April – William Henry Bell, musician, composer and first director of the South African College of Music. (b. 1873)

Railways

Railway lines opened

• 1 June – Transvaal: Ogies to Vandyksdrif, 21 miles 30 chains (34.4 kilometres).

Locomotives

• The South African Railways places the first of fifty Class GEA 4-8-2+2-8-4 Garratt locomotives in service.

References

1. Indian passive resistance in South Africa: 1946 – 1948 (Accessed on 4 April 2017)
2. Abrahams, Israel (1968). "Alexander, Morris". In De Kock, W. J. (ed.). Dictionary of South African Biography. Vol. 1 (1st ed.). p. 10. OCLC 85921202.
3. Statement Showing, in Chronological Order, the Date of Opening and the Mileage of Each Section of Railway, Statement No. 19, p. 191, ref. no. 200954-13
4. Holland, D. F. (1972). Steam Locomotives of the South African Railways. Vol. 2: 1910-1955 (1st ed.). Newton Abbott, England: David & Charles. pp. 103–105. ISBN 978-0-7153-5427-8.
5. Hamilton, Gavin N., The Garratt Locomotive - Garratt Locomotives produced by Beyer, Peacock, retrieved 10 November 2012
6. Paxton, Leith; Bourne, David (1985). Locomotives of the South African Railways (1st ed.). Cape Town: Struik. ISBN 0869772112.

v t e Years in South Africa (1901–present)
1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

• 1946 in South Africa
• Years of the 20th century in South Africa