TODAY IN KIMBERLEY’S HISTORY 3 SEPTEMBER Black pupils march on the Transvaal Road police station, 1976 South Africa’s first Ghost Trail launched officially, 1997 DID YOU KNOW The 1970s was a time of turmoil both politically and economically in Kimberley. 1976 was the year of the youth as the black townships erupted against apartheid across the country and fuelled the fires of economic hardship. The unrest that swept Soweto and the rest of South Africa from June 16 onwards only reached Kimberley in September, when scholars from St Boniface, Tshireleco and Barkly Road High rebelled against the system. Over 500 pupils marched on the Transvaal Rd police station on 3 September, while the days 7 to 9 September the police baton charged and tear-gassed the pupils around the various affected townships. There were no deaths during these engagements. (Pictured is a photograph of students from Soweto in June 1976. No photograph has yet been sourced for the Kimberley students’ march in September 1976).
Posted on: Wed, 03 Sep 2014 02:02:47 +0000