New Contree: 2018 No 81
http://hdl.handle.net/10394/31974
2024-03-29T15:55:49Z“… in Johannesburg, baths are a necessity, not a luxury” the establishment of Johannesburg’s first municipal swimming bath, 1900s-1910s
http://hdl.handle.net/10394/31991
“… in Johannesburg, baths are a necessity, not a luxury” the establishment of Johannesburg’s first municipal swimming bath, 1900s-1910s
Grundlingh, Louis
Following on the commitment of the Johannesburg Town Council and an increasing demand to provide facilities for exercise and relaxation, Johannesburg’s mayor opened the Town’s first public swimming bath on the 18th of January, 1909. Unease was felt in Britain about the health of urban residents at the time. These municipalities’ efforts of improvement reflected in the psyche of members of Johannesburg’s Town Council to ensure a healthy urban environment. One of the ways was to provide a swimming bath, as many viewed swimming as an ideal way to relax and exercise, especially considering Johannesburg’s warm climate. An additional, and potent, reason
for a swimming bath was the belief that it would further contribute to the prestige of the Town. Financing the swimming bath, both in terms of its construction and maintenance, was always a concern. With this in mind, the Town Council initially proposed the conversion of the Berea disused reservoir but eventually, the Town Council decided to convert the Doornfontein reservoir, on par with world standards. Despite the fact that the bath always ran at a loss, white Johannesburgers frequented the bath in their droves, proving that it successfully served its purpose of providing a public space and swimming facilities for healthy exercise.
2018-01-01T00:00:00ZReconstructing Changamire’s family roots: new evidence from the Valoyi oral history
http://hdl.handle.net/10394/31990
Reconstructing Changamire’s family roots: new evidence from the Valoyi oral history
Mathebula, Mandla; Mokgoatšana, Sekgothe
The Munhumutapa (or Monomotapa) empire became a major political entity in Southern Africa from around 1420 AD. Founded and ruled by the Nembire family, its territory covered areas in the present-day Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Its rulers used the title ‘Munhumutapa’, derived from the founder’s nickname, which was later adopted by the empire itself. All the rulers during the first century of the empire’s existence are known, and so are the relationships with each other, except with the fifth ruler, Changamire, whose relationship with the other rulers has been debated for years. There are two schools of thought: One that identifies him with the Nembire; and another linking him with the Torwa, a ruling lineage of the empire’s Mbire province. Consequently, Changamire’s history is confused and his contribution to the ancient history of Southern Africa is under-researched. This has affected studies on the various roles he played in his lifetime: As ruler of the empire’s Guruuswa province; as fourth Munhumutapa’s chief justice and army commander; as the fifth Munhumutapa ruler; and later, his association with Butua state (centred in the Mbire and Guruuswa provinces). In this article some views are exchanged and compared with new information from the Valoyi oral history.
2018-01-01T00:00:00ZThe Reverend Kenneth Mosley Spooner: African-American missionary to the BaFokeng of Rustenburg district, South Africa, 1915-1937
http://hdl.handle.net/10394/31989
The Reverend Kenneth Mosley Spooner: African-American missionary to the BaFokeng of Rustenburg district, South Africa, 1915-1937
Mbenga, Bernard K.
This article examines the missionary and educational work and impact of Kenneth Spooner, an African-American missionary among the BaFokeng African community in Rustenburg district, South Africa from 1915 to 1937. Originally from Barbados, Spooner immigrated to the USA from where he came to South Africa as an International Pentecostal Holiness Church (IPHC) missionary. Spooner’s church became very popular among the African communities of Rustenburg. His school, for example, for the first time in the region used English as a medium of teaching, unlike the much older German Lutheran Church school’s teaching medium of Setswana; in the mid-1910s in
rural South Africa, a black man preaching only in English, with another black person interpreting into an African language, was a spectacle – and another of Spooner’s draw-cards. The article situates Spooner and his work in the sociopolitical context of agitation by white politicians for more and stronger racial discrimination and segregation.
2018-01-01T00:00:00ZMarket and entrepreneurial vision: the case of two family businesses in South Africa
http://hdl.handle.net/10394/31988
Market and entrepreneurial vision: the case of two family businesses in South Africa
Van Eeden-Allen, Suzanne; Verhoef, Grietjie
The question of “why do some family enterprises survive into successive generations, while other succumb to contextual constraints?” elicited different responses. Explanations vary from that it might be inherent to the industry, or the structure of the firm, or simply market opportunism. In seeking a deeper insight on the impact of industry or structural constraints in the general area of family businesses, this article considers the local South African shoe industry. The article reflects on the history of footwear manufacture in South Africa; how it started and grew from cottage industries to a more main stream, modern manufacturing industry. The article attempts to place this industry and its development in a broader current context by considering the impact of exogenous factors, namely globalisation and cheap shoe imports from the East on the South African footwear industry. To investigate the impact of the afore mentioned constraints, the article discusses the birth and growth of two footwear manufacturing family businesses – one operating in Stellenbosch in the Western Cape Province, the other one in Kwazulu-Natal Province – and considers the divergent development trajectories, different styles of management and subsequently, the completely different outcomes of these footwear manufacturing family enterprises.
2018-01-01T00:00:00Z