CV Bate, grondlegger van die Potchefstroom Herald
Abstract
The British-born newspaperman CV Bate founded the Potchefstroom Herald
in 1908. He remained owner for 49 years during which time he established not
only the paper but himself as a journalist of some repute. As a news medium Bate’s
Potchefstroom Herald covered all the major international and national events, without
neglecting the community news of an ever-changing Potchefstroom.
He was also a crafty businessman and compassionate member of a community that
did not always share his pro-British political views. More important was his strong
support for reconciliation between the Afrikaans- and English-speaking South
Africans. In support of this ideal, he established an Afrikaans paper, the Westelike
Stem. While Bate’s sentiments left its marks on his reporting, his integrity was above
reproach and he notably gave due prominence to the victory of the National Party in
1948 and the new prime minister’s visit to Potchefstroom.
Subsequent to Bate’s retirement, his papers fell into the hands of Afrikaners who
eventually transformed the Potchefstroom Herald into a predominantly Afrikaans
publication. But when the Potchefstroom Herald celebrated its centenary, the paper
had perhaps become what Bate always intended: a non-ideological paper that tried
to serve the whole community of Potchefstroom. The Potchefstroom Herald thus
remains a monument to one man’s tenacity and spirit
Collections
- Faculty of Humanities [2024]