1919 in South Africa

List of events

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1919
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South Africa

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Decades:

Incumbents

Monarch: King George V.
Governor-General and High Commissioner for Southern Africa: The Viscount Buxton.^[1]
Prime Minister:
- Louis Botha (until 27 August).
- Jan Smuts (from 3 September).
Chief Justice: James Rose Innes

7 – Inspired by Cape Town's daily Noon Gun Three Minute Pause, King George V institutes the Two Minute Silence following a suggestion by Sir Percy Fitzpatrick, to be observed annually at the Eleventh Hour of the Eleventh Day of the Eleventh Month.^[2]
7 – The first Remembrance Day is observed in the British Empire with a two-minute silence at 11:00 hours.^[2]

1 January – Eustace Fannin, tennis player
3 March – Peter Abrahams, South African-born Jamaican novelist and journalist. (d. 2017)
8 December – Mary Benson, activist and author. (d. 2000)

19 March – Jack Hindon, Boer soldier. (b. 1874)
27 August – Louis Botha, Boer general, statesman, first Prime Minister. (b. 1862)

9 January – Natal – Deviation from Umlaas Road to Pentrich, 19 miles 19 chains (31.0 kilometres).^[3]

Two new Cape gauge and one narrow gauge locomotive types enter service on the South African Railways (SAR):

The first of sixty-seven Class 12A 4-8-2 Mountain type locomotives.^[4]
The first ten Class 16C 4-6-2 Pacific type passenger steam locomotives.^[5]
Three Class NG G11 2-6-0+0-6-2 Garratt locomotives on the Avontuur narrow gauge line through the Langkloof, the first Garratt locomotives to enter service in South Africa.^[4]^[5]

^ Archontology.org: A Guide for Study of Historical Offices: South Africa: Governors-General: 1910-1961 (Accessed on 14 April 2017)
^ ^a ^b Royal Canadian Legion Branch # 138."2-Minute Wave of Silence" Revives a Time-honoured Tradition. Accessed on 5 June 2014.
^ Statement Showing, in Chronological Order, the Date of Opening and the Mileage of Each Section of Railway, Statement No. 19, p. 188, ref. no. 200954-13
^ ^a ^b Paxton, Leith; Bourne, David (1985). Locomotives of the South African Railways (1st ed.). Cape Town: Struik. pp. 55, 105–106. ISBN 0869772112.
^ ^a ^b Durrant, AE (1989). Twilight of South African Steam (1st ed.). Newton Abbott: David & Charles. pp. 92–93, 123. ISBN 0715386387.

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