1909 in South Africa

List of events

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1909
in
South Africa

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Decades:

Incumbents

Governor of the Cape of Good Hope and High Commissioner for Southern Africa:Walter Hely-Hutchinson.
Governor of the Colony of Natal: Matthew Nathan.
Prime Minister of the Cape of Good Hope: Leander Starr Jameson.
Prime Minister of the Colony of Natal: Frederick Robert Moor.
Prime Minister of the Orange River Colony: Hamilton John Goold-Adams.
Prime Minister of the Transvaal Colony: Louis Botha.

25 – Mahatma Gandhi is arrested at Volksrust for failure to produce a registration certificate and is sentenced to 3 months imprisonment.

15 – Representatives from England, Australia and South Africa meet at Lord's Cricket Ground and form the Imperial Cricket Conference (ICC).
Mahatma Gandhi embarks in Cape Town for Southampton, England.

30 – Mahatma Gandhi and the Transvaal Indian Deputation arrive back in Cape Town.

28 – The first manned heavier-than-air powered flight in South Africa is made by French aviator Albert Kimmerling by taking off from the Nahoon Racecourse at East London in a Voisin 1907 biplane.^[1]

13 April – Sir Donald Currie GCMG, shipping magnate and donor of the Currie Cups for rugby and cricket. (b. 1825)

4 February – Natal – Creighton to Riverside (Cape), 12 miles 3 chains (19.4 kilometres).^[2]
1 April – Natal – Vryheid East to Hlobane, 17 miles (27.4 kilometres).^[2]
18 May – Cape Midland – Barkly Bridge to Alexandria, 54 miles 20 chains (87.3 kilometres).^[3]

Two new Cape gauge locomotive types enter service on the Natal Government Railways (NGR):
- The first five of thirty 4-8-2 tender locomotives, the world's first true Mountain type locomotive. In 1912 it will be designated Class B on the South African Railways (SAR).^[4]^[5]^[6]
- A single 2-6-6-0 Mallet articulated compound steam locomotive, the first Mallet type to enter service in South Africa. In 1912 it will be designated Class MA on the SAR.^[4]^[6]
The NGR begins to modify some of its Class C 4-10-2T Reid Tenwheeler locomotives to a 4-8-2T wheel arrangement to make them suitable for yard work without the risk of derailing as a result of the long ten-coupled wheelbase. In 1912 these will be designated Class H2 on the SAR.^[6]^[7]

^ South African Power Flying Association - 1910 to 1920 - Early Flying in South Africa Archived 20 August 2015 at the Wayback Machine (Accessed on 26 November 2016)
^ ^a ^b Statement Showing, in Chronological Order, the Date of Opening and the Mileage of Each Section of Railway, Statement No. 19, p. 186, ref. no. 200954-13
^ Report for year ending 31 December 1909, Cape Government Railways, Section VIII - Dates of Opening and the Length of the different Sections in the Cape Colony, from the Year 1873 to 31st December, 1909.
^ ^a ^b Holland, D.F. (1971). Steam Locomotives of the South African Railways. Vol. 1: 1859–1910 (1st ed.). Newton Abbott, England: David & Charles. pp. 102–105. ISBN 978-0-7153-5382-0.
^ Holland, D. F. (1972). Steam Locomotives of the South African Railways. Vol. 2: 1910-1955 (1st ed.). Newton Abbott, England: David & Charles. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-7153-5427-8.
^ ^a ^b ^c Paxton, Leith; Bourne, David (1985). Locomotives of the South African Railways (1st ed.). Cape Town: Struik. pp. 31–33, 36, 84–85. ISBN 0869772112.
^ The Railway Report for year ending 31 Dec. 1908, Natal Government Railways, p. 39, par 14.