1931 in South Africa

List of events

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1931
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South Africa

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Decades:

Incumbents

Monarch: King George V.
Governor-General:
- Jacob de Villiers (until 26 January).
- The Earl of Clarendon (starting 26 January)
Prime Minister: James Barry Munnik Hertzog.
Chief Justice: Jacob de Villiers.

21 January – Joseph Engenas Matlhakanye Lekganyane, founder of the St Engenas Zion Christian Church.
26 February – Isaac Lesiba Maphotho, anti-apartheid activist. (d. 2019)
10 March – Raymond Ackerman, businessman, founder of Pick 'n Pay supermarket group.
19 April – Kobie Coetsee, politician, in Ladybrand. (d. 2000)
5 July – Ismail Mahomed, South African and Namibian Chief Justice. (d. 2000)
15 July – Gene Louw, politician.
27 September – Thandi Klaasen, jazz musician (d. 2017).
4 October – Basil D'Oliveira, cricketer (d. 2011)
7 October – Desmond Tutu, social rights activist and Anglican bishop, in Klerksdorp (d. 2021).
24 November – Arthur Chaskalson, President of the Constitutional Court of South Africa & Chief Justice of South Africa.
12 December – Jafta Masemola, anti-apartheid activist. (d. 1994)
31 December – Dorothy Nyembe, activist and politician (d. 1998).

9 January – Second Boer War General Johannes Gerhardus Celliers at age 70.
24 January – Sir Percy FitzPatrick, author, politician and mining financier. (b. 1862)
24 October – Sir Murray Bisset, South African cricketer and Governor of Southern Rhodesia (b. 1876)

3 June – Cape – Molteno to Jamestown, 41 miles 72 chains (67.4 kilometres).^[1]
1 July – Natal – Chailey to Mount Alida, 25 miles 33 chains (40.9 kilometres).^[1]
1 July – Natal – Greyville Cabin to Berea Road, 1 mile 36 chains (2.3 kilometres).^[1]

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

A single light Class NG G14 2-6-2+2-6-2 Garratt locomotive.^[2]
Three 2-8-2 Mikado locomotives for the Otavi Mining and Railway Company in South West Africa. In 1960 they would become the Class NG15 Apple Express Kalaharis on the narrow gauge Avontuur Railway.^[2]

^ ^a ^b ^c Statement Showing, in Chronological Order, the Date of Opening and the Mileage of Each Section of Railway, Statement No. 19, p. 190, ref. no. 200954-13
^ ^a ^b Paxton, Leith; Bourne, David (1985). Locomotives of the South African Railways (1st ed.). Cape Town: Struik. pp. 107–108. ISBN 0869772112.

v t e 1931 in Africa
Sovereign states	Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Eswatini Ethiopia Gabon The Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Ivory Coast Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda São Tomé and Príncipe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe
States with limited recognition	Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Somaliland
Dependencies and other territories	Canary Islands / Ceuta / Melilla (Spain) Madeira (Portugal) Mayotte / Réunion (France) Saint Helena / Ascension Island / Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom)