10 Sporting Facts and Milestones

1. The first international cricket match played in South Africa was played in 1889.

2. The first South African to win the world Formula 1 Championship was Jody Schechter for the Ferrari Team in 1979.

3. So far, four cricketers born in South Africa have captained England’s cricket team - Tony Greig, Allan Lamb, Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Strauss.

4. Gary player became the fifth golf player in history to win the Grand Slam - the US Masters, US Open, the Open and the US PGA - when he won the US Open in 1965. He is one of golf’s greats.

5. With the 2012 Olympics in full swing now, Reggie Walker was the first South African to win an Olympic gold medal when he won the 100 metres in 10,8 seconds in 1908.

6. Karen Muir was a 12-year-old schoolgirl when she broke the world 110 yards backstroke in 1965.

7. Bobby Lock was the first South African golf player to win a major when he won the Open at Troon in Scotland in 1949.

8. The first Comrade Marathon was run in 1921 from Pietermaritzburg to Durban. Only 23 runners participate but it became an annual event. The comrades marathon was initiated to commemorate comrades who had fallen during World War I.

9. Peter ‘Terror’ Mathebule was South Africa’s first black boxer to become world champion (flyweight division) in 1980.

10. Baby Jake Matlala became the first South African boxer to win four world titles.

Who was John Love?

John Love was a formidable man!

John Love was born in December 1924 in Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia and educated at the town’s Technical High School. After leaving school he was employed as an apprentice electrical fitter but was called him up for service at the start of the war. As member of his country’s Armoured Car Division, John served in the Middle East and Italy. It was also in Italy where he got his first experiences as a driver of a tank. 

Later while stationed near Monza with the 6th Armoured Division he and some fellow servicemen found time to indulge in a few sorties around the Grand Prix circuit on a Zundapp motorcycle. Soon afterwards he was appointed as a dispatch driver between various Italian towns and the Swiss border. After the end of the war Love returned to Bulawayo where he completed his apprenticeship. He purchased a motorcycle when he returned to civilian life and from 1947 to 1953 John raced on a variety of bikes that included a TT-replica Rudge, Norton, AJS, Triumph and Velocette but Love had an urge to go car racing and by 1954 he had enough money to purchase a Cooper Mk III JAP from James Burgoyne. Part of the money for the car came from a transaction when John sold his motorcycle to Jim Redman. 

For the next three years Love was a regular competitor in Southern Rhodesia in the Cooper, which later was fitted with a Norton engine. After this car was written off in an accident, he purchased a Cooper Mk V Norton. Races were mostly held on dirt circuits and during this time he scored five victories at Umgusa Speedway and another five at Salisbury’s Coronation Park.

After cutting his teeth against some of his countries best drivers, like Jimmy Shields, Gordon MacPherson, Jimmy de Villiers, Sam Tingle and Peter Wood, John moved south of the border for the first time to compete in South African race meetings. In a move to widen his experience, he purchased the Riley-Special of Bill Jennings, the three time South African Drivers’ Champion, in October 1957 for £500. Success came with a win at the Heany Summer Handicap race meeting in October.

After cutting his teeth against some of his countries best drivers, like Jimmy Shields, Gordon MacPherson, Jimmy de Villiers, Sam Tingle and Peter Wood, John moved south of the border for the first time to compete in South African race meetings. In a move to widen his experience, he purchased the Riley-Special of Bill Jennings, the three time South African Drivers’ Champion, in October 1957 for £500. Success came with a win at the Heany Summer Handicap race meeting in October.

1958 brought good results which included a second position on scratch at the False Bay 100, Cape Town, a third at the Transvaal Autumn Handicap (Johannesburg), a second on scratch at the 14th Coronation 100 (Roy Hesketh, Pietermaritzburg) and more second places at the Union Day Handicap (Grand Central) and in a Formula Libre handicap at the Belvedere Circuit, Rhodesia. His finest achievement during 1958 was most probably the second place at the 1st Nine Hour Endurance race at the Grand Central Circuit in November. John and  George Pfaff were late entries in an Austin-Healey 100, they raced hard to cover a total distance of 544 miles only 16 miles less than the winning Porsche Carrera of Ian Fraser-Jones and Tony Fergusson. The race was not without incident, as Autosport’s race report says: “John Love of Rhodesia lost his number plate part way down the straight, halted, dashed across the track in front of an oncoming bunch to retrieve it, and proceeded to the pits to replace it.”

In 1959, Love moved to England in an attempt to further his career but could not find anyone to support them however he purchased an ex-works Jaguar D-type which he brought back to Rhodesia and used it for the second half of year achieving second place at the Grand Prix of Angola in Luanda in September 1959. In January 1960, Love competed in the first South African GP and finished seventh. After a handful of decent races in the Jaguar, a friend arranged that John could meet Eric Broadley of Lola and he was offered a place in the Fitzwilliam Formula Junior team, driving the Mk II. He was very competitive, in spite of the Lola becoming quickly outclassed by the Lotus and John managed to record some podium places. At the Copenhagen Cup and Eifelrennen meetings he got second places and at Reims and Albi he came third on each occasion.

Ken Tyrrell noticed John’s talent and offered him a test at Goodwood, further convinced by the Rhodesian’s abilities, Ken asked Love to drive for him in the Cooper T52. Back in Southern Africa he won the 9-hour sports car race at the Grand Central circuit in October in a Porsche Spyder. In future years Love would compete from time to time in sports car races in cars like the Ferrari GTO, Ferrari F4, Lola T70 and Lola T212. In December 1960 there were also two races for Scuderia Lupini in South Africa in the Cape Grand Prix and also the South African Grand Prix, after Gigi Lupini asked him to drive his team’s new Cooper T51-Maserati. 1961 again saw him driving the same car for Tyrrell in the European Formula Junior Championship, partnering Tony Maggs from South Africa. The two of them, together with Jo Siffert, would dominate Formula Junior in 1961. Love’s first victory in a Formula Junior race came at Cesenatico in Italy where he won the first Heat and also set fastest lap. His first outright victory came at the daunting Chimay circuit in Belgium during the GP des Frontieres meeting in May. More victories followed at Caserta, La Châtre, Nogaro, Roskildering and Monthléry. Returning to Africa at the end of the European season, John again drove Scuderia Lupini’s Cooper T51-Maserati at the Rand Spring Trophy race, finishing second.

In his third season for Ken Tyrrell, John drove a Formula Junior Cooper T59 but the BMC engine lacked power and the season proved challenging with wins only at at Roskildering, Magny Cours and Karlskoga. 1962 did, however bring great success at the wheel of  of  Tyrrell's Mini-Cooper in the British Touring Car Championship. Out of eight races he scored seven class wins taking the British Touring Car Championship. In September 1962 during a Formula Junior race at Albi he had the biggest accident of his career, when he crashed into a barrier while trying to avoid a spinning Tony Maggs, breaking his left arm and had to have a bone graft from his hip. From then on Love had to adopt a new driving style as he couldn’t bend his arm properly. John would rest his left hand on the lip of the small wind screen though corners while steering with one hand. He said that this was his only option, since he had no wrist movement in his left hand, but soon got use to the technique of driving with the right hand and checking with left. Following the accident John decided to return to Rhodesia to focus on his business interests in Bulawayo and to switch to more powerful racing cars. For the latter, he got bought a Cooper T55-Climax Formula 1 which he debuted at the Natal GP and South African GP in December 1962. 

By mid-1963 John was making his mark again in the South African Drivers’ Championship in his ex-works Cooper and so began an new era for the garage proprietor from Bulawayo, one that would see him dominate African racing for the rest of the decade. Love got off to an unimpressive start in his newly acquired car, when mechanical gremlins prevented him from finishing but, at the Rhodesian Grand Prix in December 1963, John led from start to finish to score a popular win in front of his home crowd.

The following year proved better, after a third place at the opening round of the 1964 for the Rand Autumn Trophy in February at Kyalami, he would score four outright victories during the course of the season. Success came at the Coronation 100 and the Royal Show Trophy race, at Roy Hesketh, East London and the Rand Spring Trophy at Kyalami giving John his first South African Drivers’ Championship title.

John was already 40 years old but dominated the 1965 season in his Cooper, now fitted with a 2700cc Climax engine. A non-finish at he South African GP was followed with a second place at the Cape South Easter Trophy race at Killarney. After this, a series of five victories followed at the Rand Autumn Trophy, the Coronation 100, Republic Day race, the Natal Winter Trophy and the Border 100, now in a later  ex McLaren T79. 1966 proved similar, at the first race of the year, the non-championship South African GP, he only achieved sixth place. After that John would clinch seven victories during the course of the season.

In the South African GP in January 1967, against many of the world's best, John led until fuel problems forced him to pit and hand the lead to Pedro Rodriquez and he had to settle for second place, probably John's greatest drive. He continued to compete right through to the early 70s in a variety of machinery including a Brabham BT20, Lotus 49, March 701 and Surtees TS 9. John’s last full season's racing was 1973, after three decades in the sport, and nearing his fiftieth birthday, Love realized that he had to make way for a younger generation of racing drivers. 

After a long struggle with cancer, at the age of 80, John Love, 6-times South African motor racing champion, passed away at his home in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, on the 25th of April, 2005.

News About Pilgrim’s Rest

The High Court in Pretoria has ruled that an application for an interdict submitted by the business people of Pilgrims Rest in Mpumalanga was indeed urgent.

At the onset of the matter on 25 July 2012, Judge Stanley Makgoba said he deemed the application made by affected business people as a matter deserving urgency.

The group of business people is seeking an urgent interdict to prevent their eviction from business premises in Pilgrims Rest.

At least 17 tenants in the old gold mining town, which has been declared a national monument, face eviction at the end of the month after being served with notices. See my previous post on Pilgrim's Rest!

After Makgoba’s ruling on the urgency, the court started hearing argument from legal representatives of the applicants and respondents.

Seventeen businesses in Pilgrim's Rest, Mpumalanga, have been ordered to close by the end of the July 2012. 

The Provincial Department of Public Works, Road and Transport issued the businesses with eviction orders at the beginning of July giving those 31 days to close.

The historic gold mining town's architecture had remained unchanged since the 1800s and it was declared a national monument in 1986. It was run by the Department of Public Works, and business owners leased properties.

Tourism was the backbone of the town's economy and provided employment to residents of the Schoonplaas Township.

Department spokesperson Dumisa Malamule said the Department had advertised the leasing of buildings in a tender bulletin in October 2011, and the closing date was in November 2011.

"The leases of all business which were on tender had expired. The whole tender process was finalized in June 2012, as the process allowed for a 90-day validity period with an allowance of extension when there is a need," he said.

Who Was Arthur Newton?

Arthur Newton has been described as the most phenomenal distance runner the world has ever known.

Arthur Newton was born on 20 May 1883 at Weston-Super-Mare in Somerset, England. At the age of 18 he arrived in South Africa in 1902 and he worked as a clerk, school teacher, private tutor and farmer.

It was only at the age of 38 (in 1922) that Newton went out and ran 2 miles (3.2 km) and in his own words he was abominably stiff for two days! But, within a few months after this “2 mile race”, on 24 May 1992, Newton entered his first Comrades Marathon between Pietermaritzburg and Durban, and took honours in 8 hours and 40 minutes!

Beautiful South Africa Affiliate Store!

The next year (1923) he ran his second Comrades marathon and incredibly he took off 2 hours and 3 minutes off his own record of the previous year. 

At this point Arthur Newton was on a role: He won the Comrades again in 1924, set a new London-to-Brighton record of 5 hours, 53 minutes and 43 seconds and set new world records for several other long-distance races.

In 1925 he won his 4th straight Comrades marathon. Unfortunately, during the same time he was experiencing some personal financial difficulties and decided to go to Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) to try his luck there. He was a person of high calibre: He could not afford the train fare to Rhodesia and therefore he walked the entire distance of about 1 000 km travelling mostly at night!

In 1927 he returned to South Africa to win the Comrades marathon for the 5th but unfortunately also the final time. In the same year he set new 60-mile and 100-mile records.  The cherry on top was when he ran 152 miles and 540 yards (254.1 km) in 24 hours in Hamilton, Ontario. This was a world record that stood for 22 years against his name.

Arthur Newton ran his last race in 1934. He could retire from international long-distance running on a high – he set a new world record for the 100-mile race in England.

Indeed a formidable athlete.

The South African Crocodile

The Zulu call the crocodile iNgwena (‘the lawless criminal’), but its principal victim is fish. The horror of being devoured by a crocodile, however, is very deep-seated in man. The very name, from the ancient Greek krokodililos (‘pebble-worms’), conjures up unpleasant images of skulking creepy-crawlies. Crocodile fossils have been found dating back 175 million years.

The only South African species - the common, or Nile, crocodile - is found in all the warmer African rivers. Adult specimens average about 4 meters in length, but they can grow to 6 meters or more.

The females lay about 40 eggs each year and bury them in sand, where they incubate in the warmth of the sun. Hyenas and birds eat many of the eggs. Those that survive hatch after 13 weeks and the young crocodiles come into the world fully capable of looking after themselves.

The crocodile plays its part in maintaining the balance of nature, but it is certainly not much loved for its work.

Daniel

The Bushman of South Africa

The barren wilderness of the Kalahari is the home of the Bushman, a race whose way of life has been virtually unchanged since the Stone Age.

 The Bushman lives in small bands, each with a right of use over certain areas of land. The hallmark of their social attitudes is their utter belief in co-operation, within the family, the band, between bands and with nature itself. Their customs are geared to exclude anything, which might cause personal antagonism. There is, therefore no ownership of property. Even the spoils of a hunt are divided according to customary allocation. 

The Bushman believes that if they misuse their environment they will incur the anger of the Supreme Being. Therefore, Bushman never takes from the soil or from the herds of game around them any more than they need to stay alive. In all their long history, there is no evidence that they have ever needlessly exploited nature, and some have actually described the Bushman as the world’s greatest conservationists.

The size of the Bushman bands varies from two or three families to groups numbering 120 or more. In the rainy season, when food is plentiful, much inter-band visiting goes on and frequently the bands are united by marriages. The Bushman believes that man is naturally extroverted and at his happiest when in company. Dry seasons are a time of sometimes-frantic searches for food and water.

During periods of rain, Bushman stores all the water they can carry in ostrich-egg shells and calabashes, burying them in the earth or concealing them in the shade of a tree.

Desert Bushmen have names for every plant that grows in their area. Plant life, not meat, is their staple diet - a few square kilometres of desert might contain as many as 70 or 80 varieties of edible plants and roots. From certain tasselled grasses, Bushmen can tell where there is underground water. This is sucked up and stored in ostrich shells buried in the ground.

One of the favourite foods of the Kalahari Bushman is the tsamma melon, a white-fleshed cross between a watermelon and a gem squash. These moisture-laden plants frequently come to a Bushman’s rescue when there is no surface water. Sometimes a band will hold special ceremonies to mark the eating of tsamma melons.

Bushmen are rightly regarded as great hunters. There are many tales of their prodigious stamina, outstanding eyesight, and uncanny tracking abilities. The arrows of Bushmen are tipped with powerful poison -making that made them deadly adversaries of their black and white foes in the past. The poisons can be blended from leaves, berries, spiders, caterpillars, grubs, crushed larvae, snake venom, poisonous ticks, and the pulp of a venomous worm.

The Bushman’s bow is small and light, and his arrows fragile - he relies on the poison to kill his prey rather than on any wound, which is inflicted. A mere scratch with such an arrowhead is usually sufficient to enable the poison to penetrate an animal, but its effect is slow.

Water from grasses in the beast’s stomach is sometimes drained off and drunk – perhaps the only real water the Bushman will have for weeks. Then the band will feast until next to nothing is left, for it may be their last meal for many days.

One characteristic, which Bushmen certainly share with the ancient Egyptians, is their love and talent for art. There are many examples of bushman rock paintings. Although the  painting is now a forgotten art, bushmen still delight in telling ancient stories and legends in their staccato, clacking tongue.

Rock engravings

They love to play music on handmade instruments, and most of all, they love to dance. Dancing has deep religious significance for Bushman. Sometimes a dancer will fall into a trance, and he then believes himself to be in a supernatural sate capable of seeing vast distances and of performing cures.

South Africa’s last hunter-gatherers are alive and well in the great wilderness area of the Kalahari.  

My scrapbook

The Sardine Run of South Africa

The sardine run in South Africa is a spectacular occurrence.

Sardines normally live in the cool waters of the southern and western Cape, where they provide food for various predatory fish.

At the beginning of autumn, they gather in extraordinary shoals and move northwards up the Mozambique Current to find warmer water in which to spawn.

The migration takes six months and is extremely regular. Along most of the Cape coast, the sardines keep well out to sea, but off Port St. Johns, on the Wild Coast, counter currents bring them close to the shore.

Travelling in successive shoals, the sardines hug the coastline for 250 kilometres. They complete their migration just south of Durban, where they swing out to sea again, and the Mozambique current carries them back to the Cape for the six months of spring and summer.

Each successive shoal of sardines of many millions of the little fish, followed by a horde of predators, Cormorants, gannets and other sea birds dive at them from overhead or rest on the water in overhead masses, themselves a prey to sharks.

Game fish attack the fringes of the shoals, gorging on the sardines but careful never to venture into the midst of the mass for fear of their gills becoming clogged up. Ravenous local fish such as barracuda, kingfish, prodigal son, queen fish, snoek, sharks, skates, and rays join predators, which follow the shoals up from the Cape.

The spectacle of these passing shoals is remarkable. Anglers crowd every vantage point. If a shoal has been driven far enough inshore by weather or predators even housewives wade into the surf to scoop out the sardines in buckets and aprons. Birds circle in thousands overhead and the surface of the sea is churned up as though it is boiling. It takes about 30 days for the shoals to pass. The size of the catches can be affected by various factors: rough seas or a heavy swell can send the sardines deep below the surface where they will escape their predators; high atmospheric  pressure gives them extra energy  owing to the increase of oxygen in the water; low barometric pressure makes them sluggish.

It is not known how many of the little fish complete the return journey to the Cape in safety, but hundreds of millions must surely be eaten on the way. Each female, however, lays about 100 000 eggs. Providing that two from each female survive, the number of sardines will remain stable. 

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