1977 in South Africa
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The following lists events that happened during 1977 in South Africa.
Incumbents
- State President: Nico Diederichs.[1]
- Prime Minister: John Vorster.
- Chief Justice: Frans Lourens Herman Rumpff.
Events
- January
- 8 – The railway line near Soweto is maliciously damaged.
- February
- 1 – KwaZulu is granted self-governance.
- 24 – A bomb explodes at the Daveyton Police Station, causing only superficial damage.
- March
- 5 – British Formula One driver Tom Pryce dies during the South African Grand Prix at Kyalami when his car strikes and kills marshal Frederik Jansen van Vuuren.
- 7 – A Pretoria restaurant is destroyed by a bomb.
- April
- 1 – Pik Botha, South Africa's ambassador in the United States of America, is appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs.
- June
- 4 – Father Smangaliso Mkhatshwa is served a 5-year restriction order.
- 15 – Monty Motlaung and Solomon Mahlangu, two Umkhonto we Sizwe cadres, kill two civilians and are arrested.
- 29 – The United Party is renamed the New Republic Party.
- July
- 15 – The railway line at Umlazi in Durban is maliciously damaged.
- 29 – The Antipolis, a Greek oil tanker, runs aground on the rocks near Victoria Road in Oudekraal, Cape Town.
- August
- A Soviet surveillance satellite detects South Africa's nuclear test preparations and alerts the United States.
- Black Consciousness leader Steve Biko is detained for breaking a banning order.[2]
- September
- 23 – The Netherlands suspends its cultural agreement with South Africa.
- November
- 4 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 418 places a mandatory arms embargo against South Africa.[2]
- 25 – Fourteen people are injured when a bomb explodes at the Carlton Centre.
- 30 – A bomb explodes on a Pretoria-bound train.
- 30 – A whites only general election is held. The National Party wins.
- The railway at Dunswart (Boksburg) and Apex (Benoni) is maliciously damaged and a train driver is slightly injured.
- December
- 12 – Guerrillas attack the Germiston police station.
- 14 – A bomb explodes at the Benoni railway station.
- 16 – The Venpet-Venoil collision between two supertankers occurs off the coast of Cape St. Francis.
- 22 – An unexploded bomb is found in OK Bazaars in Roodepoort.
- Unknown date
- Former members of the United Party join the Progressive Reform Party, which is renamed the Progressive Federal Party.
- Cedric Mayson, a Methodist minister, is banned for 5 years.
Births
- 11 May – Victor Matfield, Springbok rugby player
- 12 August – Zanne Stapelberg, soprano singer
- 12 November
- Benni McCarthy, soccer striker
- Susan Wessels-Webber, field hockey player
- 17 November – Ryk Neethling, swimmer
- 7 December – Delron Buckley, footballer
Deaths
- 29 January – Buster Nupen 75, cricketer. (b. 1902)
- 20 February – Christoffel Venter 84, South African Air Force general. (b. 1892)
- 5 March – Tom Pryce 28, a Walsh racing driver, (b. 1949) killed during the 1977 South African Grand Prix in Midrand
- 8 March – Moses Kottler, sculptor. (b. 1896)
- 12 September – Steve Biko 30, black consciousness activist. (b. 1946) [2]
Railways
Locomotives
- The South African Railways places the first of 150 Class 6E1, Series 7 electric locomotives in mainline service.[3][4]
Sports
Motorsport
- 5 March – The South African Grand Prix takes place at Kyalami.
References
- ^ Archontology.org: A Guide for Study of Historical Offices: South Africa: Heads of State: 1961-1994 (Accessed on 14 April 2017)
- ^ a b c Jeffery, Anthea (2009). People's War - New Light on the Struggle for South Africa (1st ed.). Johannesburg & Cape Town: Jonathan Ball Publishers. pp. 18–19. ISBN 978-1-86842-357-6.
- ^ South African Railways Index and Diagrams Electric and Diesel Locomotives, 610mm and 1065mm Gauges, Ref LXD 14/1/100/20, 28 January 1975, as amended
- ^ Paxton, Leith; Bourne, David (1985). Locomotives of the South African Railways (1st ed.). Cape Town: Struik. pp. 128–129. ISBN 0869772112.
