As usual my late father-in-law kept a newspaper record of some of the events of the years 1964 and 1974 so here goes.
1964
Harry Fisher and Gordon Rowe of Johannesburg won the Dusi Canoe Marathon. With the Umgeni in flood, they smashed the record and finished in 11 hours 10 minutes and 5 seconds. The second pair of singles were Jimmy Potgieter and Chris Cairns of Pietermaritzburg who came in, in 1 hour 15 minutes later. The doubles was won by Peter Gladwin and Derek Antrobus with A. Oshry and N. Dyer second.
The Canadian Pacific Line, ocean liner “Empress of England” 25 585 tons, berths in Durban for the first time. Normally the liner criss crosses the Atlantic but on this visit is engaged on a 17 day tour up the East Coast.
A new Corporation bus depot is opened at Rossburgh . The bus depot with waiting rooms and parking for the public was opened to serve the Southern Suburbs. On week day evenings , Southern Suburb passengers would have to change buses at the depot where waiting buses would transport them to town.
The Mitchell Park Tearoom was closed whilst extensions and complete renovations to the popular venue were carried out.
The Bluff Valley once a marshland and home to the well known Bluff mosquitoes, is leased to the Bluff Country Club who will develop the 40 acre site with a clubhouse with full sport facilities. The completion of the project is expected to be in 1965. Provision is also made for an 18 hole municipal golf course using sections of the existing Van Riebeeck Park.
Althea Cooper, 16 year old pupil of Northlands High School wins the Natal Section of the Shakespeare Competition run by the Daily News to mark the 400th Anniversary of the birth of Shakesspeare.
Marjorie Shearer the well known Durban City Councillor dies after a long illness.
Three Durban City councillors receive plaques at a Civic Honours ceremony to mark their 25 years service as councillors. They are Mrs Margaret Maytom, Mr. S.J. Smith and Mr Percy Osborne.
David Horner and Marcelle Mitchell are performing in Des Morley’s production of “The Sound of Music”. (Many will remember the many productions the late Des Morley presented at the Lyric Theatre in Umbilo (previously the Planet Cinema). Des Morley later stopped producing and disappeared into Northern Natal where I heard he ran a trading store. Later he joined the Dept. of Post and Telecommunications as a telephone technician which was what he originally trained as.
Des in his retirement wrote several novels and had them published. He died some years ago now.)
A young Durban surf rider, Rob Cochrane was killed whilst riding giant waves 200 meters off Addington Beach. Mr Cochrane dived off his surfboard as a wave swelled behind him but was struck on the head by the board, as he emerged.
Durban’s Rag Queen for 1964 chosen at the Rag Ball is Rosemary McKenzie. her two princesses are Shannon Boje and Wendy Simpson.
Peter Snell of New Zealand become the first man to run a sub 4 minute mile in Africa at an athletics meet at King’s Park. His time is 3 minutes 59.6 seconds.
Sewsunker ” Papwa” Sewgolum of Durban wins the Dutch Open Golf Championship for the 3rd time.
Glenwood High School Shooting Team clean up at the Natal Command Bisley held at the Athlone Shooting Range. The team consisted of E Fleetwood, E Brayshaw, J Pullin, A Harding, B Higgins, G Mather, G Jackson, R Paverd, B Burgess, C Ware, J Adamson and M Bundock.
Jackie Mekler wins the Comrades Marathon for the fourth time in 6 hours 9 minutes and 54 seconds.
Second was J. D. “Manie” Kuhn and third was Charlie Chase.
40 lovey Durban Debutantes were presented to the Mayor and Mayoress of Durban, Mr and Mrs C Milne, at a glittering ball held at the City Hall. ( If I recall the debutantes had to raise a certain amount of money for charities to qualify ) .
In the Mr and Miss Natal contest organised by the SA Health Centre, Miss Stephanie Bakkes carried off first place with Miss Marjorie Slater-Kinghorn second. In the men’s section Mr Charless Barnett was first and Mr Colin Peet runner up.
Mr Harry Mack of Durban, the oldest sugar farmer in Natal turns 96. Mr Mack, grandson of Robert Mack was born in Isipingo. His grandfather was a pioneer sugar farmer who started planting cane at Isipingo in 1852. In the article Mr Mack states: ” There will be no future generations of our family on the farm. Due to Isipingo being declared an Indian area, I am sending out my last load of cane this month.”
The 1964 July Handicap was won by the horse Numeral with Top Gallant second, Ptolemy third and Jerez fourth. The winning jockey was Raymond Rhodes. Top Gallant was top favourite for the race.
The 1964 Gold Cup was won by New Chief with Charlie Barends up. Second was Cosmonaut, Devil’s Peak third and Dame de Coeu r fourth. It was Barends’s seventh Gold Cup win, a record.
Mr Edward Stanley Murphy a great benefactor of South African sport passed away in Durban aged 81. Most prominent landmark to his generosity was the magnificent scoreboard at the Kingsmead Cricket Ground which he donated. This cost in the region of R9000. He also sponsored Roy McLean’s Fezela Cricket Team’ s tour to England in 1961 at a cost of R20 000. He also contributed toward Old Age Homes, The Arts League of Youth project , the MOTHs, Rotary and other causes.
Roberto Vignati aged 18 from Durban wins the ” Mr Junior South Africa” body building title.
The St. James Anglican Church at Isipingo closes its doors after 92 years of existence. Due to the Group Areas Act and Isipingo declared an Indian area, the church authorities close the parish which was initiated in 1856. The accompanying cemetery will remain as will the grave of Dick King which is located there. (The St James Church building was eventually demolished and the graveyard fell into disrepair. Mr Harry Mack (mentioned above) died in 1968 and was buried at the Isipingo Cemetery alongside his wife who had died in 1939. It was probably one of the last burials to be performed there.)
The fate of the old school buildings at Durban Boys’ High School are more or less decided. This was stated by the Principal, Mr A.W. McIver at a Speech Day address. The buildings not quite 100 years old will be demolished to make way for more modern structures. To mark the centenary in 1966, a history of the school is being written up. Originally given to Mr “Bill” Payn to write up, his untimely death meant that this work had to be handed over. It was taken up by Mr H. “Poly” Jennings , a former master and a man who had a deep and abiding interest in all that was DHS. He produced an excellent history of a school which grew up alongside Durban itself.
One thing I have observed in looking through these scrapbooks over the years is the number of men that died at what today, is a relatively young age. My father in law being with the Durban Corporation for many years in the Architectural Department was at one time tasked in making the illuminated scrolls that were given out to prominent officials who retired after long service and so on. So he got to know in a way who was who. This is probably why he recorded in his scrapbooks so many of the Durban Corporation officials who passed on during the years. And this is what is surprising, most were in their early to mid 60s. Retirement age was 65 so it appears not many had long retirements. All I can attribute this is to the fact that today, medication, modern medical practice like inserting stents, controlling cholesterol, bypasses and even heart transplants has appreciably increased a man’s life span.
1974.
The Dusi Canoe Marathon is won by the doubles pair, Graeme Pope-Ellis and Eric Clarke for the third time in a row. In the singles, the winner was Andre Hawarden followed by Tim Biggs.
Mr Les Pyper was attacked by a shark inside the bathing enclosure at Amanzimtoti, lifting him bodily out of the water. Luckily for Mr Pyper , the shark released its hold when he punched it on the snout. His right leg was severely lacerated.
Three Natalians are awarded Springbok colours for motor sport. Horace Bergstrom (motocross) , Alan North (350cc motor cycle) and Kork Ballington (international motorcycling) .
The second world lifesaving championship is held in Durban. Six teams compete: Britain, Republic of China, Australia, New Zealand, United States and South Africa.
A flash flood hits Durban and surrounds killing two and injuring scores of residents. Gale force winds, torrential rain pounded Durban for an hour. The Bluff is badly hit with many properties having mudslides and cave ins.
The Indian flower sellers who, for as long as can be remembered have been selling flowers opposite the station in Soldier’s Way, have been told that they will have to give up the site to make way for road improvements. ( The flower sellers are eventually moved to the corner of West and Church Streets opposite the Post Office. A memorial sculpture depicting the flower sellers is mounted on the wall of the building, corner Gardiner and Pine Street , overlooking the site.)
Durban celebrates its 150th year of settlement. It was in 1824 that Francis Farewell, Henry Fynn and George Cato settled in what was then known as Port Natal, later renamed as D’Urban . To mark this occasion, the Town Gardens are renamed Francis Farewell Square by Mayor Cllr Ron Williams. A carved wooden plaque is handed over by the Mayor Of Cape Town to the Mayor of Durban which reads: The brig, Antelope, bearing the first settlers of Port Natal Depart Table Bay May 1824. Presented by the Mayor, Councillors and Citizens of Cape Town to the Durban Corporation to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the founding of the City of Durban.
(I wonder where that plaque is today?)
The Mercury publishes a delightful 30 page colour supplement, Durban 1824-1974, on May 24th to mark the 150th anniversary of settlement. (A copy is pasted inside the scrapbook).
1556 runners line up at the Durban City Hall for the 1974 Comrades. The winner was Derek Preiss with Koos Sutherland second and novice, one Alan Robb, third. The race had its controversies. One woman, a Mrs Annette Kleynhans had managed to sneak a number (No. 2880) and was able to finish the race inside the time. Probably the first woman to have done so. Unfortunately she was not recognised. Also unofficial black runners ran the race with 6 finishing within the required time. One of them Vincent Rakabele stayed with the leader up to Drummond but eventually came in at No. 42. He would have qualified for a Silver! ( I stand corrected but I seem to recall some of the early Black entrants were eventually given their appropriate medals many years later.)
The old Durban landmark, the Central Hotel which stood very close to Adams Book Store in West Street is demolished to make way for the new Sanlam Centre Building.
The 1974 Durban July is won by a 20-1 rank outsider Riboville ridden by M. Schoeman. Jamaican Music had thrown its jockey at the 200 meter mark and romped home first riderless. Sea Patrol ended up second with the 3-1 favourite Elevation running third and the 1973 winner Yataghan fourth.
The Durban Gold Cup was won by Armistice ridden by Michael Cave. Armistice was 6-1 joint favourite. Second was Numerator , third Principal Boy and fourth Association.
“Teddy” Browne, a former Senator, Mayor of Westville , honorary Life President of the Natal Municipal Association, and long serving public representative dies at Wentworth Hospital aged 64. Mr Browne was educated at St Charles College Pietermaritzburg and at the University of Natal. He was admitted as an attorney to the Supreme Court at age 21. As a young man he was well known in Durban amateur theatre circles and took part in many Gilbert and Sullivan productions.
The 1974 scrap book was rather thin on Durban articles covering more South African happenings.
Share this:
John Taylor
Wow Gerald – what a wealth of information!
I was a fifth former (standard nine) at DHS when the decision to demolish the old building was made. A fellow student, Andrew Ogilvy, did a water colour painting of it which I recall appeared in the school magazine and was presented to the school.
My other enduring memory was the Central Hotel, not only for the numerous curries which we enjoyed there washed down with plenty of draught beer, but also the adjoining Central Pie Shop which sold magnificent pies.
Gerald Buttigieg
Hi John,
My late father-in-law was a DHS man through and through and I recall, he being an architectural type, was very saddened by the news that his old school buildings were to be torn down. He was very much one who wanted old buildings preserved. He was at DHS in the 1920s. I have his copy of the book,
The DHS Story 1866-1966 and in the front is a lovely colour picture of the old school.
The Central Hotel, I knew and did not know. It was a landmark in West Street but I never stepped inside nor had the opportunity to. I always wondered what was in the windowed verandah that spanned the pavement underneath.
Was it a lounge of sorts? Vaguely I seem to remember a cigar shop under-
neath. Will have to look at the old backstop, the 1968 Directory.
Allan Hannah
Hi Gerald
Presumably you refer to the Old Science Block at DHS which was pulled down to make way for the New Science Block!
I was a boarder at DHS when all this happened and spent many hours in the Old Science block prior to demolition! Regretfully, I believe the old building had long passed its “sell by” date and I guess that demolition was the most cost effective option. However, the building was loved by most of us and we were sorry to see it go. I have a few memories that remain with me, not so much related to the structure of the building but rather to incidents that occurred in the building and were amusing – to me anyway!
Our Afrikaans class was tutored by Mr Oellermann, or Oellie, as he was known to the boys. He was quite a stern teacher and many of us in his class were a little nervous of him. Every Monday he would have a little test on the previous week’s teachings and if you underperformed you would suffer a little pain when the cane swished down, twice, on your backside! To be on the safe side one would need to sacrifice some hours of the precious weekend to ensure that the test would be passed!
The floors of the building were wooden and a number of holes in the floors were used by the buys as receptacles for second hand gum, crib sheets, scraps of paper, bits of sandwich and the odd stompie! Very much against the rules and not very hygienic.
On the odd occasion we would be assailed by the stench of a dead rat when we entered the classroom. Poor thing probably choked on a second hand piece of chewing gum! The plus factor was that all classes were suspended until the dead rat had been located, removed and the class room sanitised, so to speak!
..and on that rather unsavoury note, enough for now!
AllanH
John Taylor
Hi Allan,
The building referred to was the main block adjacent to the old school hall, now the library. It included the headmaster’s office, classrooms, library, and Blackmores House. I matriculated in 1965 and I think that it was the following year that demolition and rebuilding took place. Talking about the old science block, we were taught in a upper level classroom by Sas Nourse who was an eccentric person with a hatred of pupils fiddling with anything. He simply used to grab the item and throw it out the window. The roof of the prefabricated classrooms below were littered with pens, pencils, books, files, and even the odd tie!
Allan Hannah
Hi John
I matriculated in 1958 so I guess that I wasn’t around when the demolition that you referred to was done!
However, there are many memories of the teachers and their habits that live on with me and bring a smile to my face!
Regards
AllanH
MIke Johnston
Mike Johnston.. DHS 1958 to 1961. Just discovered this website: amazing memories of “bring back the past”. And yes, I was a victim of SAS Nourse throwing my books onto the prefab roof below. Must admit I was 100% to blame! SAS had been dictating in a very boring voice some theory or other … and my mind switched off & went in ‘auto-drive’, just sounded like I had heard this all before… blah blah blah.. Anyway, after a while I realised that he had stopped dictating to the class, and yet my hand was still writing on and on (some other theorem or other).. I looked up horrified, SAS was glaring at me, the rest of the class was looking at me in silence. SAS said: “you, read out to the class what you have just written down”…and so I did…it was absolute gibberish..everyone erupted with laughter, SAS swept my books of the desk and straight out the window, to land on top of the prefabs below… and “get out” he shouted, which I did in somewhat of a hurry.
John Taylor
Hi Gerald,
The windowed area of the Central Hotel was the dining room that overlooked West Street. At the rear of the hotel was a beer garden of sorts, more like a courtyard, where you could enjoy a drink and a meal. The public bar (in those days for men only) was situated in the corner of the hotel where the passage between West and Smith Sreets ran, unfortunately a bit of a seedy place smelling of stale booze.
Des Morley was mentioned in your submission. His son Gavin was at school with me, and I understand that he has a legal practice in Durban. Perhaps he visits this website and can let us know what became of his dad.
Gerald Buttigieg
Hi John,
Thanks for the feedback on the Central.
In a twist of fate, I actually worked with Des Morley for a few years on different projects. In the early 70s, I was appointed Technical Officer in charge of the brand new Reservoir Hills Telephone Exchange which was in the process of being installed by Siemens (Germany). This was at the time of sanctions and the Dept of P &T was hard pressed to find suppliers willing to supply telephone exchange equipment. Siemens of Germany stepped in and contracted to supply equipment which was badly needed to meet the increasing demands in most city centres and growing suburbs. In Durban alone at the time, Siemens supplied new exchanges in Pinetown (the old British exchange was beyond saving), Reservoir Hills was needed to supply the then new Indian suburb as well as the new residential area of Westville North then being developed. At LaLucia a new exchange wasneeded to meet the demands of that new suburb. In addition in Johannesburg, the Carlton Centre Building, ( now a 50 storey hulk I am told ) also necessitated a new exchange which was built in the depths of the building. Siemens had a telecoms manufacturing factory in Waltloo Pretoria but installation staff for the exchanges projects were recruited in Munich, Germany and were drawn from many European countries. The exchanges were completely different from the existing British type of exchange working (Strowger System) and were the EMD type (Eidel Metal Dreiwahler … Precious metal motor switch … my German not so good!). Because these exchanges systems were completely new, a selected number of P&T staff was selected to undergo special training and were then allocated an exchange to oversee its installation and commissioning. I was allocated Reservoir Hills (RVH) Exchange which stands in Manton Crescent, Reservoir Hills. The specific exchange code allocated RVH was 82 xxxx. All installations were appointed an Installation Liasion Officer (ILO) that was a go between between Siemens and the Dept of P&T. He had to troubleshoot any problems arising between installer and the Dept., see that equipment shipments arrived on time, and eventually oversee the shake down testing that had to be completed before the exchange went on line. Dead lines were non negotiable because new and replacement exchanges had to open on fixed given dates.
Sometime in the early 1960s Des Morley had left the Durban Corporation Telephone Dept. and started up Des Morley Productions. He hired the Lyric Theatre as his base and started producing those musicals which became so popular in Durban. I am not sure if he actually was instrumental in having the original Planet Cinema transformed into the Lyric. Three of Des’s big hits were the Wizard of Oz, The Sound of Music and the King and I in which Gavin played the Young Prince. David Horner and Marjory McConvill played the leading roles in that show. I know Des was very into play production and he was involved with the St John’s Theatre productions as well. From what I remember Des telling me, the productions started taking a bit of a toll on his life and he decided to close shop and then virtually disappeared. He moved to Northern Natal and started working in a trading store. Then he reappeared in Durban in the late 60s / early 70s. I am not sure whether he re-joined with the Durban Corporation Telephone Dept first or with the Dept. of P&T directly. (The Dept of P&T had taken over the Durban Corporation Telephone network in 1969. ) Nevertheless he ended up working for the Dept of P&T and I met him at Reservoir Hills were he was appointed the ILO. We worked together for nearly a year and I got to know him quite well. He was another of those that knew so many Durban people of his generation. If I recall Rachel Finlayson was an aunt of his. Des and I parted ways when RVH went on line but he carried on his ILO work covering a lot of exchanges in Natal. We met up again in 1975 when I was appointed to commission the Beach 37 exchange in Sea View Street, a mammoth job which replaced the old Level 6 exchange in Pine Street. Moving 10 000 city business subscribers without interruption over from Pine Street down to the Beach Exchange was no walk in the park! Des remained with the Dept. of P&T until he retired on reaching the regulatory age of 65. He then lived with his wife Gwen, in a complex near the Sutton Park area. I cannot recall his whole family but recall his son Gavin who studied law, I think a daughter Brenda . Then there was Patrick who predeceased his father. There were two other boys I think. Not sure on this. In his retirement he took up writing novels and he used to phone me and tell me that he was having such and such a book published. Of Des, two things come to mind. One was the awkward way he held a pen to write, virtually holding it in his fist with his thumb pointing upward. The other was you knew the days he was under pressure. He used to come to work with two different socks on! Des was old school, a complete gentleman, orderly and mannered. Hessel Desmond Edwin Morley passed away on 1st August 2011 aged 86.
Chris Morley
Wow Gerald- to even remember the way my dad held his pen is remarkable.
There were 6 of us in the Morley Brood. Gavin; Brenda; Richard and Susan all participated in the plays. Gavin toured as the Artful Dodger.
Patrick and I were too young to participate.
Though out the years in Zululand and then back in Natal dad always spoke of fondness regarding the theatre days.
When I was about 12 he assisted the Westville Theatre club by directing their rendition of Wizard of Oz. In my high school years he did the stage directing for a Roberts Ballet studio In Pinetown. It was their annual fund raiser for charity. I was co-opted as a stage hand.
Dad never lost his love for the theatre.
Chris Morley
The other thing Gerald I think I am right in saying fad retired as the Chief Acceptance Officer for all new exchanges in Natal.
This was a time when many small towns were being upgraded and it resulted in his being on the road from Monday to Friday. He had an office at the Beach Exchange but spent more time on the road than in the office.
Chris Morley
Hi Gerald, my initial reply seems to have disappeared so I will repost!
I find it amazing that you even remembered the unique way the my dad held his pen.
There were 6 children in the Morley brood. The older four, (Gavin Brenda, Richard and Susan) all performed in various roles in dads plays. Patrick and I were too young and so missed out.
Dad never lost his love for the theater. In later years while working at the PTO he assisted the Westville Theater club by directing “The Sound of Music”
He then assisted as stage director a ballet studio in Pinetown with their annual charity fundraiser. By that stage I was in High school and was cooped as stage hand.
He retired from the PTO as Chief Acceptance officer and that meant traveling to all the little towns around Natal, testing the new exchanges and then being involved in the “switch overs”. This meant he was on the road from Monday to Friday. His office remained at the Beach Exchange (I think on the 4th floor) but he was always out of the office. He seemed to enjoy the job because it was a lot of problem solving.
To the end of his life he often spoke of his days as a child in Durban, the freedom they had. He also talked of his theatre days with great fondness. He never lost his love for the theatre and for Durban.
Debby
where would i be able to find information about the Van Riebeeck park area on the Bluff including the old dump site
Shunmugam anniah
12th June 1964 I ran the 1500 meters in Kings park in a recorded time of 4 minutes .over 200 schools were represented.during aperthied years non whites cannot compete or use this ground .This was the first time that Indian atheletis meetings was held there.I ran barefoot .my article was published in the Mercury on that day which Read his no I brought him to victory @kings park. I was only 16 yrs of age .. The same year Peter Snel of news land won Olympics 1500 mts in 4minutes.
Graeme
Well done Shunmugam.
In that year, all athletic distances here in S.A. was measured in yards!!!!
1 mile was 1760 yards.
In the 1960s, one lap of the Kings Park track measured 440 yards.
If you ran 1500mts in 4 minutes, I think it would have been close to a world record back then.
Also, Peter Snels time was over 1 mile, which equals a distance of 1609mts.
Mike
World record I mile: Peter Snell (NZL) 3:54.4 Whanganui, New Zealand 27 January 1962……
Snels 1500 meters at 1964 Olympics:
Place Athlete Nation Time Lap 1 Lap 2 Lap 3
1 Peter Snell New Zealand 3:38.1 0:58.8 2:00.7 2:59.5
2 Josef Odložil Czechoslovakia 3:39.6 0:59.2 2:00.5 2:59.7
3 John Davies New Zealand 3:39.6 0:59.0 2:00.5 2:59.3
4 Alan Simpson Great Britain 3:39.7 0:58.9 2:01.0 3:00.0
5 Dyrol Burleson United States 3:40.0 0:58.3 2:01.1 2:59.6
6 Witold Baran Poland 3:40.3 0:58.7 2:00.8 2:59.4
7 Michel Bernard France 3:41.2 0:58.0 2:01.3 2:59.7
8 John Whetton Great Britain 3:42.4 0:58.5 2:00.7 2:59.9
9 Jean Wadoux France 3:45.4 0:59.3 2:01.5 3:00.3
Lorinda Christine Vermeulen
Hi, would like to know if you might have any newspaper clippings regarding the 15ft great white shark that managed to get through the nets in 1978/1979. My name is Lorinda Vermeulen and my sisters name is Marlene Vermeulen. We narrowly escaped and would like to know if you have any newspaper clippings regarding this incident, if so it would be appreciated if you could assist us with this matter. Regards Lindy and Marlene.
Jacqueline Emery
Hi from England. I am hoping someone can provide information about Horace Slater. He was a friend of my father’s and lived in the Durban area from (approx) 1950 until 1966. I was about 5 when Horace and his family moved to South Africa from England and only have vague memories mainly obtained from his wonderfully descriptive letters and snippets provided by my father. Horace was a journalist and, I think, worked on a local newspaper. His wife’s name was Yvonne and they had a son (Richard) and a daughter, whose name I can’t recall. I think both children were born in 1940s. I clearly recall their address being in Isipingo Beach. Yvonne may have been a school teacher. Early in1966, my father received a letter from Horace with the information that Yvonne and the two ‘children’ were sailing back to England. Horace was ‘tying up’ business commitments and intended following his family back to UK. We heard nothing after that letter, so any information would be welcome. Thank you.
Gerald
Hi Jacqueline,
I have a 1965 Durban Directory and looked up H Slater. There are four H Slaters listed and which one was Horace (if he is one of them) is unknown. The addresses given for all four are Durban addresses not Isipingo. Here they are:
H Slater MOTH Club Old Fort Road
H A Slater 27 St Andrew’s Drive Durban North
H J Slater 2 Bayswater Pickering Street
H P Slater 57 Fellows Road Rose Glen ( near Morningside)
No Slaters listed as living in Isipingo.
That’s all I can help you with.
June Malone (Nee Shearer)
My late grandmother, Councillor Marjorie Shearer was instrumental in ensuring that Pigeon Valley became a National Heritage Park. She and her husband lived in a in flat in Clair Avenue which looked down on the valley. I spent several very happy holidays there and one of my best memories was walking through the valley. I was very proud of my grandmother, who also did much to improve the lives of the Indian residents in Durban.
Gerald Buttigieg
Hi June
Wasn’t your mother involved with the SPCA in the 1960s?