UPDATED: 22/06/2023
22 June 1897, All De Beers employees given the day off to attend Queen Victoria Jubilee celebrations in town.
22 June 1925, Chinese storekeeper Ah Finn dies of bubonic plague in the Malay Camp.
22 June 1932, Solomon Plaatje buried in Kimberley, Rev Mahabane officiates.
The emotional burial service for Sol Plaatje
Reverend Z.R. Mahabane, who led the funeral service, said that in Solomon Plaatje’s death, “…the African people had lost one of its ablest sons. A large gap had been created in the communal life of the Bantu community of Bechuanaland and Griqualand West. As a writer, he wielded a pen that was mightier than the sword; perhaps one of the ablest pens of all the sons of Africa. As a journalist he was as versatile as he was diplomatic, and shrewd in the selection, preparation and presentation of his matter for the public press. As a speaker he found a ready place in the ranks of the great orators and the country. He was gifted of all requisites for public speaking of a high order, a charming personality, a clear thinking, clear speaking and a clear voice: hence an orator of the order of Demosthenes. A great patriot, he devoted his great talents to the service of his people and country. He lived not for himself, but for others, and ultimately laid down his life on the altar of national interests.”
Mr I.P. Joshua, for the Coloured community, said that Plaatje was a man “…of the finest calibre, and his life was a shining example to them for his noble character, his hard work and for the respect and esteem which he had earned. As a writer and orator he was pre-eminent, and his wide experience and sound judgment had gained him wide recognition.”
They mourned his loss, but Mr Joshua felt that his unconquered spirit remained.
Mr Joe A Daniels wrote: “In the death of Sol T Plaatje, South Africa has lost a man, the natives of Griqualand West and Bechuanaland a defender, and Kimberley a worthy son and citizen. As Our Advocate, he is irreplaceable. A motor car without springs and shock absorbers can run quite well, but it will give the users a severe jolting, just so, as far as native life is concerned; we shall live as usual without the late Mr Plaatje; but now we shall feel all the bumps of the State chariot…Gone is our mouthpiece, and silent the pen.
Henceforth we stand-alone. Our cries shall never reach the ears of the mighty-powers-that-be politically.”
The Reverend Kuhn delivered the funeral oration, in which he paid tribute to Sol Plaatje’s great work for the Africans and to his “…sympathetic understanding and help for the coloured and Indian communities. His life had been a revelation to the burning desire of the native people of this country to improve themselves….his memory should stimulate Europeans to recognize the claims of the non-Europeans.”
George Simpson, editor of the Diamond Fields Advertiser, wrote that Sol Plaatje “…was one of the best known and most highly respected leaders of native opinion in South Africa. As a writer, and even more particularly as a speaker, he made his mark in this country as a great hearted fighter for the rights of his people. A man of wide culture and possessing a clear and impressive style, his views on native subjects – social, political and economic – enjoyed a wide publicity through the medium of all the leading newspapers of the country, and were sought by European leaders of all shades of opinion. He wrote extensively for the European and American Press, and he edited several native papers, as well as being a pamphleteer of note.”
Simpson went on to say that Sol Plaatje was known as the accredited representative of ‘native’ opinion. He was a man of culture and high educational attainments, and versed in literary pursuits, wielded a facile pen and was ever ready to take up the cudgels on behalf of his nationals. What was said of another distinguished journalist (the late Mr Tengo Jabavu) could also be said with truth of Mr Plaatje – “…he was supremely equipped with sagacity founded upon his splendid character as a Christian and a patriot. A man of strict integrity, he exercised a sane and sound judgment, born of ripe experience, displayed marked moderation, and at all times brought to bear on his work a kindly and picturesque experience. He did a great service not only to the race from which he sprang; but also to the whole community both white and black, for he was a link between them and enabled each to understand something of the nature, feelings and interest of the other.”
The Editor of Imvo Zabantsundu, Alexander Macaulay Jabavu, wrote that: “The ranks of recognised Bantu leaders have suffered a severe depletion in the deplorable demise of a staunch patriot and indefatigable toiler in the service of his fellowmen. Of Bechuana stock, the deceased gentleman battled with indomitable courage from humble surroundings to lofty educational and social attainments that have made his name a byword in the history of Native development….
His services as editor of several Native newspapers, including this journal at one time, are a unique distinction enjoyed only by himself….The African National Congress obtained much of the vigour at one time from the untiring and resolute effects of the deceased, and thereafter he identified himself with the activities of the various Native organisations such as the Bantu Union, Ciskei Native Convention and the true Templary causes, the last named conferring him the honour of editorship of its first bi-lingual publication.”
Plaatje was a well-travelled man “…and was intimately acquainted with every aspect of the problems with which the Bantu people have to contend. He figured in a number of important overseas delegations and on many occasions gave evidence before Parliamentary Commissions on native matters in this country. He was an enthusiastic member of the Kimberley Joint Council of Europeans and Bantu in which his extensive experience and shrewd judgments were greatly appreciated.”
22 June 1897, All De Beers employees given the day off to attend Queen Victoria Jubilee celebrations in town.
22 June 1925, Chinese storekeeper Ah Finn dies of bubonic plague in the Malay Camp.
22 June 1932, Solomon Plaatje (pictured) buried in Kimberley, Rev Mahabane officiates.
DID YOU KNOW
The Reverend Kuhn delivered the funeral oration, in which he paid tribute to Sol Plaatje’s great work for the Africans and to his “…sympathetic understanding and help for the coloured and Indian communities. His life had been a revelation to the burning desire of the native people of this country to improve themselves….his memory should stimulate Europeans to recognize the claims of the non-Europeans.”
George Simpson, editor of the Diamond Fields Advertiser, wrote that Sol Plaatje “…was one of the best known and most highly respected leaders of native opinion in South Africa. As a writer, and even more particularly as a speaker, he made his mark in this country as a great hearted fighter for the rights of his people.
A man of wide culture and possessing a clear and impressive style, his views on native subjects – social, political and economic – enjoyed a wide publicity through the medium of all the leading newspapers of the country, and were sought by European leaders of all shades of opinion. He wrote extensively for the European and American Press, and he edited several native papers, as well as being a pamphleteer of note.”
Simpson went on to say that Sol Plaatje was known as the accredited representative of native opinion. He was a man of culture and high educational attainments, and versed in literary pursuits, wielded a facile pen and was ever ready to take up the cudgels on behalf of his nationals. What was said of another distinguished journalist (the late Mr Tengo Jabavu) could also be said with truth of Mr Plaatje – “…he was supremely equipped with sagacity founded upon his splendid character as a Christian and a patriot. A man of strict integrity, he exercised a sane and sound judgment, born of ripe experience, displayed marked moderation, and at all times brought to bear on his work a kindly and picturesque experience. He did a great service not only to the race from which he sprang; but also to the whole community both white and black, for he was a link between them and enabled each to understand something of the nature, feelings and interest of the other.”
The Editor of Imvo Zabantsundu, Alexander Macaulay Jabavu, wrote that:
“The ranks of recognised Bantu leaders have suffered a severe depletion in the deplorable demise of a staunch patriot and indefatigable toiler in the service of his fellowmen. Of Bechuana stock, the deceased gentleman battled with indomitable courage from humble surroundings to lofty educational and social attainments that have made his name a byword in the history of Native development….
His services as editor of several Native newspapers, including this journal at one time, are a unique distinction enjoyed only by himself….The African National Congress obtained much of the vigour at one time from the untiring and resolute effects of the deceased, and thereafter he identified himself with the activities of the various Native organisations such as the Bantu Union, Ciskei Native Convention and the true Templary causes, the last named conferring him the honour of editorship of its first bi-lingual publication.”
From Kimberley Calls and Recalls on Facebook By Steve Lunderstedt
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