On this Day in History 18 September

Thursday, 18 September 1924

It is widely accepted that the gold reef on the Witwatersrand was discovered by George Harrison. What has always been disputed is that English born, George Walker discovered it with him. Both men had their own version of how they found the gold reef, but only Harrison’s version of events was supported by evidence.

Walker died on 18 September 1924 in Krugersdorp. With his claims disputed, he was never recognized as the co-founder of the reef and died impoverished.

Monday, 18 September 1961

United Nations (UN) Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold was killed with twelve other people when their plane crashed at Ndola airport, Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). Hammarskjold was on his way to meet with President Moise Tshombe of Katanga Province in Congo in an attempt to end the fighting in Katanga. UN officials in Elisabethville were stunned when they received reports that Hammarskjold had not arrived in Ndola.

Associated Press reported that the lone survivor, Harold M. Julian, a United Nations security guard, said that a series of explosions had preceded the crash. He also said that the plane had turned away from a landing, apparently on Mr Hammarskjold’s orders. His death was a terrible blow to hopes for a truce in Katanga.

Saturday, 18 September 1971

During a meeting with representatives of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in South Africa, Prime Minister John Vorster reaffirmed that he would not consider allowing a WCC delegation to come to South Africa under any conditions. Nor would he allow any funds to be sent from South Africa to the World Council.

Friday, 18 September 1992

More than 70 000 angry mourners gathered at King William’s Town, to pay their respects to the victims of the Bisho Massacre, who were shot to death by the Ciskei Defence Force troops on 7 September 1992. Many who gathered wanted to hear the speeches from leading African National Congress (ANC) and South African Communist Party members such as Walter Sisulu, Chris Hani and other leading members of these two organisations. Sisulu told mourners that no part of South Africa should be a no-go area and this included the ‘Homelands’. He said that the ANC holds F. W. de Klerk’s government responsible for creating the homelands, and for providing them with financial, security and political support that had failed to stop Oupa Gqozo, ‘homeland’ leader, from committing such a horrendous act against mankind. This sentiment was echoed by the US Department of State, the Commonwealth and United Kingdom.

Chris Hani called for revenge and that Gqozo should pay for the massacre, as there was nothing accidental about Bisho, as the Ciskei Defence troops had claimed. He stated that it was a strategic operation between Gqozo and de Klerk’s regime against liberation movements, to thwart any effort of political stability in Ciskei.

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