On 28 October 1983 Roodepoort still was called the Summit City, five days later a national referendum would take place and the Corlett Avenue and Ontdekkers Road intersection was just as much an accident hotspot as it is today.
The Record searched its archives to find the issue that was published 30 years ago – give or take a day or two – and found a city and country so foreign yet so familiar.
“Horror crash but wedding goes on” reads the front page article by a young Gien Elsas, who today trains journalists at the Caxton Acadamy, while columnist Clive Buchler was at the helm of the paper as editor.
On 2 November a referendum would take place and everyone was caught up in a “yes” or “no” frenzy. The National Party’s campaign slogan was “Vote yes. Put South Africa first” but both the so-called right- and left-wing parties encouraged the nation to vote no. Dr Andries Treurnicht’s Conservative Party saw the new constitution as too liberal while Dr Van Zyl Slabbert’s Progressive Federal Party thought it not liberal enough. Dr Ferdie Hartzenberg (everyone in politics seemed to have had a doctorate whereas today matric – or less – will do) lamented the fact that under the new constitution the State President, PW Botha, would have so much power that the then leader of the Soviet Union, Andropof, “would envy his position”. (This slur was much more vindictive then since Communism or die rooi gevaar was banned in the country).
One gentleman from Generaal Pienaar Avenue in Witpoortjie was so impassioned with his decision to vote ‘yes’ that he bought a half-page advertisement to defend his choice.
In 1983 a pair of tennis shoes would cost you R19,99, a microwave oven R759, a bottle of Blanc de Blanc R2,29, 16 fish fingers R0,79 and six hamburger patties R2,19. Boerwors was only R2,78 per kilogram.
At one of the top restaurants in Roodepoort sole with a pepper and sherry sauce would set a patron back R3,95 and leg of lamb stuffed with a herbs only R5,95.
The Horizon Steak and Prawn House advertised a Wednesday night special where for R10 you could eat as many prawns as you liked.
Secretaries on average earned R1 000 per month, accountants R2 000 per month and fitters and turners R7,40 per hour. A well-know French sedan cost R7 990 brand new.
The Record was also in the habit of using scantily dressed models in their editorials and while the newspaper’s attitude towards sexism has changed over the years other things didn’t – from January until September of the same year 19 accidents were recorded on the corner of Ontdekkers Road and Corlett Avenue.
The country was in a constant state of emergency and school children often were sent home with an omsendbrief (circular) that informed the parents that children should not come to school the next day due to political unrest.
This journalist was ten years old then and dreaming of being a poet or a fighter pilot.
