Looking back on South Coast history, 1991 to 2000: April 23 to 29
There were some violent crimes but progress was being made towards justice and an end to the political violence.
It was stormy start to the week.
April 23
1993
“A devastating hailstorm tore through the Trafalgar area in 15 minutes last Sunday, causing thousands of rands worth of damage.”
And… “A truck carrying R94 000 worth of liquor was hijacked last Wednesday afternoon by three men who forced the driver off the road.”
But there was good news. “Margate Hospital opens on Tuesday.”
1999
“Plans are afoot to rename Escombe Street ‘Nelson Mandela Drive’. He will also be offered the freedom of the town.”
April 25
1997
There were some senseless crimes. “An elderly man is fighting for his life in hospital after being shot while mowing the lawn.”
And… “Filthy, overgrown and vandalised – that’s the state of the Wall of Remembrance and the Port Shepstone cemetery.”
Shops, businesses and homes in Margate, only just cleaned up after the floods three weeks earlier, were swamped with water and mud again.
But… “Two Glenmore nippers, Jaco Geldenhuys (13) and Alistair Nel (12), risked their lives to rescue two drowning children at Glenmore Beach last Saturday.”
April 26
1991
“A Joint Peace Committee, which was formed on the Lower South Coast following a meeting held in Port Shepstone between members of the African National Congress, the Inkatha Freedom Party and the South African Police last Thursday, has raised hopes that violence in the area will come to an end.”
1996
“Violence was the number one enemy of tourism on the South Coast, said Hibiscus Coast and Country Publicity Association chairman. Hugh Whiteman, at its AGM.”
But justice was drawing closer in one case. “The net is drawing tight around the killers involved in the Shobashobane Christmas Day massacre in which 19 ANC supporters were killed. Since last Thursday, members of the independent police task force have arrested 25 suspects, 17 of whom have already appeared in court.”
“A six-year-old girl was knocked down and killed as she was crossing the Main South Coast Road with her nine-year-old brother last Wednesday afternoon. She was the 13th pedestrian killed in the Southport area in the past 12 months.”
April 28
1995
“Port Shepstone Transitional Local Council is to apply for a R20-million slice of KwaZulu-Natal’s R125-million Reconstruction and Development Programme funding.”
“A woman was raped, a man shot in the leg and vehicles fired at during recent road-barricading incidents on the N2 near Murchison Hospital.”
“Nozizwe Madlala, MP (ANC) has been allocated southern KwaZulu-Natal as her area of responsibility. Ms Madlala was born in Magog, near Pumula.”
An estimated 300 aircraft was expected to converge on Margate for the best fly-in weekend on the South African calendar and it was smiles all round at the South Coast Publicity Association’ office. “The reason? The team has once again won the Tourism Awareness Trophy.”
2000
A Hibberdene farmer was stabbed to death, a taxi driver shot dead and two teenage boys killed by an allegedly drunk driver in Gamalakhe.
April 29
1994
“Since February, when the project started, the Department of Home Affairs, Port Shepstone, has attended to 15 625 applications for identity documents and voters’ cards.”
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