1903 in South Africa
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Incumbents
Cape Colony
Natal
- Governor of the Colony of Natal: Henry Edward McCallum.
- Prime Minister of the Colony of Natal: Albert Henry Hime (until 17 August), George Morris Sutton (starting 17 August).
Orange River Colony
- Governor of the Orange River Colony and High Commissioner for Southern Africa: Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner.
- Lieutenant-Governor of the Orange River Colony: Hamilton Goold-Adams.
Transvaal
Events
- February
- Mahatma Gandhi enrolls to the Bar of the Transvaal Supreme Court.
- March
- 12 â Andries Dreyer, an archivist of the Dutch Reformed Church, is ordained as a missionary of the congregation for the Hanover Street area in Cape Town.
- May
- 21 â The first contingent of Chinese labourers leave China to work on the Witwatersrand gold mines.
- June
- 4 â The Indian Opinion is started by Mahatma Gandhi with Mansukhlal Nazar as editor.
- Unknown date
- The County of Pembroke, a British cargo ship, is shipwrecked near Port Elizabeth.
Births
- 11 January â Alan Paton, author and founder of the Liberal Party of South Africa, is born in Pietermaritzburg, Natal.
- 21 March â J. B. Marks, political activist and trade unionist, is born in Ventersdorp. (d. 1972)
- 4 May â Louise Behrens, novelist and Afrikaans journalist, is born in the Orange River Colony.
- 4 May â Hendrik Susan, orchestra leader and violist.
- 19 June â Wally Hammond, English first-class cricketer and South African sports administrator. (d. 1965)
- 8 October â Mikro (Pseudonym for C.H. Kühn), writer and poet, is born at Van Reenens Farm in the Williston district.
Deaths
- 21 February â Kate Vaughan, British dancer and actress (born 1852)
- 13 March â General David Johannes Joubert (Ou Kat), a South African explorer to East Africa, dies of malaria near Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
- 8 August â Adolf Schiel, German-born officer in Boer armed forces. (b. 1858)
Railways
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Railway lines opened
- 19 February â Cape Central â Swellendam to Riversdale, 64 miles (103.0 kilometres).[1]
- 28 February â Cape Western â Kalbaskraal to Hopefield (Narrow gauge), 46 miles 79 chains (75.6 kilometres).[2]
- 22 March â Free State â Sannaspos to Thaba 'Nchu, 17 miles 3 chains (27.4 kilometres).[1]
- 1 April â Free State â Harrismith to Aberfeldy, 20 miles 60 chains (33.4 kilometres).[1]
- 27 April â Transvaal â India Junction to Driehoek (avoiding line), 55 chains (1.1 kilometres).[1]
- 17 September â Natal â Mhlatuze to Somkele, 55 miles 17 chains (88.9 kilometres).[1]
- 1 November â Transvaal â India Junction to New Canada, 14 miles 31 chains (23.2 kilometres).[1]
- 12 November â Natal â Talana to Lucas Meyer, 50 miles 64 chains (81.8 kilometres).[1]
- 14 December â Cape Eastern â King William's Town to Middledrift, 33 miles (53.1 kilometres).[2]
- 14 December â Cape Midland â Cookhouse to Adelaide, 42 miles 52 chains (68.6 kilometres).[2]
- 14 December â Cape Midland â Willowmore to Le Roux, 75 miles 49 chains (121.7 kilometres).[2]
Locomotives
- Cape
- Nine new Cape gauge and two narrow gauge locomotive types enter service on the Cape Government Railways (CGR):
- The last eight 3rd Class Wynberg Tender suburban locomotives in Cape Town.[3][4]
- Two Karoo Class 4-6-2 Pacific passenger locomotives. In 1912 they will be designated Class 5A on the South African Railways (SAR).[3][4]
- Two 6th Class 2-6-2 Prairie locomotives. In 1912 they will be designated Class 6Y on the SAR.[3][4]
- A second batch of 38 8th Class 4-8-0 Mastodon type locomotives, six on the Western, twenty on the Midland and twelve on the Eastern Systems. In 1912 they will be designated Class 8D on the SAR.[3][4]
- Four additional 8th Class 4-8-0 Mastodon type locomotives, built to modified specifications in order to accommodate a larger grate area. In 1912 they will be designated Class 8E on the SAR.[3][4]
- Four Cape 8th Class 2-8-0 Consolidation type locomotives. In 1912 they will be designated Class 8Y on the SAR.[3][4][5]
- Two 9th Class 2-8-2 Mikado steam locomotives. In 1912 they will be classified Class Experimental 4 on the SAR.[3][4][5]
- A single experimental 2-8-0 Consolidation type tandem compound steam locomotive. In 1912 it will be classified as Class Experimental 3 on the SAR.[4][5][6]
- A single experimental 0-6-0+0-6-0 Kitson-Meyer type articulated steam locomotive on the Eastern System.[3][4]
- A single small Krauss 0-4-0 side-tank locomotive, for use as construction engine on the narrow gauge Avontuur branch.[7][8]
- A single Krauss 0-6-0 tank locomotive, also for use as construction engine on the Avontuur branch.[4][8]
- Two locomotives, later named Thebus and Stormberg, enter service with the Irrigation Department of the Public Works Department of the Cape Colony.[4][6]
- Transvaal
- Three new Cape gauge locomotive types enter service on the Central South African Railways (CSAR):
- Six Reid Tenwheeler 4-10-2 tank locomotives are converted to a 4-8-2T configuration. In 1912 they will be designated Class H1 on the SAR.[4][6]
- Thirty Class 8-L2 4-8-0 Mastodon type locomotives. In 1912 they will be designated Class 8B on the SAR.[3][4]
- Thirty Class 8-L3 4-8-0 Mastodon type locomotives. In 1912 they will be designated Class 8C on the SAR.[3][4]