Part 17 in our series on William Hills: Hills falls victim to a hoax
The only people who apparently failed to see the humour in the incident were two dejected newspaper men.
With so much to chronicle, the newspaperman stationed in Krugersdorp in 1897 was prepared for anything ‘from blitzkriegs to personal vendettas’, Benoni City Times founder William Hills wrote in 1940 of his life as a journalist.
One morning he was walking down to the Landdrost Court and, seeing rival editor Douglas Blackburn, asked him “What’s up?”
“Blackburn thought for a second or two and then remarked: ‘Well, it’s too late for me to use on the News, so you might as well have it for The Star.”
ALSO READ; Part 15 in our series on William Hills: The duel that didn’t come off
At the time, Blackburn edited the Sentinel, but also represented the Johannesburg morning daily, The Standard and Diggers News. Hills worked on the Krugersdorp Times, but also represented the Johannesburg evening daily, The Star.
“At the time, the Rand was seething with excitement over certain matters connected with the Gold Law, and he informed me he had recently met Ben Viljoen.
“The Veld Cornet had told him that a large body of mounted burghers had left the dorp early that morning to march to Pretoria and bring pressure to bear on President (Paul) Kruger. It meant matters had come to a head.”
Blackburn had not seen the burghers himself but was sure the news was true as he had Viljoen’s assurance. That was good enough for Hills, who got the news out in time to catch the first edition.
“It caused a sensation right enough. The share market fell two or three points in as many minutes, although I did not know it until later in the day, for a tall Zarp came along and politely but very firmly told me the Landdrost wanted to see me at once.”
As he entered the room, it struck him that something was very wrong indeed ‘for as a rule I was greeted with a smile instead of the look the Landdrost reserved for the accused’. He was told there was not a particle of truth in the message.
“I discovered the first-class hoax which was designed for Blackburn had found an unconscious victim in myself.”
He would have been brought before the court for the escapade, but for the mercy of the kindly Landdrost, who let him off with a stern warning to be more careful in future and verify his facts before rushing off to put them in print. He also had to put matters right with the paper as best he could.
“The only people who apparently failed to see the humour in the incident were two dejected newspaper men; we were in a chastened mood for at least two days, but had to acknowledge that this time Ben had scored a bullseye.”
Next time: Krugersdorp was a legal paradise in 1897.
(Article: Carol Stier)
ALSO READ: Part 16 in our William Hills series: Hills’s observations of Ben Viljoen
