Sunday, 5 March 1916
Britain had fought the Boer settlers in South Africa in the Anglo-Boer wars (1880-1, 1899-1902), so in 1914 many Afrikaaners sympathised with Germany.
While Prime Minister, Louis Botha was raising an expedition to invade German South West Africa, pro-German Boers raised a rebellion against British authority.
This was not fully suppressed until early 1915 and only then could the invasion of South West Africa be fully launched.
On 5 March 1916 South African Troops led by General Jan Smuts, invaded East Africa in their confrontation with German forces.
More than 146 000 Whites, 83 000 Blacks and 2 500 people of mixed race and Asians served in South African military units during the war, including 43,000 in German South-West Africa and 30 000 on the Western Front. An estimated 3,000 South Africans also joined the Royal Flying Corps.
The total number of South African casualties during the war was approximately 7000 dead and 12 000 wounded by 1918.
Saturday, 5 March 1955
The South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU) was formed during an Inaugural Conference held on 4 and 5 March 1955 in the Trades Hall, Johannesburg.
SACTU was the leading non-racial trade union co-coordinating body, and ally of the ANC led Congress Alliance.
The federation suffered major reversals after the banning of political organisations in 1960.
Many SACTU members were also members of organisations like the South African Communist Party (SACP), the ANC, South African Indian Congress (SAIC) and the South African Coloured People’s Organisation(SACPO).
Following the Sharpeville Massacre, most SACTU office bearers were exiled, banned, banished or imprisoned for ANC and MK activities. Those office bearers in exile re-established the organisation and used it to mobilise international solidarity against the apartheid regime.
With the unbanning of political organisations in 1990, SACTU decided to disband and some of its leadership was absorbed into the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU).
Wednesday, 5 March 1975
The system of Apartheid was not only detrimental to the cultural, economic and emotional wellbeing of those on whom it was imposed , but also on the physical wellbeing of those who bore the brunt of it.
This was shown by a study done by the World Health Organization in 1975.
The report published on the 5th of March 1975 showed that Apartheid as a system through impoverishing its subjects, exposed many to physical ailments and deficiencies that could be avoided at minimal cost.
This degradation was so extreme that there was a marked difference between the life expectancy of White South Africans and Black South Africans.
Further, the infant mortality rate of Black South Africans outstripped the mortality rate of White South Africans.
This was one of the many contradictions of the Apartheid system that eventually led to its fall.
Saturday, 5 March 1977
Welsh racing driver Tom Pryce died on the tracks during the South African Grand Prix in Kyalami on 5 March 1977.
The horrific accident left two people dead; a marshal Frederick Jansen Van Vuuren, who was running across the tracks to help another driver whose car had caught fire and Pryce himself.
The marshal’s body was torn in half when it was hit by Pryce’s car and Pryce was hit in the head by the fire extinguisher that the marshal had been carrying.
Pryce was partially decapitated by his helmet strap and died instantly.
Pryce is the only Welsh driver to have won a formula one race and the only Welsh to lead a Formula one World Championship Grand Prix.
A statue of him has been erected in his hometown of Ruthin in his remembrance.
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