1951 in South Africa

Incumbents

• Monarch: King George VI.
• Governor-General: Ernest George Jansen (starting 1 January).
• Prime Minister: Daniel François Malan.
• Chief Justice: Albert van der Sandt Centlivres.

Events

;March

• 30 – The Group Areas Act, passed in 1950, becomes law.

;May

• 14 – Cabinet votes for the removal of Coloured people from the voters roll.
• 24 – The first part of the Afrikaans Dictionary Woordeboek van die Afrikaanse Taal (WAT) is published, a project which was begun in 1926 by Prof. J.J. Smith of Stellenbosch University.

;July

• 29 – Blacks, Coloureds and Indians meet for the first time to discuss a plan of action against race discrimination laws.

:August

• 31 – The first Volkswagen Beetle rolls off the plant in Uitenhage.

;Unknown date

• Max Theiler, virologist, is awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for developing a vaccine for yellow fever, the first South African to receive a Nobel Prize.

Births

• 3 January – Frank Chikane, civil servant, writer and cleric
• 17 February – Patricia De Lille, current Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure (South Africa) and leader of the political party Good
• 9 March – Helen Zille, federal council chairperson of the Democratic Alliance (South Africa)
• 26 July – Pieter Mulder, politician and the former leader of the Freedom Front Plus
• 1 December – Nozipho Schroeder, lawn bowler

Deaths

• 6 April – Robert Broom, the Scottish paleontologist who discovered Mrs Ples. (b. 1866)
• 23 May – Sefako Makgatho, the 2nd African National Congress president. (b. 1861)
• 14 October – Herman Charles Bosman, writer and journalist. (b. 1905)
• 5 November – Reggie Walker, athlete (b. 1889)
• 28 November – Clements Kadalie, trade unionist. (b. 1896)

Railways

Railway lines opened

• 13 June – Transvaal: Grootvlei to Redan, 39 mi.
• 21 December – Transvaal: Springs to Welgedag, 5 mi.

Sports

Canoeing

• 22 December – The first 200 kilometre Dusi Marathon, with four pairs of canoeists taking part, starts on the Umsindusi River which joins the Umgeni River in the Valley of a Thousand Hills. Since only Ian Player stays the course and finishes, it is declared that there is no winner.

Rugby

• 8 December – The Springboks beat Ireland 17–5 in Ireland.

References

References

1. (August 2025). "Lawn Bowls | Athlete Profile: Nozipho SCHROEDER - Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games".
2. ''Statement Showing, in Chronological Order, the Date of Opening and the Mileage of Each Section of Railway'', Statement No. 19, p. 191, ref. no. 200954-13