After the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand in 1886 the early surface workings were soon replaced by deep mines. The costs involved meant that only a handful of people had the potential to manage the mines. There was a group of very wealthy Randlords, which included Cecil Rhodes, Abraham Bailey, Alfred Beit, Ernest Oppenheimer and Joseph Robinson.
The Randlords faced several challenges, one of which was that because the vast gold deposits were deep in the ground it was very costly to extract and required skilled miners to carry out the operations. As mining production increased, the Randlords tried to keep wages down. This led to a labour structure based on a relatively small number of skilled white miners and a large group of migrant black labour for the lower skilled jobs.
Many of the features of the apartheid system, more formally and rigorously imposed throughout South Africa in the 1950s, were introduced at this time. Black miners were obliged to live in company-owned compounds near the mines and to leave their families behind on farms in the rural areas. The companies usually provided white mine-workers with individual family homes. The Mines and Works Act (1911) effectively excluded blacks from skilled jobs in the mines by stipulating that certificates of competency for skilled trades could only be issued to white miners and to coloureds in certain occupations. These colour bar laws were designed to prevent black workers from competing with white workers for the better-paid jobs. Black migrants provided abundant cheap labour for white-owned mines and, at the same time, enforced racial segregation. The mine companies subjected these workers to harsh conditions and low pay.
WILLIAM as a skilled and experienced miner was part of this system. On 1st August 1904 he is promoted to Shift Boss at the Cornelia mine and on 3rd May 1905 he passed the examination for Mine Overseer’s Certificate. In April 1909 he attended Mining and Mining Economics lectures by Professor Yates of the Transvaal University College and in December was examined at the Transvaal University College and won a Certificate in Methods of Mining and Mining Economics. In February 1912 he was awarded the St Johns First Aid Ambulance Certificate, achieving 23 points out of 25. During this period WILLIAM had work and training opportunities which were not available to the black workers.
The main attraction of the Witwatersrand gold mines to immigrant white skilled miners during the period from 1890 to 1910 was that the wages paid were higher than those paid on any other mines in the world at the time. In 1897, skilled miners earned
£18 to £22 a month
. From the Journal WILLIAM appears to be earning between £30-£55 each month in 1905; he sends a significant proportion to his wife Marie, who at this time is back in England. He is also sending money to his mother-in-law, Mrs Bevington and his aunt, Mary Jane Whitehead. The National Archives Currency Converter calculates that £54 was worth £4,242.75 in 2017, which indicates that WILLIAM was earning a very high wage. This probably explains why he is able to have four months not working when he returned to England in 1906 and five and a half months entering cycle races between August 1907 and January 1908. Also, in 1910 he signed the papers to buy a house freehold for £380 on Stand 253 on Dekker Street in West Krugersdorp and then in 1912 he buys a further two houses for £700, freehold, on Stand 609 in West Krugersdorp.
Family
Initially many white mineworkers were accommodated at the mines themselves or in boarding houses on their periphery. However more and more began to live in Krugersdorp and in the Luipaardsvlei Township. Krugersdorp grew from a population of 3000 in 1903 to 15236 in 1912. It seems the newly married WILLIAM and Marie are part of this move, as he records on 4th November 1904 that furniture was moved to Vereeniging Station en route to Luipaardsvlei. Their first child Henry Bevington English (Harry) was born at Luipaardsvlei on 19th February 1905. Soon after, on 31st March, they moved from Luipaardsvlei to Krugersdorp. This seems to indicate they are living in rented accommodation before buying a house in 1910.
Marie English with Henry Bevington English
WILLIAM records on Page 27 of the Journal that on 23rd August 1905 Marie and Harry left Krugersdorp for Durban en route to England. The Journal suggests that WILLIAM didn’t see his wife and son again until he travelled to England in April 1906. Krugersdorp was at this time in transition from a mining boom town to one of greater stability. Many miners in this period did not intend to settle permanently in South Africa. It is not obvious if this was how WILLIAM viewed his time working in the gold mines, but over the following years Marie and the subsequent children spend long periods in England. On 15th March 1911 she travelled back to England with Harry and their second son William Ridley (Willie) only to return to South Africa on 28th February 1912 with Willie. This is likely the time when Harry became a day student at Highfield College in Leigh-on-sea, Essex staying with Emma (Marie’s mother) and Elizabeth Bevington (Marie’s sister) at 23 Dawlish Drive. The records suggest that Harry didn’t return to South Africa until 1919, thus not seeing his father again who died in 1915.
23 Dawlish Drive in Leigh on Sea, Essex. On the back of this photo Marie has written “This is mother’s house. Notice Henry at the gate. Do you see his school badge on his cap.” The photo was taken in 1911/12.
After WLLIAM’S death in 1915, Marie travelled to England again, arriving on 8 June 1916, with three children. At this time Willie begins at Leigh North Street Primary School and then by 1917 is a day student at Highfield College; he lives with his brother Harry at 23 Dawlish Drive. Marie returned to South Africa with two children, Constance (Connie) and John Albert (Jack). What these events appear to show is that the family didn’t have a settled time together in South Africa. However after WILLIAM’S death Marie and three of the children returned and lived permanently in South Africa. Whereas Willie didn’t. He finished at Highfield College and remained in England, never to return to South Africa. He was living with his aunt Elizabeth Bevington until he married in 1939.
Leisure
Around 1888 thirty-one acres was set aside for a sporting ground which was first called Kruger’s Park, but was later renamed Wanderers Club. When not used by the Club, the grounds would be used for public events and a cricket ground with a cycle track around it. The prosperity that came with the gold mines meant locals could afford new consumer goods including the bicycle. By 1900, Johannesburg was known as a true cycling city. Writing in 1903, a newspaper columnist, wrote:
‘There are few cities in South Africa or in any other part of the world where a larger number of cyclists are to be found as in Johannesburg. Nearly every third inhabitant rides a bicycle, and it may be said of the Johannesburg child that he learns to cycle before he can walk.’
Bicycles were status symbols – fashionable consumer goods to tour around on and use for serious sport.
The Wanderers Ground, Johannesburg. Source: Mechanical Curator Collection.
On Pages 13 to 18 WILLIAM describes his cycling exploits in 1898, including entering his name for the sports on the Wanderers Ground. He is very involved in the developing cycling activities in the area. WILLIAM continued cycling after the Anglo-Boer War, notably during his trip to England in 1906 when he completed a return cycling trip from Leigh-on-Sea in Essex to the North East of England. (Pages 31-34 in the Journal). In 1907 (Page 39) he records cycling at the Wanderers and the Pretoria Diamond Road Race. He also rode up Mulders Drift Hill and is very pleased with himself as it had only been ridden up only once before, by Harvey Lewis in 1898.
On 14th June 14th 1907, WILLIAM went to hear Mark Hambourg play at Johannesburg. The world-renowned pianist was on a month-long concert tour of South Africa. This is another indication that Johannesburg was quickly developing into a more stable town and that WILLIAM went to cultural events.
By 1909 WILLIAM’S health and fitness had begun to deteriorate. On Page 53 William talks about his last cycle race and reflects that
‘…work in these mines is not conducive to either long life, long wind or strength………. I rode my last race 9th November 1909 at the Caledonian Sports, Krugersdorp when I felt I was only a third rater, so gave it up; I was then within a month of 34 years of age. I gave up the bicycle altogether in September 1912 when I bought a BSA. Motor [cycle].’
This must have been hard for a man who prided himself on his sporting prowess.
WILLIAM had his first attack of asthma in 1913 and his health deteriorated further with the diagnosis of phthisis in 1914.
Health
Appalling living and working conditions led to a high incidence of diseases of the lungs in the gold mines. The three major killers on the gold mines were tuberculosis, pneumonia and silicosis (miners’ phthisis) . It was estimated in the period 1902-1910 that, on average, a Cornish miner on the Witwatersrand could work about four years in the gold mines before being affected by and dying from silicosis.
In June 1913 WILLIAM records his first asthma attack and that he was in bed for a fortnight. During 1913 and 1914 he continued working but he must have been struggling as he visits doctors and has x-rays which lead to phthisis being diagnosed.
The first major initiatives in the control of phthisis in South Africa came in with the introduction of the Miner’s Phthisis Allowance Act Act of 1911. This Act provided for temporary relief; permanent compensation for silicosis became law in 1912. A further series of Acts between 1912 and 1918 laid down the basis for a comprehensive system of compensation for victims of miners’ phthisis. One feature of the system was the creation of the Miners’ Phthisis Board which considered cases and awarded compensation. During the remainder of 1914 WILLIAM provided information to the Board for his claim for compensation and his request for an advance of £100 was granted in April 1915. He worked his last shift at East Reef in November 1914 as he was too ill to continue. In January 1915 he starts alternative work as a shaft clerk, but by October he is feeling too unwell and applied for a month’s holiday on full pay to go to the Phthisis Sanatorium in Modderfontein. WILLIAM died there on 29th November 1915.
Contents
The Missing Years and Mary Sarah Bevington
READ MOREBefore William’s Birth
READ MOREWilliam’s Early Life
READ MOREWilliam’s cycle trip to North East England
READ MORELater Years
READ MOREAfter William’s Death
READ MOREWilliam’s move to South Africa
READ MOREBackground to William’s ‘Poems’
READ MORELater Years
Work
After the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand in 1886 the early surface workings were soon replaced by deep mines. The costs involved meant that only a handful of people had the potential to manage the mines. There was a group of very wealthy Randlords, which included Cecil Rhodes, Abraham Bailey, Alfred Beit, Ernest Oppenheimer and Joseph Robinson.
The Randlords faced several challenges, one of which was that because the vast gold deposits were deep in the ground it was very costly to extract and required skilled miners to carry out the operations. As mining production increased, the Randlords tried to keep wages down. This led to a labour structure based on a relatively small number of skilled white miners and a large group of migrant black labour for the lower skilled jobs.
Many of the features of the apartheid system, more formally and rigorously imposed throughout South Africa in the 1950s, were introduced at this time. Black miners were obliged to live in company-owned compounds near the mines and to leave their families behind on farms in the rural areas. The companies usually provided white mine-workers with individual family homes. The Mines and Works Act (1911) effectively excluded blacks from skilled jobs in the mines by stipulating that certificates of competency for skilled trades could only be issued to white miners and to coloureds in certain occupations. These colour bar laws were designed to prevent black workers from competing with white workers for the better-paid jobs. Black migrants provided abundant cheap labour for white-owned mines and, at the same time, enforced racial segregation. The mine companies subjected these workers to harsh conditions and low pay.
WILLIAM as a skilled and experienced miner was part of this system. On 1st August 1904 he is promoted to Shift Boss at the Cornelia mine and on 3rd May 1905 he passed the examination for Mine Overseer’s Certificate. In April 1909 he attended Mining and Mining Economics lectures by Professor Yates of the Transvaal University College and in December was examined at the Transvaal University College and won a Certificate in Methods of Mining and Mining Economics. In February 1912 he was awarded the St Johns First Aid Ambulance Certificate, achieving 23 points out of 25. During this period WILLIAM had work and training opportunities which were not available to the black workers.
The main attraction of the Witwatersrand gold mines to immigrant white skilled miners during the period from 1890 to 1910 was that the wages paid were higher than those paid on any other mines in the world at the time. In 1897, skilled miners earned £18 to £22 a month . From the Journal WILLIAM appears to be earning between £30-£55 each month in 1905; he sends a significant proportion to his wife Marie, who at this time is back in England. He is also sending money to his mother-in-law, Mrs Bevington and his aunt, Mary Jane Whitehead. The National Archives Currency Converter calculates that £54 was worth £4,242.75 in 2017, which indicates that WILLIAM was earning a very high wage. This probably explains why he is able to have four months not working when he returned to England in 1906 and five and a half months entering cycle races between August 1907 and January 1908. Also, in 1910 he signed the papers to buy a house freehold for £380 on Stand 253 on Dekker Street in West Krugersdorp and then in 1912 he buys a further two houses for £700, freehold, on Stand 609 in West Krugersdorp.
Family
Initially many white mineworkers were accommodated at the mines themselves or in boarding houses on their periphery. However more and more began to live in Krugersdorp and in the Luipaardsvlei Township. Krugersdorp grew from a population of 3000 in 1903 to 15236 in 1912. It seems the newly married WILLIAM and Marie are part of this move, as he records on 4th November 1904 that furniture was moved to Vereeniging Station en route to Luipaardsvlei. Their first child Henry Bevington English (Harry) was born at Luipaardsvlei on 19th February 1905. Soon after, on 31st March, they moved from Luipaardsvlei to Krugersdorp. This seems to indicate they are living in rented accommodation before buying a house in 1910.
WILLIAM records on Page 27 of the Journal that on 23rd August 1905 Marie and Harry left Krugersdorp for Durban en route to England. The Journal suggests that WILLIAM didn’t see his wife and son again until he travelled to England in April 1906. Krugersdorp was at this time in transition from a mining boom town to one of greater stability. Many miners in this period did not intend to settle permanently in South Africa. It is not obvious if this was how WILLIAM viewed his time working in the gold mines, but over the following years Marie and the subsequent children spend long periods in England. On 15th March 1911 she travelled back to England with Harry and their second son William Ridley (Willie) only to return to South Africa on 28th February 1912 with Willie. This is likely the time when Harry became a day student at Highfield College in Leigh-on-sea, Essex staying with Emma (Marie’s mother) and Elizabeth Bevington (Marie’s sister) at 23 Dawlish Drive. The records suggest that Harry didn’t return to South Africa until 1919, thus not seeing his father again who died in 1915.
After WLLIAM’S death in 1915, Marie travelled to England again, arriving on 8 June 1916, with three children. At this time Willie begins at Leigh North Street Primary School and then by 1917 is a day student at Highfield College; he lives with his brother Harry at 23 Dawlish Drive. Marie returned to South Africa with two children, Constance (Connie) and John Albert (Jack). What these events appear to show is that the family didn’t have a settled time together in South Africa. However after WILLIAM’S death Marie and three of the children returned and lived permanently in South Africa. Whereas Willie didn’t. He finished at Highfield College and remained in England, never to return to South Africa. He was living with his aunt Elizabeth Bevington until he married in 1939.
Leisure
Around 1888 thirty-one acres was set aside for a sporting ground which was first called Kruger’s Park, but was later renamed Wanderers Club. When not used by the Club, the grounds would be used for public events and a cricket ground with a cycle track around it. The prosperity that came with the gold mines meant locals could afford new consumer goods including the bicycle. By 1900, Johannesburg was known as a true cycling city. Writing in 1903, a newspaper columnist, wrote:
‘There are few cities in South Africa or in any other part of the world where a larger number of cyclists are to be found as in Johannesburg. Nearly every third inhabitant rides a bicycle, and it may be said of the Johannesburg child that he learns to cycle before he can walk.’
Bicycles were status symbols – fashionable consumer goods to tour around on and use for serious sport.
On Pages 13 to 18 WILLIAM describes his cycling exploits in 1898, including entering his name for the sports on the Wanderers Ground. He is very involved in the developing cycling activities in the area. WILLIAM continued cycling after the Anglo-Boer War, notably during his trip to England in 1906 when he completed a return cycling trip from Leigh-on-Sea in Essex to the North East of England. (Pages 31-34 in the Journal). In 1907 (Page 39) he records cycling at the Wanderers and the Pretoria Diamond Road Race. He also rode up Mulders Drift Hill and is very pleased with himself as it had only been ridden up only once before, by Harvey Lewis in 1898.
On 14th June 14th 1907, WILLIAM went to hear Mark Hambourg play at Johannesburg. The world-renowned pianist was on a month-long concert tour of South Africa. This is another indication that Johannesburg was quickly developing into a more stable town and that WILLIAM went to cultural events.
By 1909 WILLIAM’S health and fitness had begun to deteriorate. On Page 53 William talks about his last cycle race and reflects that
‘…work in these mines is not conducive to either long life, long wind or strength………. I rode my last race 9th November 1909 at the Caledonian Sports, Krugersdorp when I felt I was only a third rater, so gave it up; I was then within a month of 34 years of age. I gave up the bicycle altogether in September 1912 when I bought a BSA. Motor [cycle].’
This must have been hard for a man who prided himself on his sporting prowess.
WILLIAM had his first attack of asthma in 1913 and his health deteriorated further with the diagnosis of phthisis in 1914.
Health
Appalling living and working conditions led to a high incidence of diseases of the lungs in the gold mines. The three major killers on the gold mines were tuberculosis, pneumonia and silicosis (miners’ phthisis) . It was estimated in the period 1902-1910 that, on average, a Cornish miner on the Witwatersrand could work about four years in the gold mines before being affected by and dying from silicosis.
The thesis by Matthew John Smith, Working in the grave: The development of a health and safety system on the Witwatersrand gold mines 1900-1939, provides a very detailed account of the developing health and safety systems and the differences in support for white and black miners.
In June 1913 WILLIAM records his first asthma attack and that he was in bed for a fortnight. During 1913 and 1914 he continued working but he must have been struggling as he visits doctors and has x-rays which lead to phthisis being diagnosed.
The first major initiatives in the control of phthisis in South Africa came in with the introduction of the Miner’s Phthisis Allowance Act Act of 1911. This Act provided for temporary relief; permanent compensation for silicosis became law in 1912. A further series of Acts between 1912 and 1918 laid down the basis for a comprehensive system of compensation for victims of miners’ phthisis. One feature of the system was the creation of the Miners’ Phthisis Board which considered cases and awarded compensation. During the remainder of 1914 WILLIAM provided information to the Board for his claim for compensation and his request for an advance of £100 was granted in April 1915. He worked his last shift at East Reef in November 1914 as he was too ill to continue. In January 1915 he starts alternative work as a shaft clerk, but by October he is feeling too unwell and applied for a month’s holiday on full pay to go to the Phthisis Sanatorium in Modderfontein. WILLIAM died there on 29th November 1915.