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The following lists events that happened during 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, .
- 21 December – Transvaal: Springs to Welgedag, .