1965 in South Africa

369 words updated Jun 20, 2026, 12:13 AM

The following lists events that happened during 1965 in South Africa.

Incumbents

State President: Charles Robberts Swart.
Prime Minister: Hendrik Verwoerd.
Chief Justice: Lucas Cornelius Steyn.

Events

;January

8 – Adam Faith, a British pop singer, cancels his tour of South Africa because the South African government prohibited mixed audiences at concerts.

;April

1 – Frederick John Harris is hanged for exploding the bomb at Johannesburg Park Station that killed 77-year-old Ethel Rhys and injured 23 others on 24 July 1964.

;May

4 – Units of the South African Defence Force begin to be issued with the R1 7.62 mm rifle, made in South Africa under license.

;October

4 – At least 150 are killed when a commuter train derails at the outskirts of Durban.

;November

Rhodes University in Grahamstown installs a computer, the first university in South Africa to do so.

;Unknown date

The African National Congress establishes its headquarters in Morogoro, Tanzania.

Births

1 February – Dave Callaghan, cricketer.
14 February – Themba Ndaba, actor.
17 March – Andrew Hudson, cricketer.
18 March – Yvonne Chaka Chaka, singer.
2 June – Thoko Didiza, politician.
10 June – Tiaan Strauss, rugby player.
13 July – Hannes Strydom, rugby player.
25 September – Augustine Makalakalane, football player.
1 December – Henry Honiball, rugby player.
18 December – John Moshoeu, footballer. (d. 2015).

Deaths

1 April – Frederick John Harris, school teacher and bomb planter. (b. 1937)
1 July – Wally Hammond, English first-class cricketer and South African sports administrator. (b. 1903)
19 July – Ingrid Jonker, Afrikaans poet. (b. 1933)

thumb|[[South African Class 33-000|Class 33-000 (GE U20C)]]

Railways

Locomotives

Two new Cape gauge locomotive types enter service on the South African Railways:

The first of sixty-five Class 33-000 General Electric type U20C diesel-electric locomotives.
The first of one hundred Class 5E1, Series 4 electric locomotives.