Union of South African

[Music] on the great continent of Africa the southernmost country is the Union of South Africa the Cape of Good Hope its southern tip is washed by three oceans the vast Atlantic stretches to the shores of Europe and the Americans eastward the Indian Ocean preaches to Asia and Australia and to the south lies the Antarctic Ocean and the South Pole this southern tip of Africa shelters the harbour of Cape Town for centuries a haven for ships sailing the long southern route from Europe and America to the Orient and East Africa Cape Town's long history as a seaport began five centuries ago in the era when most of Africa was unknown to European Portuguese explorers feeling their way along the coast were the first to reach the Cape of Good Hope [Music] and the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama sailed around the Cape and found the sea route to the Indies for centuries the Cape was the stopping place for ships of all European nations engaged in the rich Indies trade although discovered by the Portuguese the Cape was first occupied by the Dutch who in turn lost it to the British the British stayed in partnership with the Dutch to build the Union of South Africa as an independent member of the British Commonwealth South Africa is a land of ruggedness in variety a fertile green coastal lowlands of steep mountain ranges fringing an inland plateau a plateau that has vast stretches of grassy felt in the eat but turns into dry barren plains and desert in the West this is a land where big-game animals once roll this is also a land of over 12 million people about three million of these are white people of European origin but more than nine million are people of dark-skinned races and the story of South Africa is largely their story by far the largest number of people of South Africa are Negroes of the Bantu group many still live on great tribal reserves set aside by the government this is the land of the timbu tribe in the OSA district the most important institution in native life is the family group this cluster of huts with its cattle enclosure or crawl nearby belongs to the family of in Ghana as is the custom in the early morning in Ghana and his sons will take care of the cattle the most valued possession of a native family and the measure of its wealth cattle are often used as security or in trading much as we would use money the family uses the milk from its herd but the animals are seldom slaughtered for food except on important ceremonial occasions caring for the livestock is traditionally men's work the boys of the family spend their days watching the herds in the pastures in Ghana is the head of the household he numbers in his family his three wives and seven unmarried children neon ooh is in Ghana's first wife each of his wives has her own Hut and possessions as do three relatives who live within Ghana's household the women of the family are on their way to the fields caring for the crops is woman's work since it is late in May winter is coming on and the women are harvesting the last of the corn sixteen oxen pull the corn wagon not because of its weight but to display young Ghana's wealth in cattle corn is the staple food of the natives but they seldom grow more than enough to meet their barest need outside her Hut and Ghana's wife and her children are busting on corn porridge called me Li's inside their Hut's are lined with clay mixed with cow dung the family's possessions are meager but highly prized perhaps a few articles of European clothing knives a few gourds and a path or two the old handmade articles of clay wood and iron are still used but are slowly giving way to manufactured utensils important events are often marked by old tribal ceremonies these boys having the Paramount chief is a center of tribal government with the heads of the households he rules according to tribal custom and the laws of South Africa although he governs local affairs major crimes and problems must be settled by the South African government authorities a great force for change as the Trading Post which has brought the natives manufactured goods offering a better standard of living for the village but to buy these enticing articles the natives need money they have little in the way of agricultural produce to sell for cash but they do have their Labor's to sell and this is in great demand on the white man's farms and in the mines and cities outside the reserve to acquire money large numbers of natives especially young men seeking a start in life leave the reserves for a few months or years to work under contract in other parts of South Africa outside the native reserve life is different in many ways this is farming country of the Transvaal where white people and Negroes live side-by-side most of the farmers of this area are descendants of the Dutch settlers who came here more than a century ago in this farming town street signs show how these people cling to the Afrikaans language it was derived from Dutch and ranks equally with English as the language of South Africa farms in this area are large many covering thousands of acres usually growing corn and raising cattle and sheep this farm of over 3,000 acres has belonged to the family of John van niekirk for four generation farmer van niekirk has about one-fifth of his land in corn an important export crop the rest of his land pastures cattle and sheep wool provides one of the largest exports of South Africa oxen still do some of the heavy farm work although power machinery imported from Britain and America is also commonly used the large farmhouse is built in a style that has prevailed since the early Dutch settlement the land earns John van niekirk his wife and his two sons a comfortable living and is prosperous enough to provide several late-model automobile the life of the family is plain but comfortable conservative in tastes and habits of living a farmer's wife usually has ample help from the native farm workers Jan van Niekerk is master of 50 native families who live on the farm the labor system here is long-established native workers and their families receive a small wage a regular ration of meat and meal ease a house and a plot of ground for a garden in return each native works for the farmer on a contract for a specified time the native farm families have been provided with many features of European life and their standard of living is much higher than in the native reserves in many ways however the natives are restricted none can leave the farm without a pass from his employer but still no one is bound to the land if a family dislikes life on one farm it may move on to another [Music] many natives come to the city Johannesburg largest city of South Africa is a great gold mining Center the mining of gold diamonds and other minerals is the basis for prosperity in South Africa it makes city life very different from that on the reserves and farm around Johannesburg along the Witwatersrand stretch the gold mine dumps and the gold refinery [Music] beneath these buildings and beneath Johannesburg itself are hundreds of miles of mine tunnels where as much as 9,000 feet underground the ore is dug out by the most modern method then carried by underground railways and elevators to the refinery [Music] after a complex chemical refining process pure molten gold is poured into molds to cool these bars of gold bullion are a sure measure of value everywhere in the world gold makes up almost 1/2 the value of South African export per mines produce 60% of the world's gold supply the management and technical supervision of the mines is by European but the labor is performed by natives who've contracted to work for the mining company many of these natives have come directly from the reserve they live in compounds built by the companies on the mine properties and their lives are closely regulated by the mining companies and the South African government according to law no native can leave company property without permission these men have usually left their families behind on the reserve however their quarters are much more comfortable than clay hut when the natives become accustomed to the simple features of European living they will work here for a year or two earning enough money so they may return to their villages and support a household although the wages are small since the mining company provides food housing and entertainment these workers will accumulate enough money to return to their reserves as prosperous and respected men they take on many Western ways but yet the men still cling to native traditions finding diversion in tribal dances and purged and aided by the mining company in addition to those natives in the mines many others come to the cities for with the growth of a variety of industries the demand for native labour is constantly increasing most native families are required to live in government built settlements or locations set apart from the rest of the city here the natives are fast turning to the white man's way of life but a family finds it hard to live in comfort on the meager income of the head of the household in consequence wives often assist by earning money as servants in white households or another occupation nevertheless there are advantages to living in the city one of them is better education than children could get in the reserve preschools and education are provided by the city native children often have a fierce wish to learn especially to read and write hoping they can improve their status in the white man's world another advantage is the wide variety of free entertainment available to city people along with all the new stimulating experiences of modern city life the church is another force for change energetically opposing many old tribal customs yet many natives have embraced Christianity for organized churches of their own the Europeans of South Africa live in much the same way as people do in modern communities everywhere homes are comfortable and family life is similar to that in other civilized countries a vigorous community spirit is reflected in the fine schools the many beautiful churches and some apartment buildings and the attractive stores well stocked with the latest type of goods South Africa has many other industries besides gold mining one of the most famous being the mining of diamonds the country has a large steel industry and manufacturing of various types has developed in a number of communities there are also important resources in coal uranium copper and other valuable minerals in the more fertile regions the growing of citrus fruits and grapes for wine have become important industries such enterprises have caused the growth of several large and important cities this is Durban on the East Coast one of the great ports of the Union Durban is also a center of settlement for many Asiatic peoples chiefly Hindus who have brought with them the cultures of the Far East Pretoria another important city is one of the two capitals of the Union the administrative branch of the government operates in these buildings official head of the Union Government is the governor-general who represents the British crown but although Pretoria is the administrative capital Cape Town is the legislative capital of the Union where the South African Parliament meets the union has a representative form of government though white citizens enjoy far greater representation than do the dark-skinned people Cape Town is the oldest city in the Union and still the most important seaport a modern city in a beautiful setting and a bustling center of trade or trade with the world is vital to South Africa's prosperity for people black and white alike depend on receiving from the world most of the manufactured goods that make for a higher standard of living they give in return their minerals and agricultural products their land of South Africa is one of the most distant from our country in many ways her people are very different from us and yet in many ways like us it is a land where light and dark-skinned races work side by side to build a secure and prosperous way of life South Africa is one of our good neighbors in the world family of Nations [Music]