What we see now happening worldwide with the Coronavirus is not new to Potchefstroom. Pandemics have passed through the city in the past. Three of them stand out.
Although the Rinderpest did not kill humans, except those who ate the flesh of infected animals, it caused wide-spread devastation in the country. This lead to desperate attempts at containing the spread and aid to impoverished farmers afterwards. Likewise the “Spanish” influenza, or flu for short, of 1918/9 devastated South Africa. In Potchefstroom it caused the deaths of many. In 2003 Potchefstroom also had to prepare for a disaster when three students died of meningitis in the city. As with the current Coronavirus crisis public places were closed as a precautionary measure and sports and other events were cancelled.
The story below was first published on my blog: lenniegouws.co.za, which focuses on the history of Potchefstroom.
Rinderpest
The devastation caused by a highly infectious disease was seen in 1896/7 with the outbreak of Rinderpest.
It is estimated that 2,5 million animals perished from the disease, both domesticated and wild animals. Rinderpest affected all ruminating animals with cleft hoofs, except small game.
In 1975 a former transport-rider told his memories to Prof JH Coetzee of the Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education and it was published in the second book in a series on the Groot Marico, called: Transportry, Runderpes en Poskoetse. He was CF Gronum.
The word Rinderpest is derived from German meaning cattle plague.
According to Gronum the Rinderpest was introduced to...
