Springbok and anti-apartheid campaigner
GEORGE Murray Daneel, rugby player and church minister, died in Franschhoek, South Africa, on October 19 2004.
Daneel was the first Springbok to reach the age of 100.
He was also one of the first Dutch Reformed Ministers in South
Africa to speak out against apartheid - 45 years before the
church's Synod finally brought itself to condemn it
unequivocally.
As a Springbok rugby star in the late 1920s and as a Dutch
Reformed dominee, Daneel was prominent in both of Afrikanerdom's
religions.
He played forward against the All Blacks in 1928 and toured the
UK and Ireland in 1931-32.
During the same period he was training for the ministry at
Stellenbosch University:his two enthusiasms coming together when,
in the heat of a match against the Welsh, he called out to his team
in Afrikaans, "Hit and kick if you must, but in heaven's name stop
the blasphemy!" He maintained later that the All Blacks were not as
tough as the Welsh miners.
In 1940 he married Joey Stolp, whose father had been one of the
commandos who captured the young Winston Churchill during the
Anglo-Boer War.
During the Second World War he served as senior chaplain of the
South African forces at El Alamein and in Italy.
By 1953 he was minister of a Dutch Reformed Church in
Grahamstown, in the Eastern Cape.
That year Daneel attended a multiracial conference in Lusaka,
organised by Moral Re-Armament, the international movement for
moral and spiritual change with which he had been involved since
1928.
Among the other South Africans who took part in the conference
was William Nkomo, the first President of the radical Youth League
of the African National Congress.
For Daneel and his wife, it was a new experience to meet black
people as equals.
"My parents were devout Christians," he said, "but when our
Coloured servants came in for family prayers they had to sit on the
floor."
Now the full force of this superiority dawned on him.
"It was not just a wrong relationship, it was a sin against
God."
He apologised publicly to the black people at the
conference.
"I realised that the relationship between black and white was
the biggest issue in the country."
Daneel resigned his job in Grahamstown to devote himself wholly
to the struggle to change racist attitudes:an issue which he saw as
primarily moral and spiritual.
Thirty-seven years later, then working in Namibia on the eve of
independence, he told me, "Many people hope that political change
will bring about the change that is needed.
I think it's the opposite:it's got to be moral and spiritual
change that will also bring about political change."
Perhaps this explains why Daneel never broke with the Dutch
Reformed Church or Afrikanerdom, unlike his more militant
contemporary Beyers Naudé.
His own stand, though quieter, drew the wrath of both Hendrik
Verwoerd, the architect of apartheid, and his successor, John
Vorster.
And, when political change at last came, he rejoiced.
Daneel went public with his convictions at a packed multiracial
meeting at City Hall in Cape Town shortly after the conference in
Lusaka, and from then onwards all MRA's meetings were
multiracial.
Verwoerd wrote to Daneel slating MRA for "not operating on the
principle of separate development".
In 1972 Daneel spoke at the General Synod of the Dutch Reformed
Church, describing racial prejudice as "sinful in the eyes of
God".
His speech was received with cries of "Go to Mozambique!" A
motion by another delegate, Professor Ben Marais, calling for the
church to open its doors to all races also fell on deaf ears.
Undaunted, Daneel and his colleagues went on two years later to
organise a live-in, multiracial, international conference in
Pretoria:the first of its kind in South Africa.
"We realised that we couldn't, as in the past, just meet
together in the day and at night return to our own areas," he
explained.
The living arrangements had to be cleared at cabinet level, but
permission was granted.
In 1978, Daneel wrote to John Vorster, calling for an "honest
acknowledgement of guilt and a change of attitude" from
Afrikanerdom.
Vorster summoned him for an interview, in which he justified his
government's policies.
Later, after Vorster's death under a cloud of scandal, Daneel
heard second-hand that he had remarked, "Daneel was right after
all."
George Daneel was born in Calvinia in the Northern Cape in
1904.
He was one of nine children of a country pastor.
Two of his siblings died in infancy; his mother died when he was
12, and his stepmother in a flu epidemic four years later.
When his father married for a third time, George's great-
grandmother commented, "Poor Marthinus, he spends all his money on
wedding rings and coffins."
In 1982, when George was 78, the Daneels moved to Windhoek, then
moving towards independence, and retired to Pretoria in 1990.
Joey died in 1998, and George moved to Franschhoek in the Cape
Winelands, where he celebrated his 100th birthday, surrounded by
family, in August.
His Springbok training stood him in good stead:he went on
playing tennis until his late eighties.
- Mary Lean, The Independent
He was also one of the first Dutch Reformed Ministers in South
Africa to speak out against apartheid - 45 years before the
church's Synod finally brought itself to condemn it
unequivocally.As a Springbok rugby star in the late 1920s and as a
Dutch Reformed dominee, Daneel was prominent in both of
Afrikanerdom's religions.He played forward against the All Blacks
in 1928 and toured the UK and Ireland in 1931-32.During the same
period he was training for the ministry at Stellenbosch
University:his two enthusiasms coming together when, in the heat of
a match against the Welsh, he called out to his team in Afrikaans,
"Hit and kick if you must, but in heaven's name stop the
blasphemy!" He maintained later that the All Blacks were not as
tough as the Welsh miners.In 1940 he married Joey Stolp, whose
father had been one of the commandos who captured the young Winston
Churchill during the Anglo-Boer War.During the Second World War he
served as senior chaplain of the South African forces at El Alamein
and in Italy.By 1953 he was minister of a Dutch Reformed Church in
Grahamstown, in the Eastern Cape.That year Daneel attended a
multiracial conference in Lusaka, organised by Moral Re-Armament,
the international movement for moral and spiritual change with
which he had been involved since 1928.Among the other South
Africans who took part in the conference was William Nkomo, the
first President of the radical Youth League of the African National
Congress.For Daneel and his wife, it was a new experience to meet
black people as equals."My parents were devout Christians," he
said, "but when our Coloured servants came in for family prayers
they had to sit on the floor."Now the full force of this
superiority dawned on him."It was not just a wrong relationship, it
was a sin against God."He apologised publicly to the black people
at the conference."I realised that the relationship between black
and white was the biggest issue in the country."Daneel resigned his
job in Grahamstown to devote himself wholly to the struggle to
change racist attitudes:an issue which he saw as primarily moral
and spiritual.Thirty-seven years later, then working in Namibia on
the eve of independence, he told me, "Many people hope that
political change will bring about the change that is needed.I think
it's the opposite:it's got to be moral and spiritual change that
will also bring about political change."Perhaps this explains why
Daneel never broke with the Dutch Reformed Church or Afrikanerdom,
unlike his more militant contemporary Beyers Naudé.His own
stand, though quieter, drew the wrath of both Hendrik Verwoerd, the
architect of apartheid, and his successor, John Vorster.And, when
political change at last came, he rejoiced.Daneel went public with
his convictions at a packed multiracial meeting at City Hall in
Cape Town shortly after the conference in Lusaka, and from then
onwards all MRA's meetings were multiracial.Verwoerd wrote to
Daneel slating MRA for "not operating on the principle of separate
development".In 1972 Daneel spoke at the General Synod of the Dutch
Reformed Church, describing racial prejudice as "sinful in the eyes
of God".His speech was received with cries of "Go to Mozambique!" A
motion by another delegate, Professor Ben Marais, calling for the
church to open its doors to all races also fell on deaf
ears.Undaunted, Daneel and his colleagues went on two years later
to organise a live-in, multiracial, international conference in
Pretoria:the first of its kind in South Africa."We realised that we
couldn't, as in the past, just meet together in the day and at
night return to our own areas," he explained.The living
arrangements had to be cleared at cabinet level, but permission was
granted.In 1978, Daneel wrote to John Vorster, calling for an
"honest acknowledgement of guilt and a change of attitude" from
Afrikanerdom.Vorster summoned him for an interview, in which he
justified his government's policies.Later, after Vorster's death
under a cloud of scandal, Daneel heard second-hand that he had
remarked, "Daneel was right after all."George Daneel was born in
Calvinia in the Northern Cape in 1904.He was one of nine children
of a country pastor.Two of his siblings died in infancy; his mother
died when he was 12, and his stepmother in a flu epidemic four
years later.When his father married for a third time, George's
great- grandmother commented, "Poor Marthinus, he spends all his
money on wedding rings and coffins."In 1982, when George was 78,
the Daneels moved to Windhoek, then moving towards independence,
and retired to Pretoria in 1990.Joey died in 1998, and George moved
to Franschhoek in the Cape Winelands, where he celebrated his 100th
birthday, surrounded by family, in August.His Springbok training
stood him in good stead:he went on playing tennis until his late
eighties.- Mary Lean, The Independent