Local Netball Histories in Twentieth Century Cape Province, South Africa

Abstract

This paper explores local history accounts of netball in South Africa’s black communities from the second decade of the twentieth century until the 1960s. An attempt has been made to undo the notion that black people in South Africa do not have a netball history because of their absence in formal research. Therefore, at the core of this research is the creation of local narratives. These narratives highlight the names, results and the historical context that show how netball was part of the social fabric of society. After an introduction to the study, a motivation and methodology is laid out. A patchwork of netball histories in mission schools, prior to the Second World War, is then created and explored and used to create legacies. What follows is a social-historical accounts of netball at schools and colleges in Cape Town. The paper then concludes with discussion about why netball in South Africa’s black communities is worthwhile recording, documenting and re-telling.