100 Years ago....
March 11, 1922
Martial law to quell gold-mine rioting
Martial law was proclaimed in Johannesburg and the Rand gold-mining districts after a strike by white miners led to the sabotage of trains, attacks on natives and gunfights between strikers and police. In the town of Brakpan, strikers' commandos looted the homes of mining officials and burned furniture while singing The Red Flag.
The strike was called by the white miners' union, the South African Industrial Federation, after the employers proposed to open semi-skilled jobs to non-European workers.
Article from "Chronicle of the 20th Century" ISBN 1 872031 80 3