Shades of Newclare

Shades of Newclare takes us on a journey through the 1950s and 1960s of Apartheid South Africa, chronicling the experiences of a young boy growing up in Newclare, one of the few Coloured townships in Johannesburg. The reader meets the author's friends and family, the people who shaped his character. We share his trials, his tribulations and his many joys living in a vibrant, multi-cultural society comprised of Coloureds, Indians, Chinese, Blacks, Muslims and even gangsters. The theme of Ubuntu features strongly in this autobiographical, historic portrayal of religious and cultural tolerance.

While much has been documented about the Apartheid years in Black townships such as Sophiatown and the Coloured township of District Six in Cape Town, very little has been written about Coloured townships in Johannesburg. We learn about Newclare Primary School and the surprising fact that, at one stage, it was the largest school in South Africa, with a learner total of approximately 3 600, and only 84 teachers, which necessitated a two-session schoolday.
Shades of Newclare explores the exuberance and irrepressible vigour of youth, even in times of poverty and hardship. It also touches on social issues of the time, such as films, sport, gambling, gangsterism and also, sadly, the prevention of Black people from buying "White" liquor, which led to the sub-culture of shebeens.

His story, however, moves on inexorably and tragically to its climax, namely the forced removals precipitated by the Group Areas Act No 41, a sad period in South African history indeed, and which ultimately leaves the reader with a sense of melancholic wonderment.