In the Beginning:

Research into the history of Klerksdorp has established that Klerksdorp was founded in 1837 when 12 Voortrekker families settled at Elandsheuwel along the banks of the Skoonspruit. At that stage education remained the responsibility of the parents who used the Bible, Trap der Jeugd, Psalm and Gesangeboek for the purpose of teaching their children to read and write. The Transvaal regained its independence in 1881 and S.J. du Toit was appointed Superintendent of Education in 1882. The principles of the Education Act of 1882 specified that the state contribution would be financial only, provided that the medium of instruction was Dutch and education was based on a Christian foundation. By 1889 it became necessary to open a school in a new area of Klerksdorp on land donated by the state. This school was officially opened on 22 January 1890 by the landdros, W.H. Neethling. On 3 October 1899 all government and private schools were closed and Klerksdorp in particular was severely affected by the war and the subsequent plundering by British forces. Andries Cronje, brother of General Pieter Arnoldus Cronje, surrendered Klerksdorp to the British in June 1900 while the General and his wife were imprisoned on St. Helena. By February 1901 a large number of woman and children were housed in concentration camps located on the site of the present Hoerskool Klerksdorp and Laerskool President.

The Camp School:

Mr. H.A.W. Hesse, who had been on commando with General K. de la Rey, received permission to open a private school in Klerksdorp and this was started in March 1901. He received no pay for his services as there was no Education Department. The old Government School buildings were used for this purpose but the British soon took over this private school, and teachers were brought in from England to supply camps with the right sort of teaching material. In October 1901 Miss Sykes and Miss Elsworth were the first imports from England to take up duty, followed later by Misses Abbott and Laver, and Mrs Lyman. The end of the war with the signing of the Peace of Vereeniging at Pretoria on 31 May 1902 saw the departure of Kitchener. Lord Alfred Milner was left with a free hand and great influence within and without the new Crown Colonies. He began with his policy of anglicization which was determined to inculcate a knowledge of English and permitted the use of Dutch as a medium of instruction up to a maximum of five hours per week. This saw the beginning of a dynamic new era in education in the Transvaal and the first appearance of the name Milner School in the pages of education history in the Klerksdorp area.

Milner School is Born:

After the war the old government school – President Publieke Skool – was re-opened but this time under the name Milner School. At this stage if effectively consisted of three schools: 1. Lower Milner (the original President Publieke Skool) 2. Upper Milner (situated in the Police Station) 3. Lawly School (the original Oudorpskool). At the head of these was Mr. H.J Freeman and the total enrolment was 377 pupils. The Upper Milner provided intermediate education.

The First Dual Medium High School:

By 1920 a need was identified for the establishment of a dual medium High School and the School Board decided to persuade the Education Department in this matter. On 7 December 1920 the commendations of the School Board were accepted and in the Third Term of 1921 the High School was established in the Upper Milner School building which later on became the Police Station building. Mr. Freeman continued as principle of Lower Milner and Lawly schools while Mr. J.S. Enela acted as head of Upper Milner until the end of 1921. Mr. Ackerman was appointed as principle for the New School in January 1922. This school went on to become the present day Klerksdorp Hoerskool. By 1930 the lower school split, part English, part Afrikaans, and it is the English section which is the subject of this historical school.

The Years 1937 ~ 1948:

In the years 1937 ~ 1948 Milner’s individual identity emerged, and significant events took place. On the positive side were the parent’s days, a school uniform and badge. A school library, organized sport, the introduction of a prefect system, and the production of the first school magazine. On the negative side, the war took its toll. With the principal on active service and the attention of the world focused on the north, the development of a small school in Klerksdorp paled into insignificance. However, progress was being made. New premises were under way with suggestions of a hostel being built simultaneously. The hostel failed to materialize but the new building in Golf Street was occupied in 1948. The discovery of gold in the area was the outstanding landmark of the era and the fortunes of the school would from that moment be linked to what happened in the mining industry. Another ambition came to nothing when thirty three pupils who would have formed the first standard six classes were transferred to Klerksdorp High School, then a dual medium school.

Klerksdorp English Medium School:

1951~1958 In these years the profound effect of Mr. T.W. Stevens on the school’s future can be seen. Under his inspired leadership, school magazines became a regular annual product, enrolment increased, and the first high school class was introduced in 1952. These standard sixes would matriculate in 1956 when “Milner”, as it was affectionately called, would at last be a fully fledged high school. The other exciting event during the Stevens era was that the building of the new high school on the slopes of the Goudkop began in 1956. In 1958 the high school pupils moved to the new complex. Mr. Stevens remained with the primary school until he moved across as first permanent headmaster of the Klerksdorp English Medium High School in 1959.

A New Era Begins:

During the sixties the internal organization of the school was refined. By 1967 Milner’s Hostel was officially opened. Significant during the headmastership of Tommy Stevens was the incredibly enthusiastic parent involvement. There were at this stage three separate P.T.A Committees, the Central Committee in Klerksdorp and an active committee in each of the satellite towns. The second headmaster, C.J.L. Pretorious, had begun his teaching career at Milner in the fifties. It was a proud moment for him when he assumed leadership of the school at a time when all its past long-term plans were becoming a reality. In this era, events such as the composition of an official school song, a change in the girls’ uniform, and the extensions to the school to increase its capacity to 1200 pupils.

The Dream Complex at last: 1976 ~ 1984:

During this era, called the Nieuwoudt era, the complex was officially opened. By May 1978 Milner could accommodate over a thousand pupils. In spite of being a large school which had sent thousands of pupils into the world, all attempts to establish a Past Pupils’ Association had come to nothing. A major contributing factor for the lack of interest in a Past Pupils’ Association could be that most pupils who attend the school leave the area for the other cities and other countries. Very few ex pupils remain, certainly not sufficient to generate any energetic involvement. Thus in spite of its physical growth, Milner’s spiritual health seemed to decline. By 1984 only one P.T.A committee still survived as parental interest dwindled. The hostel housed only 86 boarders at this point. The steady decline in numbers continued during Mr. Smith’s headmastership. The most significant event was the acceptance of the first non-white pupil at Milner in 1986.

The Winds of Change:

When Mr. T.C. Greyvenstein took over in January 1991, the winds of change were sweeping through the school and, indeed, the country. Gold mining in Klerksdorp to which the fortunes Milner High were linked, was in trouble. The retrenchments which had started as early as 1988 had had a negative effect on the school’s enrolment. Early in 1991 English schools in Klerksdorp-Orkney-Stilfontein and Hartebeesfontein area decided to become Model B or open schools. By March 1992 Milner had become a Model C school. The continued decline in numbers demanded radical re-thinking if Milner intended to survive with its identity intact. This would give the Governing Body the power to make the appropriate decisions to ensure this survival. The Milner High School Development Project as created. A detailed analysis of the school’s present status was made. Strengths and weaknesses were identified and recommendations for the future strategies were made. Only the future will tell whether any of the ideas find favour with the staff and parent body of Milner. If nothing else is achieved by the Development Project, it will at least have demonstrated that Milner High School is going into the future pro-actively, with new ideas and a fresh approach for what lies ahead.

Source: A Brief history of the development of Milner High School, Klerksdorp. 
From humble beginngings to its present status, 1902 ~ 1993″, By M.M. Evans

This article was originally published on page 1 of The Star on September 15, 2009

By Karyn Maughan

Clinton Basson’s two killers mercilessly assaulted him and made him beg for his life before forcing him to his knees and shooting him in the head.

Now, 108 days after the 32-year-old’s brutal murder opposite a pub in Honeydew, north-west of Joburg, the policeman investigating his murder says he has done nothing to solve the case because he has no cellphone or car.

And his supervisor at Honeydew police station has refused to explain why his officers failed to identify Basson’s body for five days – despite the fact that he had his driving licence in his pocket.

Honeydew police Inspector Gabriel Nonyana has admitted that he had not fetched Basson’s autopsy report from the Roodepoort mortuary, sent the bullet that killed him for ballistic analysis or interviewed the two witnesses who saw him die because “we have a resource problem”.

“I can’t phone anyone as I don’t have airtime,” he said.

The Star has also established that Nonyana did not send Basson’s clothing – believed to have contained his killer’s blood – for analysis, but instead stored it in direct sunlight behind his office chair. As a result, the clothing could not be analysed.

Contacted by The Star, Nonyana initially claimed he was not aware of Basson’s murder case.

“Who is that? I have a lot of murder cases,” he said.

His supervisor, who identified himself as Captain Kalani, responded to questions about the case by repeatedly stating “I’m not going to explain to you”, and then slamming down the phone.

Kalani’s response and Nonyana’s comments, and Nonyana’s failure to correctly identify the location where Basson died, have done little to assure the construction supervisor’s distraught family.

Clinton’s father Dave, who has spent thousands of rands on the private investigation of his son’s murder, struggled to contain his emotion when he spoke about his son’s last hours and his family’s desperate attempts to find him.

“When my son was four years old he (nearly) drowned, and I saved him. I wasn’t so lucky the second time around,” Dave said.

He is tortured by the fact that the private investigator he hired to “find out what happened” has identified the two gang members suspected of his son’s murder.

“But we can’t do anything … because the police have done nothing to solve this case or gather any evidence. I don’t know what to do anymore because I can’t fight the state,” he said.

Kalani said his officers would not accept the evidence gathered by the Basson family’s private investigator – who cannot be named because of safety concerns – “because he isn’t a family member”.

Dave’s last memory of his oldest son was cheerful SMS banter about a rugby game that the two planned to watch on May 30. “After the game I tried to call him but I couldn’t get through … I wasn’t worried because he and his mother are not phone people.”

It was on the Monday, when Clinton failed to show up at work, that his father started to become concerned. Even up until family members tracked down the young man’s body in the Roodepoort mortuary, Dave admits he did not consider that Clinton was dead.

Area Commissioner Oswald Reddy expressed disgust at the way in which Honeydew police had handled the investigation and promised tough disciplinary action against the officers responsible.

“This is totally unacceptable,” he said, adding that “resource problem” claims were “just an excuse”.

Visit the Facebook group that has been created for Clinton:
In Memory of Clinton Basson