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| Leisure,
Learning & Societies in the British Era |
The energetic mood
that developed in the 1820s among the British middle class at the Cape
produced, for the first time, a true 'civil society'. Under the VOC Cape Town
had been a 'company town', controlled and stifled, but under the influence of
an active middle class it emerged as a modern city.
Theatres, Music Halls and Circuses were built. Drama companies
performed a great range of productions. The marsh at Greenpoint was drained and
developed for sports. The army introduced rugby, football and cricket, and
there were regular matches between the army and civilians. A racing track
proved very popular. Stadia at Newlands and a horse track at Kenilworth were
developed in the 1880s. Picnics, walking, swimming, riding and dancing also
appear to have been popular pursuits.
George Greig established a printing works and opened book shops. He printed the
Commercial Advertiser and shared with Fairbairn a drive to see the
dissemination of knowledge and a taste for literature, believing these things
would raise the 'tone' of society and encourage morality. Meanwhile libraries
were established and societies formed to encourage literacy among the poor,
such as 'the Literacy Society'. By 1857 literacy rates exceeded 50% in the
city, there were six English newspapers and two Dutch, and the book trade was
thriving.
Journals, such as the South Africa Quarterly Journal published papers to
disseminate knowledge of cultural and science. Societies such as the South
African Literary and Philosophical Society were followed in the second half of
the century by formal institutions such as The South African Public Library and
the South African Museum. The Royal Observatory, in particular, became a centre
of scientific excellence, particularly under the astronomer royal, Thomas
Maclear.
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