An amazing woman of Grahamstown – journalist, fundraiser and ardent women’s rights advocate – Thelma Neville, turned 100 yesterday.
A prominent resident of Constitution Street, where she has lived independently for years in her rambling home with its enormous trees, she has sweeping views of the Monument Building she was instrumental in seeing brought to life.
Neville was a freelance journalist, working for many media, including the Daily Dispatch, and wrote some of her last pieces – a column for community weekly Makana Moon – in 2012.
It was totally forbidden to mention her age, until her big number 100 arrived, and now she is being fêted today at a luncheon at the 1820 Settlers National Monument Building attended by scores of admirers.
Neville, who has taken a few falls, remains full of feist. Her invite typically states, in capital letters: “No presents!”
She regularly entertained retired Rhodes anthropologist Professor Michael Whisson, the late Grocott’s Mail editor Richard Buckland and this reporter, with shots of whisky, while she would puff on her evening smoke.
She proudly performed Canadian army exercises on her carpet every morning.
Her favourite tale was how late Daily Dispatch editor Donald Woods spent the night at her home in the 1970s.
Woods had come to Grahamstown to purchase one of South Africa’s oldest newspapers, Grocott’s Mail, now 146 years old.
He went off to see owner Jeff Grocott, but returned “in 10 minutes. He said Jeff told him to get out! Grocott’s was not for sale”.
One of her greatest achievements was when she was asked in the 1960s by Rhodes English professor Guy Butler to raise funds to build a monument to the 1820 settlers.
Some settler ancestors had wanted a formal monument, but Butler, a staunch liberal, who was also lobbying for the formation of journalism and drama departments at Rhodes, was adamant that any monument should be alive with arts and culture.
Neville travelled far and wide, speaking to anyone who would listen, and spoke with great hilarity of her ultra-formal engagements with then-apartheid Prime Minister John Vorster.
It was regarded as a great feat that R34-million was raised, an enormous amount of cash then, to build the monument but, an even prouder achievement for Neville, was when she organised one of the monument’s first events, a conference for women of all races, class and culture from around the world.
She went on to write an account of the monument’s story in a book titled: More Lasting than Bronze.
Yesterday Neville’s home was buzzing with relatives and well-wishers, but Neville said: “I’ve got so many people here. I will see you tomorrow. I am quite amazed that I have so much strength, and more than anything, I realise how good and kind people are here.
“I count my blessings and my biggest blessing is that I live in Grahamstown.”
Grahamstown legend celebrates 100 not out
A prominent resident of Constitution Street, where she has lived independently for years in her rambling home with its enormous trees, she has sweeping views of the Monument Building she was instrumental in seeing brought to life.
Neville was a freelance journalist, working for many media, including the Daily Dispatch, and wrote some of her last pieces – a column for community weekly Makana Moon – in 2012.
It was totally forbidden to mention her age, until her big number 100 arrived, and now she is being fêted today at a luncheon at the 1820 Settlers National Monument Building attended by scores of admirers.
Neville, who has taken a few falls, remains full of feist. Her invite typically states, in capital letters: “No presents!”
She regularly entertained retired Rhodes anthropologist Professor Michael Whisson, the late Grocott’s Mail editor Richard Buckland and this reporter, with shots of whisky, while she would puff on her evening smoke.
She proudly performed Canadian army exercises on her carpet every morning.
Her favourite tale was how late Daily Dispatch editor Donald Woods spent the night at her home in the 1970s.
Woods had come to Grahamstown to purchase one of South Africa’s oldest newspapers, Grocott’s Mail, now 146 years old.
He went off to see owner Jeff Grocott, but returned “in 10 minutes. He said Jeff told him to get out! Grocott’s was not for sale”.
One of her greatest achievements was when she was asked in the 1960s by Rhodes English professor Guy Butler to raise funds to build a monument to the 1820 settlers.
Some settler ancestors had wanted a formal monument, but Butler, a staunch liberal, who was also lobbying for the formation of journalism and drama departments at Rhodes, was adamant that any monument should be alive with arts and culture.
Neville travelled far and wide, speaking to anyone who would listen, and spoke with great hilarity of her ultra-formal engagements with then-apartheid Prime Minister John Vorster.
It was regarded as a great feat that R34-million was raised, an enormous amount of cash then, to build the monument but, an even prouder achievement for Neville, was when she organised one of the monument’s first events, a conference for women of all races, class and culture from around the world.
She went on to write an account of the monument’s story in a book titled: More Lasting than Bronze.
Yesterday Neville’s home was buzzing with relatives and well-wishers, but Neville said: “I’ve got so many people here. I will see you tomorrow. I am quite amazed that I have so much strength, and more than anything, I realise how good and kind people are here.
“I count my blessings and my biggest blessing is that I live in Grahamstown.”
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