Gavin Robson, a former Daily Dispatch journalist and one of the few journalists who viewed and photographed Steve Biko’s body, has died in Canada.
East Londoner Robson was schooled at Queen’s and Selborne College. He started his career on the Diamond Fields Advertiser in Kimberley and joined the Dispatch under the editorship of Donald Woods.
As a close friend of the Biko family, Robson was one of the very few journalists able to view Biko’s body. His picture of Biko’s body – in a private mortuary in King William’s Town awaiting an independent autopsy – was featured on the cover of Time Magazine.
Throughout his life Robson jealously guarded his private Biko papers and produced a manuscript of an as yet unpublished book on Biko relating to his personal memoirs and experiences.
After leaving the Dispatch Robson became editor of The Nation in Johannesburg before joining the Rand Daily Mail.
In recognition of his role as an anti-apartheid journalist, Robson was due to travel to the US on a visiting fellowship when his passport was withdrawn.
He left the country illegally for Zimbabwe where he was based temporarily pending the issue of travel documents to the US.
On arrival in the US he worked for the United Nations’ anti-apartheid radio station.
Robson eventually moved to Canada. While plying his career as a freelance journalist and documentary film-maker he also worked as a professional pianist.
He returned only rarely to South Africa and his hometown since leaving the country, his last visit being in 2014.
A proponent of radical change, Robson remained strongly critical of social and political conditions in the country even after the advent of democracy.
He is survived by his parents, Ken and Maureen, and his sister, Glendyr. — Jock McConnachie
Iconic photo of Biko’s body is his legacy
East Londoner Robson was schooled at Queen’s and Selborne College. He started his career on the Diamond Fields Advertiser in Kimberley and joined the Dispatch under the editorship of Donald Woods.
As a close friend of the Biko family, Robson was one of the very few journalists able to view Biko’s body. His picture of Biko’s body – in a private mortuary in King William’s Town awaiting an independent autopsy – was featured on the cover of Time Magazine.
Throughout his life Robson jealously guarded his private Biko papers and produced a manuscript of an as yet unpublished book on Biko relating to his personal memoirs and experiences.
After leaving the Dispatch Robson became editor of The Nation in Johannesburg before joining the Rand Daily Mail.
In recognition of his role as an anti-apartheid journalist, Robson was due to travel to the US on a visiting fellowship when his passport was withdrawn.
He left the country illegally for Zimbabwe where he was based temporarily pending the issue of travel documents to the US.
On arrival in the US he worked for the United Nations’ anti-apartheid radio station.
Robson eventually moved to Canada. While plying his career as a freelance journalist and documentary film-maker he also worked as a professional pianist.
He returned only rarely to South Africa and his hometown since leaving the country, his last visit being in 2014.
A proponent of radical change, Robson remained strongly critical of social and political conditions in the country even after the advent of democracy.
He is survived by his parents, Ken and Maureen, and his sister, Glendyr. — Jock McConnachie
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