An investigation commissioned by the National Union of Mineworkers

Abstract

The University of the Witwatersrand has a long established relationship with the mining industry. Indeed, its origins go back to the South African School of Mines established in Kimberley in 1896. (1). Since 1917, the Chamber of Mines has given direct grants to the University and its predecessors. In fact, the Chamber remains our largest private donor. Murray has shown in his authoritative study of the early years of the University that there have been occasions in our history when the Chamber has felt that it has not received a satisfactory return upon its massive investment in the University (2). On balance, however, the University can rightly claim to have served the Chamber well over the years. In recent years, the other side of the industry's history and social structure has been a focus of systematic investigation in this University. Here, van Onselen's Chibaro stands out : a pioneering attempt to create historically the social world of the compound in the early years of the mining industry in Southern Rhodesia. In our own Department, Moodie, Bozzoli, and Innes have all contributed to our knowledge of the social structure of mining