1930 in South Africa

Incumbents

• Monarch: King George V.
• Governor-General and High Commissioner for Southern Africa: The Earl of Athlone.
• Prime Minister: James Barry Munnik Hertzog.
• Chief Justice: Jacob de Villiers.

  Events

• 19 - White women are enfranchised.

• 10 - The Private Act of the University of Pretoria is passed, changing the name of the Transvaal University College to the University of Pretoria.

  Births

• 30 January - Magnus Malan, soldier and Minister of Defence in the 1980s, in Pretoria.
• 23 February - Fanie du Plessis, South African athlete, in Lichtenburg.
• 12 May - Mazisi Kunene, poet, anti-apartheid movement activist
• 24 June - Donald Gordon, South African businessman and philanthropist
• 7 August - Felicia Kentridge, lawyer
• 12 November - Molly Blackburn, anti-apartheid activist
• 29 November - David Goldblatt, photographer, in Randfontein.

  Deaths

• 28 February - Sir Perceval Maitland Laurence, English classical scholar, South African judge and benefactor of the University of Cambridge.
• 10 September 10 - Aubrey Faulkner, cricketer.

  Railways

Railway lines opened

• 14 April - Cape - Fort Knokke to Woltemade no. 1,.
• 24 April - Free State - Parys to Vredefort,.
• 14 May - Free State - Petrus Steyn to Lindley,.
• 19 September - Natal - Empangeni to Nkwalini,.
• 1 November - Cape - Koopmansfontein to Postmasburg,.
• 6 November - South West Africa - Witvlei to Gobabis,.
• 10 December - Cape - New England to Barkly East,.

  Locomotives

• One Class 8X 2-8-0 locomotive is rebuilt to a 4-8-0 configuration and reclassified to the only member of Class 8R.
• Six redesigned wide-firebox Class 16DA 4-6-2 Pacific locomotives enter passenger train service.
• Fourteen Class 19B 4-8-2 Mountain type locomotives enter service.