Thomas Chalmers Robertson
Thomas Chalmers Robertson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 15 September 1907 |
| Died | 11 January 1989 (aged 81) Durban, South Africa |
| Education | University of the Witwatersrand |
| Occupations | Writer, journalist, ecologist, conservationist |
Political party | Labour Party United Party |
Dr. Thomas Chalmers Robertson (15 September 1907 – 11 January 1989) was a South African writer, journalist, ecologist and conservationist.[1] During World War II, he was a war correspondent and wrote anti-Nazi propaganda for the government of Jan Smuts.[2]
Journalism and politics
[edit]After completing his law degree in 1926, Robertson began working as a Johannesburg correspondent for Ons Vaderland, the predicesor of Die Vaderland. The following year, he traveled to Northern Rhodesia, where he became an editor of The Livingstone Mail and a correspondent for The Times. He later worked in Ceylon and Australia before returning to South Africa in 1931 to serve as a parliamentary correspondent for the Cape Times. In 1934, he joined the editorial staff of The Rand Daily Mail and the Sunday Times.[3]
In 1937, he became an editor of Forward, a Labour Party newspaper, and even unsuccessfully contested the 1938 election as the Labour candidate for Fordsburg. In 1938, he became a parliamentary correspondent for The Rand Daily Mail and the Sunday Times. During the Second World War, he served as director of the Union Unity Truth Service, a pro-government, pro-war propaganda organization, and as editor of its journal, Libertas. He was also a war correspondent covering the Madagascar and North African campaigns.[3]
At the request of Smuts, he stood in the 1948 election as the United Party candate for Witbank but was not elected.[3]
Conservation
[edit]Robertson advocated for soil and grassland conservation in Southern Africa[4] and served as director of the National Veld Trust until his retirement in 1966.[3]
He spent his retirement years in Scottburgh where the T.C. Robertson Nature Reserve is named after him.[1][3][4] He also helped establish Ilanda Wilds, a nature reserve in Amanzimtoti north of Scottburgh.[5]
"White nationalism" as a term
[edit]According to Dictionary.com, Robertson coined the term "white nationalism" in his 1948 essay Racism Comes to Power in South Africa: The Threat of White Nationalism.[6] However, Merriam-Webster has found earlier usage of the phrase, dating to 1925.[7]
References
[edit]- 1 2 http://www.birdingroutes.co.za/southern_kzn/scbr/sites/skznbrbs12.2_robertson_reserve.html, retrieved 23 December 2010,
- ↑ Bell, S. The Happy Warrior: The Story of TC Robertson. ISBN 978-0-620-33255-2
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Fonds A2102 - Thomas Chalmers Robertson Papers". researcharchives.wits.ac.za. Retrieved 25 July 2026.
- 1 2 "Happy Warrior, The: The Story of TC Robertson". justdone.co.za. Archived from the original on 24 December 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
- ↑ Gill, C. Interest Shown in Ilanda Wilds: South Coast Sun: 26 November 2010.
- ↑ "white nationalism". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
- ↑ "Trending: Nationalists, Of The 'White' And 'Supremacist' Variety". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
External links
[edit]- Thomas Chalmers Robertson Papers at Wits University Research Archives
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