The year 1924 in South Africa saw James Barry Munnik Hertzog become the third Prime Minister, the first one day flight between Cape Town and Pretoria, and the important archaeological discovery of the Taung Child. This was also the year that, on 28 October, Seethamah Naicker was born.
Seethamah, who celebrated her 100th birthday this year, spent her early years growing up in Glendale on a farm, tending to livestock. “In my younger days we had to work very hard, I would spend most of my days caring for cows and goats. We had a tank for drinking water but for any other water we would have to carry it a long way from a river. In my youth I would often spend time fishing or swimming in that river,” she said. At the age of 18, the Naicker family sold their farm and, after a few moves, would find themselves in Break Village, Tongaat.
It was during the time South African Airways had just been inaugurated, the National Party and the South African Party came together as the United Party and World War II was a spectre in the background of Seethamah’s simple life. It was in Break Village she would meet her husband, Saminathan Naicker.
The years of their courtship saw the release of a number of cinematic legends such as Cassablanca, Citizen Kane, Dr Jekyll and Hr Hyde, Bambi, Dumbo and Fantasia.
Seethamah said: “My husband loved children and enjoyed movies. When we were dating, he and I would go the cinema and watch a movie together every Wednesday.”
As World War II raged and the South African Airforce joined the allied forces in an operation to capture Madagascar, Seethamah and Saminathan married in 1942.
The two shared a long happy marriage and many children, ten in total.
The couple welcomed a son, then seven daughters and lastly, twin boys. To date they have 24 grandchildren, 20 great grandchildren and two great great grandchildren.
In the year 2000, her husband passed away at age of 80. She had also lost three of her daughters over the course of her life.
At that time South Africa was a democratic nation looking to its future. However, Seethamah says the change that surprises her the most is just how much more populated the community of Tongaat has grown in her lifetime,transformed from just a few scattered groups of buildings to a full bustling town.
Her son Steven Naicker said: “We are very fortunate that my mother always worked hard to care for us and always with a gentle hand and loving smile. We came from real humble beginnings but are now living comfortable lives and raising families of our own and it is all thanks to our mum and the values she instilled in us.”
