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MOSSEL BAY NEWS - A Mossel Bay resident has a copy of the 100th anniversary special edition of the Oudtshoorn Courant.
The Courant is the oldest bilingual newspaper in the country and is one of the Group Editors stable of newspapers, which includes the Mossel Bay Advertiser.
The centenary edition is extremely special to Mossel Bay's Ray Thackray because his great grandfather, John Pocock, was the co-founder of the Courant and his grandfather, Hedley Pocock, followed John as editor of the newspaper.
The front page headline of the special edition, celebrating 100 years from 1879 to 1979, notes that the Courant started on 28 May 1879.
Besides photographs of John and Hedley in the edition, there is also a photograph of Hope Pocock, who was Ray's grandmother and the widow of Hedley. There is also a picture of Hope with her four daughters in the paper, including Ray's mom, Nan Thackray.
One of the retrospective articles, "When Mossel Bay was a hive of activity", in the historic edition, lists the movement of ships at the Mossel Bay harbour from 2 to 7 August 1880. The article notes that customs duty paid during July 1880 at the harbour amounted to £1 534.
Another article, "Courant is oldest bilingual newspaper", quotes from an article from the first newspaper in 1879, in which the newspaper pledged to report on community issues faithfully and noted the significance of agriculture in the Oudtshoorn area and the area's "extensive trade in tobacco, bamboo, brandy, dried fruit and ostrich feathers".
Photo gallery: 100th anniversary special edition of the Oudtshoorn Courant
Ray's centenary edition has been carefully laminated and ring bound to preserve it.
The centenary edition is extremely special to Mossel Bay's Ray Thackray because his great grandfather, John Pocock, was the co-founder of the Courant and his grandfather, Hedley Pocock, followed John as editor of the newspaper.
A photo of Ray's grandmother, Hope Pocock.
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