Government Restores Standard Time as Wartime Measure Comes to a Close
By a Cape Chronicle Staff Reporter
Cape Town, 12 March 1944 — The Union Government has announced that Daylight Saving Time will come to an end next Sunday, 19 March, when clocks throughout South Africa will be turned back by one hour, restoring the country’s long-established Standard Time.
At 2 o’clock on Sunday morning, residents are requested to set their clocks back to 1 o’clock, thereby concluding an experiment that has seen South Africans live one hour ahead of standard time during the past two summer seasons.
Introduced in September 1942 as an emergency wartime economy measure, Daylight Saving Time was intended to make fuller use of evening daylight while reducing the nation’s consumption of electricity, coal and other essential fuel resources.
A Measure for Wartime Conditions
Government officials have reiterated that the scheme was never intended as a permanent alteration to the nation’s timekeeping, but rather as a temporary expedient to assist the Union during the exceptional demands imposed by the present war.
By extending daylight into the evening hours, authorities sought to lessen the need for artificial lighting during periods of peak electricity demand, thereby conserving coal supplies for industry, transport and military production.
Officials have expressed satisfaction that the arrangement achieved its principal purpose during a period when every available resource was required in support of the Allied war effort.
Why the Clocks Are Returning
While no criticism has been levelled at the operation of the scheme itself, the Government has indicated that the circumstances which justified the introduction of Daylight Saving Time do not warrant its permanent adoption.
Among the principal considerations are:
- The measure was introduced solely to meet wartime conservation needs rather than as a permanent reform of civil timekeeping.
- South Africa’s seasonal variation in daylight is comparatively modest, particularly when compared with northern European countries where Daylight Saving Time yields greater practical benefit.
- Agricultural interests have consistently observed that farming follows the sun rather than the clock, with later winter dawns proving inconvenient for livestock management, dairying and other rural activities.
- The savings in electricity and fuel, while valuable during wartime, are not considered sufficient on their own to justify maintaining the altered time under ordinary peacetime conditions.
- Uniform Standard Time provides greater simplicity for railways, commerce, public administration and daily life, avoiding the need for seasonal clock changes.
Government representatives have therefore concluded that the national interest will be best served by restoring the Standard Time observed before the war.
Public Response Mixed
The experiment has been received with varying opinions throughout the Union.
Many urban residents have welcomed the longer summer evenings, which allowed additional daylight after the close of business and encouraged outdoor recreation. Shopkeepers in several towns also reported increased evening activity during the warmer months.
In contrast, numerous farming communities expressed reservations, noting that the altered hours frequently required agricultural work to commence before sunrise according to the official clock, despite the unchanged rhythm of nature.
Transport operators, schools and churches likewise adjusted successfully to the revised timetable, though the twice-yearly alteration of clocks proved an unfamiliar practice for many households.
Return to Familiar Time
Railway authorities, municipal councils, harbour officials and government departments have confirmed that all published timetables will revert to Standard Time from Sunday.
The public is reminded that at 2 a.m. on Sunday, 19 March, clocks should be turned back one hour to 1 a.m.
Unless future circumstances require otherwise, the Government has indicated that South Africa will continue to observe Standard Time throughout the year, bringing to a close the Union’s first experiment with Daylight Saving Time.
For most South Africans, next Sunday will mark not merely the end of a summer adjustment, but the conclusion of a distinctive chapter in the nation’s wartime history—one in which even the nation’s clocks were enlisted in the service of victory.
