Our History
HISTORY OF THE SAFETY FIRST ASSOCIATION
Our story begins in 1932. Sir Ernest Oppenheimer Chairman of Anglo American was becoming increasingly alarmed by the high rates of fatalities and injuries on his labour intensive mines. It was a larger problem than he could tackle alone, so he called a meeting with the major of Johannesburg Mr DF Corlett who was known to be public spirited. The mayor agreed to assist on the condition that their initiatives include general industry which was suffering from the same pitfalls.
Road safety was another area of concern, with too many accidents caused by congestion on the streets from the mingling of pedestrians, bicycles and cars due to the growing car population.
After consultation with other interested parties, it was agreed that the best starting point would be through education and awareness, and a vehicle was needed as a conduit for dissemination of this information.
And so it was that the Safety First Association was born in 1932 with Jan Smuts as its first patron. The aims of this fledgling association would be achieved through publishing informative literature such as posters, flyers and a magazine titled National Safety. In 2020 the title of the magazine changed to AFRICAN OS&H, due to a changing landscape.