Peter Temple

Life

Peter Temple was born in South Africa in 1946 of Dutch and British/Irish ancestry. He grew up in a small town near South Africa’s border with Botswana. While English was spoken in the family home, he lived in a largely Afrikaans-speaking district and his early schooling was in both English and Afrikaans. At the age of 15 he was sent to school in East London, an area of stronger British heritage.

After school, Temple served a year of national service in the army, stationed at Cape Town. Following that year of service he commenced a cadetship with the major afternoon daily in Cape Town, the Cape Argus, a prominent voice of opposition against the dominant National Party during the apartheid years. During his years with the newspaper, particularly while doing police rounds in the courts of Cape Town, he saw at first hand the degrading effect of apartheid on people of colour and felt the experience changed him.