in the fortunes of this hotel.
Some changes were forced on the hotel operations as a result of the new social,
economic and political faces and South and Southern Africa. But many of the
changes were deliberate. They were the result of bold decisions taken by Tom and the
team to be creative and innovative, and to ensure that the ever-changing needs of the
marketplace were constantly monitored, understood, and catered for with total
satisfaction.
It has been said that "if you are doing today exactly what you were doing ten years
ago – you are in trouble!" It has also been noted that the world "change" will
dominate almost everything that impacts on our lives on the 21st Century. Change
often frightens us because it disturbs our sense of contentment and tends to shake us
out of those dangerous states of complacency and mediocrity.
The "good enough" is the enemy of "the best", and there are only a few people that I
have know in my life – whether on a social, business or political level – who have
shown the intense drive towards excellence that has possessed Tom Shearer over so
many years.
We, in Government, face the enormous task of stimulating greater economic activity
to achieve the priorities we have set for ourselves for a better life for our people. We
have the responsibility, together with our private sector in particular, to meet the
expectations of the millions of our people who live in poor and almost hopeless
conditions.
It is mammoth challenge that we can overcome when we work together as South
Africans in our rich diversity.
Out there in the villages and townships, where the little cooking and warming fires
glow dully, one often sees a brighter flame leap up into the night sky. This often
indicates that the person tending that fire has found some extra dry wood to heap on
the fire, perhaps some better protection from the elements, or perhaps some method of
feeding more oxygen onto the embers.
These bright flames show that someone is doing something differently: someone has
refused to accept the unhappy circumstances of their feeble fire; someone has said to
himself (or more likely herself if it is in a rural area!) that "I'm not happy with my
situation – I am going to do better!"
We do not have the resources to make all those fires suddenly leap up with greater
heat, light and energy but, when we do see those little pockets of excellence – those
beacons of hope – then we must do everything possible to support them. Only in this
way we create viable and sustainable islands of excellence that will serve to inspire
others. It is only by making those fires burn brighter that we can begin to explore the
benefits that the entrepreneur will provide for the people around them.
When we see that spirit of entrepreneurship or signs that a small enterprise has freed
itself from the bondage of mediocrity, it is essential that we recognise it and feed it
with whatever fuel may be needed to sustain that energy. The private sector, whether
formal or informal, is an important backbone of our future development.
Tom's parents – Basil and Flo Shearer – built the Ranch Hotel in 1960 – at the time
when many African countries were gaining their independence from colonial rule.
Here at home, the Sharpville Massacre, whose 50th anniversary we commemorated
two months ago, was followed by the banishment by the apartheid regime of the
African National Congress to exile.
Therefore, in looking back today to the 50 years of trial and tribulation that made the
Ranch Hotel what it is today, we are also remembering the difficult years of struggle
against apartheid in our country. We are commemorating, and indeed celebrating, our
heroines who were ready to lay down their lives for the freedom we are enjoying
today.
Basil Shearer, as most of you would know, was a stockbroker in Johannesburg. But
he become tired of the city life and moved into northern Sekhukuneland where he got
involved in asbestos mining.
It was OK to do that in those days!
He also opening a small chain of rural trading stores and then, looking to live in the
area and maintain a watch over these businesses, he set out to fulfil his dream of
becoming a genial "mine host" in a small country hotel.
I will not dwell on the process that he followed to select the site because all that
information will appear later this year in a short memoir of the Ranch Hotel and the
Shearer family. Suffice it to say, that the Ranch Motel was one of the very first of its
kind in South Africa, and followed the example of the Andrew's Motel that had
sprung up alongside main roads – especially along the route between Johannesburg
and Durban.
This was the Shearer home and a visit to the motel became almost a personal
experience of real, home grown hospitality. The atmosphere was warm and
congenial. The beds were comfortable. The beer was always bitterly cold. The steaks
were unbelievably thick and tender – each one was given its own personal
identification number. And the friendly welcome of Basil and Flo Shearer made this
a compulsory stop for anyone venturing north of Pretoria into the wilds of the
Northern Transvaal.
For many years the Ranch Hotel was filled virtually every night with travellers
making the journey between the three countries that made up the Federation of
Rhodesia and Nyasaland and destinations in South Africa.
And then the change started!
New markets; new sets of challenges, and new eras of social, economic and political
activity rolled in. The traffic from across the Limpopo River tottered and almost
collapsed completely. The travelling salesman took over the rooms from Monday to
Thursday night. The electronic era started to do the work of the travelling salesman.
The old Government fell and the new Government came into power. The era of
meetings, training courses and conferences began and changed the face of the
facilities and services that were needed to meet the expectations of this particular
market sector.
Tom, who had joined the family business immediately after leaving school, helped to
guide the motel through many of these difficult times. He was driven by his
conviction that you can survive and prosper – on condition that you understand your
market; introduce innovative features into your products; guarantee excellent service;
market intelligently, and cement a sound relationship with your bank manager!
I have seen the bright as well as the dark days. I saw Tom's fight to survive when the
new Toll Road was planned and the future of the Hotel was threatened – this makes a
fascinating story all on its own!
I remember the elephants and the lions coming from Zimbabwe to live at the Ranch
(all quite legally I can assure you!); I understood the disappointment at not being
awarded a casino licence; I shared in the laughter of success and I felt the family's
anguish when their youngest son, Basil, passed away so tragically.
I saw the opening of the Bushwillow complex and the bush camp; the development of
the Ranch Conservancy and the introduction of 23 species of wild animals; the
construction of the new conference venues and the rebuilding and refurnishing of the
public rooms and the bedrooms. And now, this evening, we have all been privileged
to be present as the birth of the Executive Golf Course, the Golf Academy and the 40
new self-catering chalets.
I have been part of this journey in so many ways, and I am really honoured to be here
this evening and to "launch" this 50th Anniversary year. And with young Ryan and
Paul Shearer, sitting amongst us at this splendid banquet, I am quite sure that some of
us may have children that will be invited to the 100-year celebrations of the Ranch
Hotel!
The history of this hotel is the history of our country, and indeed that of the entire
African continent. Many African countries are also celebrating this year the 50th
anniversary independence.
Fifty years is no child's play. The African American couple (Ruby Dee and Ossie
Davis) – who were made famous by Hollywood and their prominent role in the civil
rights movement – wrote about fifty years of marriage in their joint autobiography
entitled In This life Together, that:
(I quote): "That we arrived at fifty years together is due as much to luck as to love,
and a talent for knowing, when we stumble, where to fall, and how to get up again".
(close quote).
In this regard, I would like to invite everyone present, family, old friends, new
friends, business colleagues and staff – to rise and join me in proposing a sincere vote
of thanks to the Shearer family and to express the heart-felt wish that the Ranch Hotel
and all those that have become part of this family, may prosper and move confidently
and successfully into and even more golden future!
I thank you.