Sydney Arnold Press Collections (B36)

Introduction

Sydney Arnold Press (1919 -1997) was born and raised on a citrus and lucerne farm with a hotel in Klawer, Namaqualand. Sydney and his wife had seven (7) children. Sydney enjoyed reading and was an excellent rugby player in school, being in the SACS (1926-1935) first rugby team. The Wall Street crash of 1929, which became the Great Depression that affected South Africa in 1933, forced him to forego his dream of attending Cape Town University where he had a bursary. Sydney matriculated at 16 years old.

His first job in December 1935 was as an office boy at Edgars, 119 Longmarket Street, Cape Town. By 1982, Sydney Press was a highly renowned captain of industry who had overseen the expansion of Edgars Stores to 430 stores, namely Edgars, Sales House, Jet, Shelley House and Ackermans (briefly). Sydney’s interests were photography, speed reading, theatre, travel, and art. In addition to being the Managing Director and Chairperson of Edgars, he was a Trustee of the National Development and Management Foundation, a member of the National Productivity Council, the Director of the National Productivity Institute, and the President of the Dendrological Society for 27 years. In 1983, as a member of the Sandton Civic Foundation, the project to landscape the Ben Schoeman Highway with indigenous trees was launched. Sydney’s fashion retail career ended unexpectedly in 1982 when South African Breweries gained control of Edgars.

Reference

Discover Sedgefield, (2010). Sydney Press, He made a difference when it counted. Available from https://www.discover-sedgefield-south-africa.com/sydney-press.html. (Accessed 11/06/2024)