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 Witbank Skydiving Club was
established in May 1980 as Witbank Sport Parachute Club.
The first article calling for the establishment of a Skydiving Club in Witbank was placed by
Lawrence Rowe (from Klerksdorp Skydiving Club) in the Witbank News on Friday, 9 May 1980.
This was basically to guage the reaction of locals and if enough
interest was shown, a club would be established. Due to an excellent response, a meeting was
called at the Moth Club at 19h00 on Thursday, 22 May 1980.
Altogether 26 people attended the first meeting and students were recruited at
R50 plus R5 (club affiliation) for the first jump course.
 Lawrence Rowe was chairman of
the club and Bob Garroch the club pilot - before the club even had the use
of an aircraft.
A course was arranged for 21 June 1980 when an instructor from Westonaria
would travel to Witbank to give the course. Lawrence only
had about 120 jumps and was not an instructor. The first group of first timers was trained at
Witbank by Instructor Willie Scroobie and travelled to
Westonaria to perform their jump out of that club's Dakota as Witbank did not
yet have an aircraft. This group included Dave McCafferty
who at the age of 15 obtained a waiver to jump. His father, Jack, had at that stage already
done several jumps. Subsequently a Cherrokee Six (six-seater
low wing with a left-door exit and a climb-rate worse than that of DRP) was hired from a Mr
Hennie Lamrecht of 'Triple L'.
The first show jump was performed at the Round Table Fair in town that month
 The founder of the club, Lawrence Rowe, was killed
in a car accident on 7 November 1981. His wife, Mari, generously donated all the equipment to the club.
This consisted of a number of round parachutes, front-mounted reserves and helmets.
The club nearly closed down during this interval and most members frequented
Wonderboom until a group of enthusiasts, which included the notorious Mike Stanton, took up
the reigns.
 At this stage the club operated
out of the control tower but in 1980 the members were asked to move out as the "carpets in the
control tower had sustained burn-damage." The club operated for some time out of a hangar
before a clubhouse was built on its present site late 1987. The first building comprised
just a clubhouse, one toilet and a classroom separated from the
rest of the club by a cardboard partition. the bar was added later and initially incorporated
the present classroom.  A large gap marked
the present manifest office. Later alterations were made to accomodate separate
toilets for gents and ladies and the bar was divided to provide a classroom. Walls were built
and a roof was extended to make the present manifest office.
 The club went through several
aircraft, mostly hired or owned by over-enthusiastic members, until Kobus Campher bought a
Cessna 205, ZS-DRP in 1982. When services became too expensive for an individual, a number of
members bought shares in the aircraft. They were gradually bought out by the club until the
aircraft was owned solely by Witbank Sport Parachute Club.
This aircraft is still active in the club today.
 The turbo Cessna 206 was
purchased from a tourism company in Maun in December 1993 when DRP blew an engine on take-off.
The club once again closed for several months while ZS-NKU was imported and the
formalities completed. DRP was refurbished with a 'new' engine in
1998. Kobus Campher continued to fly the club's aircraft until his retirement at
the club's 20th birthday celebrations in 2000.
Some years ago the name of the club was modernised to Witbank Skydiving Club and operates as
such today.
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