D.P. du Toit

David Petrus "Dawie" du Toit (9 December 1870 – 26 July 1936) was a journalist and newspaper editor, as well as the author of the first Afrikaans drama and several novels.

Biography David Petrus du Toit was born on 9 December 1870 on the farm Pakhuisdam in the Perdeberg, Paarl. He attended school at the Memorial School in Daljosafat, where Rev. F.S. du Toit was the principal and he had A.G. Visser, Totius and D.F. Malherbe as schoolmates. In 1908 he left for Bloemfontein where he was attached to the editorial staff of De Vriend des Volks and from 1909 to 1914 he was editor of Het Westen in Potchefstroom. From 1914 to 1915 he was editor of De Afrikaner in Pietermaritzburg and then from 1915 until his retirement in 1933 he was sub-editor of Die Burger in Cape Town. Here he became known for his regular column Oom Dawie.

After his retirement he lived with his brother-in-law, F.J. Cillié, in the Bovlei until his death. He died on 26 July 1936 near Wellington and was buried in the family cemetery at Kleinbosch in Dal Josafat.