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<pre>To the numerous members of this group who knew my father personally,
from Italy to Spain, Syria to California, Greece to Australia, and most
other olive growing countries in between, it is with deep regret that I
must report on the recent passing of my beloved father, Philip.















PHILIP RAPHAEL COSTA



1921 - 2005





Philip Costa (84) passed away peacefully in his hometown, Paarl, South
Africa, on 1 May 2005, after a short illness. He is survived by his
wife, Nora, brother Nino (82), sister Eugenia (Bosman) (86), children,
Guido, Carlo, Ines (Barker) and Julio, and his grandchildren.



He had been a resident of Paarl since 1925, having completed his
schooling at Paarl Boys High, where he was Dux student in 1936.



Philip devoted his entire working life to the South African olive and
olive oil industry, following in the footsteps of his father, Ferdinando
(1884 - 1969), who pioneered the commercial S.A. olive industry in the
early part of the previous century.



Based on the original family farm Nervi, in Paarl, Philip was
instrumental in producing the first commercially available S.A. bottled
green table olives in 1942, followed by canned black olives in 1952. He
was a founder member of the South African Olive Growers' Association,
established in 1956, and served on the executive of this association
continuously from its inception in 1956 until his retirement in 2002.



He was responsible for numerous improvements in S.A. olive and olive oil
processing technology over the years. He pioneered the propagation of
self-rooted olive plants from semi-hardwood leafy cuttings in the 1957,
pioneered commercial mist propagation of olive cuttings in S.A. in the
early 70s, and installed the first fully automated continuous olive oil
extraction plant in SA in 1984. He traveled widely throughout the olive
growing world, attending many international conferences on olive
culture, studying the cultural practices and industrial processes used
in all major (and many minor) olive producing countries. His final trip,
in 2004, was to Syria, the birthplace of olive cultivation by man.



He had been active in the family business until early 2005.



In his youth, Philip was well-known in motor racing and rally (or
reliability trial) circles, amassing countless victories in his MG
J-Types and L-Type Magnas during the 1940s and early 1950s, including
the Van Riebeek trophy of 1948. He took a keen interest in restoring
pre-war MGs, often displaying part of his collection at club show days.



Philip will be sadly missed by family and friends.



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