The column played no small part in reshaping the way businesses dealt with customers. It popularised the notion of consumer rights, helping to kick-start a movement which culminated in the passing of the progressive Consumer Protection Act.
But it was as social columnist that Gwen made her name and became the journalist that everyone who threw a party had to impress.
She was not afraid to subject the country's most influential and powerful figures to withering observations about dress sense, punctuality and manners.
No major function could be deemed a success until Gwen had given her verdict on Sunday.
She was honest to a fault and did not hesitate to subject the Sunday Times's own events to the same steely criticism she dished out to others.
Back at the office, Gwen was a fighter for the rights of journalists. She was a colleague, a mentor and an inspiration to generations of Sunday Times staff.
She had an eye for a good story and frequently supplied the Sunday Times with leads.
Gwen's coverage of the emerging new elite at play added a vital dimension to reporting on the growth of South Africa's new democracy.
It is fair to say that without her acute observations of the emerging new society, this would have been a different, less interesting, country.
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