South African family history, genealogy, heritage and interesting places, past and present. All articles researched and written by Anne Lehmkuhl. COPYRIGHT ANNE LEHMKUHL, no article can be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission. EMAIL ME
Old canals discovered in Cape Town
It is hoped that the revitalisation of the Grand Parade, South Africa's oldest public space, will be completed before the 2010 Soccer World Cup. The Grand Parade is the traditional heart of Cape Town. From here people such as General Jan Smuts, the Royal Family, and Nelson Mandela have addressed the public. Recently, the revitalisation project has led to the discovery of canals built in the 1660s. After Jan van Riebeeck's arrival in April 1652, the Dutch settlers built a fort on the site where the Grand Parade is today. Canals were built around the fort. The fort was built close to the mouth of the Vars Rivier, and the seashore was about where the train station is today. The settlers lived in the fort while the Castle was being built. They built a dam on the Vars River, and later built the canals and diverted the river into the canals. A team of archaeologists from the University of Cape Town has been digging out the soil that fill the old canals. The canals were 6 metres wide and were built in the 1660s. The Grand Parade revitalisation project might now be changed to include the old canals.
Our missing heritage
According to the Democratic Alliance (DA), the official opposition party, more than 14,000 objects, artefacts and art works have been stolen from South Africa's museums, galleries, churches and other heritage institutions in the past four years. DA MP Dianne Kohler-Barnard was speaking in the National Assembly during debate on the Arts and Culture budget vote, when she said the management of the department responsible for South Africa's cultural treasures was in a shambles. The last Auditor-General's report had found many problems, including assets misplaced, not recorded, incorrectly recorded or missing.
Pierneef's "Near Golden Gate" painting, valued at R5-million, was ripped off a wall at the SABC in Johannesburg in 2005. Seventeenth century ceramics from Cape Town are also missing. A Moses Seleko sculpture, The Gumboot Dance, was stolen in Pretoria in 2005. Two paintings by Gerard Sekoto, The Gardener and Hotela Bantu, were stolen from an Eastern Cape university.
Kohler-Barnard asked Arts and Culture Minister Pallo Jordan, "Minister, why aren't you doing your job? Why is it that you keep on and on repeating the same mistakes, hiring utterly incompetent staff?" Speaking at the end of the debate, Jordan rebuked Kohler-Barnard for speaking "as if she is the champion of the arts community". He made no reference to the disappearance of art works from institutions, and said the DA had a "schizophrenic attitude" towards his department.
Pierneef's "Near Golden Gate" painting, valued at R5-million, was ripped off a wall at the SABC in Johannesburg in 2005. Seventeenth century ceramics from Cape Town are also missing. A Moses Seleko sculpture, The Gumboot Dance, was stolen in Pretoria in 2005. Two paintings by Gerard Sekoto, The Gardener and Hotela Bantu, were stolen from an Eastern Cape university.
Kohler-Barnard asked Arts and Culture Minister Pallo Jordan, "Minister, why aren't you doing your job? Why is it that you keep on and on repeating the same mistakes, hiring utterly incompetent staff?" Speaking at the end of the debate, Jordan rebuked Kohler-Barnard for speaking "as if she is the champion of the arts community". He made no reference to the disappearance of art works from institutions, and said the DA had a "schizophrenic attitude" towards his department.
St. Andrews Presbyterian Church's 100th
St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Schoeman Street, Pretoria, celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. Since it's foundation in 1907, the church has only had two organists. The first one was John YATES, from 1908 to 1962. He was followed by his son-in-law, Robin BRYANT, who is now 76 years old and still plays the organ which has 3,500 pipes.
Baviaanskloof Tourism Route
The Baviaanskloof Tourism Route was recently launched. The route’s aim is to capture all the kloof’s many attractions and to encourage visitors to stay longer. The route was created in collaboration with the people of the kloof, the Baviaanskloof Mega-Reserve Project, Rand Merchant Bank as the funding agency and Open Africa, an NGO under the patronage of Nelson Mandela with the vision of optimising job creation through conservation and tourism. The Baviaanskloof is a World Heritage site.
The route is divided into five sub-routes starting with the central Baviaanskloof Heritage Sub-Route, which runs from Komdomo in the east to Nuwekloof. The other sub-routes include the Gamtoos Valley towns of Loerie, Hankey and Patensie, agri-tourism and the grave of Sarah Baartman; the wool and mohair capital of Steytlerville, town of flags, with its distinctive Victorian cottages; a western gateway route stretching from Vaalwater to Hartebeesrivier, a region known for its magnificent rock art and hiking trails. The last sub-route includes Willowmore, which has Victorian and Edwardian architecture.
The route is divided into five sub-routes starting with the central Baviaanskloof Heritage Sub-Route, which runs from Komdomo in the east to Nuwekloof. The other sub-routes include the Gamtoos Valley towns of Loerie, Hankey and Patensie, agri-tourism and the grave of Sarah Baartman; the wool and mohair capital of Steytlerville, town of flags, with its distinctive Victorian cottages; a western gateway route stretching from Vaalwater to Hartebeesrivier, a region known for its magnificent rock art and hiking trails. The last sub-route includes Willowmore, which has Victorian and Edwardian architecture.
Victoria West - a Karoo gem
The town of Victoria West in the Karoo is a little treasure trove. The town still has original Karoo houses that have remained unchanged. It is also home to the Victoria Trading Post (which includes the Mannetjies Roux Museum), a shop in the same tradition as Oom Samie se Winkel in Stellenbosch.The shop is owned by Mannetjies Roux's wife, Charlotte, whose sister Joyce Aucamp owns Oom Samie se Winkel. Mannetjies is a legendary former Springbok rugby player who wore the number 12. The Mannetjies Roux Museum has memorabilia from his life. He was immortalised in a song. The shop's fridge still bears the scar of a break-in a few years ago. Thieves took everything that was inside and left an apology written on the door, which is still there.
The Roux's daughter, Francette Coetzee, owns the Karoo Trading Post in Bellville. She sells Karoo lamb and venison, venison pasties, Karoo garlic, dried fruits, Karoo water from the family farm Nobelsfontein and a range of craft items similar to those in the Victoria Trading Post.
The Dutch Reformed Church bought a section of the farm Zeekoegat in 1843 and the church building was consecrated in 1855. In the Victoria West Museum, the Cultural History Hall has displays on the role of the church, the opening of the first bank, the history of sport in the area, the Victoria West Messenger newspaper and early Stone Age artefacts. The Anglican Church dates from 1943. The Apollo Theatre is in the 1950s Art Deco style. It has been declared a heritage site and regularly hosts film festivals. The Print Shop is where the local paper, the Victoria West Messenger, was first printed in 1876.
The Roux's daughter, Francette Coetzee, owns the Karoo Trading Post in Bellville. She sells Karoo lamb and venison, venison pasties, Karoo garlic, dried fruits, Karoo water from the family farm Nobelsfontein and a range of craft items similar to those in the Victoria Trading Post.
The Dutch Reformed Church bought a section of the farm Zeekoegat in 1843 and the church building was consecrated in 1855. In the Victoria West Museum, the Cultural History Hall has displays on the role of the church, the opening of the first bank, the history of sport in the area, the Victoria West Messenger newspaper and early Stone Age artefacts. The Anglican Church dates from 1943. The Apollo Theatre is in the 1950s Art Deco style. It has been declared a heritage site and regularly hosts film festivals. The Print Shop is where the local paper, the Victoria West Messenger, was first printed in 1876.
Routes to Roots: A collection of Web sites for South African genealogy & family history research
Routes to Roots: A collection of Web sites for South African genealogy & family history research. Compiled by a top South African professional genealogist, Anne Lehmkuhl, this e-book is a must for those looking for South African genealogy and family history on the Internet. It helps you get to the right places, quickly and efficiently. Routes to Roots contains 900+ Web sites or contact addresses.
Over the years, Anne has gained a reputation for finding genealogical or historical information easily, as well as locating elusive ancestors or descendants. Some of her success stories include:
Over the years, Anne has gained a reputation for finding genealogical or historical information easily, as well as locating elusive ancestors or descendants. Some of her success stories include:
- Re-uniting two long-lost friends, one in the USA and one in South Africa, after 20 years of no contact.
- Locating someone's South African family history, with photos, within an hour of receiving the query from Australia.
- Re-uniting two cousins, one in the USA and one in South Africa, who didn't know they had family connections.
- Putting together someone's family history that started in England, led to South Africa and ended up in Australia.
- 1820 Settlers
- Adoption - includes an article on adoption records
- Anglo-Boer War - includes notes on Anglo-Boer War records
- Antiques / Auctions
- Archives and Libraries
- Beginning Genealogy - includes a brief history and geography of South Africa, notes on beginning your search and sources of information in South Africa
- Books
- Churches
- Coats-of-Arms - includes notes on the use of coats-of-arms
- Computer Stuff
- Databases maintained by individuals
- Dutch East India Company (VOC)
- Family histories on-line - 124 Web sites full of South African roots
- Genealogical societies
- General South African history
- Magazines
- Maps and Gazetters
- Message boards / E-mail lists
- Military - includes notes on researching military ancestors, a listing of useful books for military research
- Miscellaneous
- Museums - 118 Web sites
- Namibia / South West Africa
- Newspapers - 220 South African Web sites or contact details
- Overseas research
- People search
- Police
- Preserving memories
- Professions
- Search engines - includes notes on using search engines
- Settlers - German, Jews, Italians and more
- Shipping
- Sport
- Towns / Cities
- Zimbabwe / Rhodesia
Zoo Lake is 100 years old
Zoo Lake, in Johannesburg, celebrated its 100th birthday recently. In 1904, the land around the Johannesburg Zoo and Zoo Lake in the Herman Eckstein Park was ceded in trust to residents of Johannesburg to be used as a public park, by Werner Beit and Company which later became Rand Mines. In February 1906 the council looked at the possibility of establishing an artificial lake. Once agreed to, it became a job-creation project for the poor. The first boating licence was issued in 1911. Much of the parkland was originally marshland and formed part of the Sachsenwald plantation which was owned by the Braamfontein Company. The trees were sold as timber and other trees were planted to see which tree was best suited to the Highveld.
Percy Fitzpatrick, who was acting head of Rand Mines, eventually started housing sick and injured wild animals which he brought back from his hunting trips. When his wife objected to them roaming around, they were put into enclosures and people came to see them. These enclosures were eventually converted into the Johannesburg Zoo.
Started in 1949 by the Johannesburg City Council's welfare department and Rotary, Carols by Candlelight has become an annual event attended by thousands of people.
In 1956, Margot Fonteyn danced Swan Lake with the lake as a backdrop as part of the city's 70th celebrations. Two years later, pennywhistler Spokes Mashiyane played at the lake and a young white woman was seen dancing to his music. Pressure was put on the council to declare Zoo Lake a whites only park but the council said the deed of gift did not distinguish colour between people of Johannesburg and it would only change the park if national government would finance an amenity of the same size in a black area. This was not taken any further and the lake remained open to people of all races.
The Coronation Fountain, which stands in the middle of the lake, was built in 1937 to commemorate the coronation of King George VI. In 2003 the fountain was restored at a cost of R350 000, mainly through fundraising and with money from Johannesburg City Parks and the city's arts, culture and heritage services department.
Percy Fitzpatrick, who was acting head of Rand Mines, eventually started housing sick and injured wild animals which he brought back from his hunting trips. When his wife objected to them roaming around, they were put into enclosures and people came to see them. These enclosures were eventually converted into the Johannesburg Zoo.
Started in 1949 by the Johannesburg City Council's welfare department and Rotary, Carols by Candlelight has become an annual event attended by thousands of people.
In 1956, Margot Fonteyn danced Swan Lake with the lake as a backdrop as part of the city's 70th celebrations. Two years later, pennywhistler Spokes Mashiyane played at the lake and a young white woman was seen dancing to his music. Pressure was put on the council to declare Zoo Lake a whites only park but the council said the deed of gift did not distinguish colour between people of Johannesburg and it would only change the park if national government would finance an amenity of the same size in a black area. This was not taken any further and the lake remained open to people of all races.
The Coronation Fountain, which stands in the middle of the lake, was built in 1937 to commemorate the coronation of King George VI. In 2003 the fountain was restored at a cost of R350 000, mainly through fundraising and with money from Johannesburg City Parks and the city's arts, culture and heritage services department.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)