Cetshwayo, son of Mpande - Source: Cape Archives, E3248

What were our ancestors doing in 1882?

Who was making the headlines and What did they talk about around the supper table?

Here is a look at some of the people, places and events that made the news in 1882.

Huguenot Memorial School

The Huguenot Memorial School (Gedenkschool der Hugenoten) was opened on the 1st February 1882 on the farm Kleinbosch in Daljosafat, near Paarl. It was a private Christian school and the first school with Afrikaans as teaching medium.

The school was under the auspices of the Genootskap van Regte Afrikaners. Past pupils included the writers Andries Gerhardus VISSER, Daniël François MALHERBE and Jakob Daniël DU TOIT (Totius). The first classes were given in a small room but soon an old wine cellar was converted into a two-storey building which housed two classrooms downstairs and the boarding school upstairs. The first Afrikaans newspaper, Die Patriot, as well as the first Afrikaans magazine, Ons Klyntji, came from this school.

The Coat of Arms of "Die Genootskap van Regte Afrikaners"

The school was closed down in 1910 as by then Afrikaans was taught in government schools. In 2001 renovation work was started after a fundraising campaign brought in more than R1-million. Most of the money came from readers of the Afrikaans newspapers, Die Burger and the Volksblad. Naspers, the Stigting vir Afrikaans and KWV also made important contributions. The renovated building was opened in March 2002. It has an Afrikaans training centre upstairs and guest rooms downstairs.

The main people behind the renovation project were writer Dr. Willem Abraham DE KLERK (1917 – 1996) and Fanie THERON (chairman of the Simon van der Stel Foundation and the Huguenot Society, deceased 1989). Others who were also very involved included Sr. C.F. ALBERTYN (Naspers director), Van der Spuy UYS and Dr. Eduard BEUKKMAN. In 1985 they launched the Hugenote Gedenkskool Board of Trustees and with a R10 000 donation from the Helpmekaarfonds, a servitude on the building and land was bought. De Klerk’s wife, Finnie, and Theron’s wife, Anna, were at the official opening as their husbands did not live to see their dream come to fruition.

Dutch as official language

After the second British occupation of the Cape in 1806, English became the only official language. In 1856 J.A. KRUGER, the M.L.A. for Albert, asked for permission to address Parliament in Dutch. His requested was denied, and this started a campaign to get Dutch recognised as an official language in Parliament. On the 30th March 1882, Jan Hendrik HOFMEYR (1845 – 1909), also known as Onze Jan, appealed for the use of Dutch as an official language in Parliament alongside English. He was supported by Saul SOLOMON, a Jewish newspaper publisher and printer in Cape Town. On the 9th June the campaign finally got a positive result when an amendement was made to the Constitution allowing the use of Dutch in Parliament.

Official status was granted on the 1st May and the Act was later passed. On the 13th June, Jan Roeland Georg LUTTIG, the Beaufort-West M.L.A., was the first to officially deliver a speech in Dutch. There is no official record of the speech in Dutch, but the English version was published in the 14th June 1882 Cape Argus newspaper. The other version is in the Cape Parliament Hansard.

It was a short speech – “Meneer die Speaker, ons is baie dankbaar dat die opsionele gebruik van die Hollandse taal in albei huise van die parlement toegelaat is. Wanneer ek sê dankbaar, dink ek praat ek namens diegene wat die twee huise met hul petisies vir dié doel genader het. Ek put vreugde daaruit dat my Engelssprekende vriende die voorstel nie teengestaan het nie, my komplimente gaan aan hulle.

Ek hoop om die raad in die toekoms ook in Engels, in my ou Boere styl, toe te spreek. Sodoende kan dié Engelse vriende wat nie Hollands verstaan nie, die geleentheid hê om te verstaan wat ek probeer oordra. Ek vertrou ook dat alle nasionale verskille in die toekoms sal verdwyn en dat mense van alle nasionaliteite en standpunte hand aan hand sal beweeg om die welvaart en vooruitgang van die kolonie te bevorder”. According to the Hansard, the Speaker pointed out that the Act had not yet been proclaimed, so members could not yet make speeches in Dutch, but that the House would accommodate him this time.

On the 15th June, Cape school regulations were amended to allow the use of Dutch alongside English.

On the 26th and 27th June, the town of Burgersdorp celebrated the use of Dutch. The celebrations were organised by Jotham JOUBERT (M.L.A. and later a Cape Rebel ) who also proposed a monument to mark the occassion. A country-wide fundraising campaign was launched. The monument was built by S.R. OGDEN of Aliwal-North for £430. It consisted of a sandstone pedestal on which stood a life-size marble statue of a woman. She points her finger at a tablet held in her other hand on which the main inscription reads “De Overwinning de Hollandsche Taal “. The monument was unveiled on the 18th January 1893 by D.P. VAN DEN HEEVER, with Stephanus Jacobus DU TOIT (1847 – 1911) delivering the main speech.

During the Anglo-Boer war, the monument was vandalised by British soldiers who took parts of it to King William’s Town where they buried it. After the war, Lord Alfred MILNER had the rest of the statue removed from Burgersdorp. After much protesting, the British eventually provided Burgersdorp with a replica in 1907. This one was unveiled at ceremonies on the 24th and 25th May 1907 when former President M.T. STYEN and the author D.F. MALHERBE addressed the crowd. The original monument was found in 1939 and returned to Burgersdorp. In 1957 the damaged original monument was placed next to the replica.

In 1883 knowledge of Dutch was compulsory for some government positions. In 1884, it was permitted in the High Courts and in 1887 it became a compulsory subject for civil service candidates. Afrikaans only gained equal status with Dutch and English as an official language in South Africa via Act 8 of 1925. Dutch remained an official language until the 1961 Constitution stipulated the two official languages in South Africa to be Afrikaans and English.

Goosen and Stellaland republics

In 1882 a group of Boers established the short-lived republics of Stellaland and Het Land Goosen (aka Goshen ) to the north of Griqualand West, in contravention of the Pretoria and London conventions by which the Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek had regained its independence.

On the 1st April the republic of Het Land Goosen was declared. The terms of the Pretoria Convention of August 1881 had cut away part of the Transvaal. This led to problems as local Chiefs disputed the boundaries. Britain did not help matters by acknowledging Mankoroane as Chief of the Batlapin and Montsioa as Chief of the Barolong, both beyond their traditional territories. Supporters of Moshete, under the leadership of Nicolaas Claudius GEY VAN PITTIUS (1837 – 1893), established Het Land Goosen. One of the co-founders was Hermanus Richard (Manie) LEMMER, who later became a General in the Anglo-Boer War. Het Land Goosen later merged with the Stellaland republic to form the United States of Stellaland.

Stellaland was also a short-lived republic established in 1882 by David MASSOUW and about 400 followers, who invaded a Bechuana area west of the Transvaal. They founded the town of Vryburg, making it their capital. The republic was formally created on the 26th July 1882, under the leadership of Gerrit Jacobus VAN NIEKERK (1849 – 1896). In 1885 the British sent in troops under Sir Charles WARREN, abolished the republic, and incorporated it in British Bechuanaland.

Shipping accidents

Shipping accidents (wrecks, groundings, etc…) were common along the South African coast. In 1882 there were quite a few:

January – James Gaddarn, a barque, off Durban

February – Johanna, a barque, off East London

March – Poonah, off Blaauwberg

March – Queen of Ceylon, a barque, off Durban

April – Gleam, a barque, off Port Nolloth

April – Roxburg, off East London

April – Seafield, a barque, off East London

May – Francesca, a barque, off East London

May – Louisa Dorothea, a schooner, ran aground at Mossel Bay

May – Clansman, a schooner, off East London

May 28 – two ships, the Agnes (Capt. NEEDHAM) and the Christin a (Capt. G. LOVE), run ashore at Plettenberg Bay

June – Bridgetown, a barque, off Durban

June – Louisa Schiller, a barque, off Cape Hangklip

June – Ludwig, a schooner, off Algoa Bay

June – Gloria Deo, a barque, off Quoin Point

July – Elvira, a barque, off Durban

July – Erwood, off Durban

December – Adonis, a steamer, off Portst Johns

December – Zambezi, a schooner, off Durban

Smallpox

A smallpox epidemic broke out in District Six in 1882. This led to the closure of inner city cemeteries, and the construction of drains and wash-houses in the city. These improvements didn’t go as planned. The cemetery closures led to riots in 1886. The cemeteries along Somerset Road were not in a good condition, so Maitland cemetery was built. As the Muslim community carried their dead for burial, Maitland was too far for them, and along with the Dutch, they protested against Maitland for two years. Once the inner city cemeteries closed, the Dutch compromised but the Muslim community did not. They buried a child in the Tanu Baru (first Muslim cemetery) in protest. About 3 000 Muslims followed the funeral procession, as police watched. After someone threw stones at the police, a riot started and volunteer regiments were called out. One of the Muslim leaders, Abdol BURNS, a cab driver, was arrested. In the end, neither the Dutch nor the Muslims used Maitland. They found a piece of ground next tost Peter’s cemetery in Mowbray and used it as their cemetery.

The smallpox threat was felt further afield. It was believed that smallpox could be beaten by whitewashing the walls of homes, and for this reason lime and carbolic acid was distributed free to residents in Beaufort West. At Modder River, about 35 km from Kimberley, the settlement was used as a quarantine station to keep smallpox away from Kimberley. Travellers enroute to Kimberley had to produce a valid vaccination certificate or be vaccinated at the station.

Zulu King in London

Cetshwayo reigned as King of the Zulus from 1873 to 1884. He made an alliance with the British in order to keep his long standing enemies, the Boers, away. The alliance collapsed when the British annexed the Transvaal and supported Boer land claims in the border dispute with Zululand. This led to the 1879 Anglo-Zulu War where the British suffered defeat at the Battle of Isandlwana and Zulus at the Battle of Ulundi. Cetshwayo was captured and taken to the Cape. In 1882 he travelled to London where he met Queen Victoria on the 14th August. On his return he was reinstated as King in a much reduced territory and with less autonomy. He died on the 8th February 1884.

Sporting moments

Ottomans Cricket Club was founded in the Bo-Kaap in 1882. The Rovers Rugby Club was founded in Cradock on the 6th September 1882. The first rugby match in Mossel Bay was played on Saturday, 2nd September 1882. Mossel Bay Athletic Club played against George Athletic Club. The first bowling green was laid out in 1882 when a club was established atst George’s Park in Port Elizabeth. In 1882 the Jockey Club was founded by 10 horse-racing members at a meeting held in the Phoenix Hotel in Port Elizabeth. The first South African soccer club was Pietermaritzburg County. On the 17th June 1882, its delegates met at the London Restaurant in Durban ‘s West Street and the Natal Football Association was founded.

Transit of Venus

The transit of Venus was observed from stations in Durban, Touws River, Wellington, Aberdeen Road (a railway stop) and at Cape Town ‘s Royal Observatory.

Banking

District Bank was established in Stellenbosch in 1882. It paid between 5 to 6% on fixed deposits and 2% on current accounts, compared to the Standard Bank which paid an average of 3.5% on fixed deposits and no interest on current accounts. The District Bank did not charge cheque fees or ledger fees. It was later taken over by Boland Bank. The Natal Building Society (NBS) was also established in 1882, in Durban.

New brewery

The Old Cannon Brewery in Newlands was established in 1852. In 1882 it merged with Ohlsson’s Cape Breweries.

Steel industry

South Africa ‘s industrial development has heavy roots in its mining industry. With virtually no steel industry of its own, the country relied on imported steel. The first efforts to introduce steel production dates back to the creation of the South African Coal and Iron Company in 1882. The first successful production of pig iron occurred only in 1901, in Pietermaritzburg.

Mariannhill Monastery

The monastery near Pinetown was founded as a Trappist monastery by Father Francis PFANNER in 1882. It became a renowned missionary institute with schools, a hospital, an art centre and a retreat.

Boswell’s Circus

The BOSWELL family has been involved in the circus business since the 1800s in England. James BOSWELL was born in 1826 and went on to perform in various English circuses as a clown, horseman and equilibrist. He died in the circus ring of Cirque Napoleon in Paris in 1859 while performing a balancing ladder act. He had three 3 children, all of whom performed in circuses. His eldest son, James Clements, opened his own circus, Boswell’s Circus, in 1882 in Yorkshire.

Boswell’s Circus toured England and was very popular until it closed in 1898. James Clements and his five sons – Jim, Alfred, Walter, Sydney and Claude – continued performing in theatres and music halls, and eventually put their own show together called Boswell’s Stage Circus. Madame FILLIS, who owned Fillis’ Circus in South Africa, saw one of their performances and signed them up for a six-month contract. In 1911 James Clements, his sons, Walter and Jim’s wives, six ponies, a donkey and some dogs set sail for South Africa. The family and their animals were stranded when Fillis’ Circus closed down some months later. Fortunately for generations of South African children, this did not stop them and they went on to build a successful business that is still in existence.

Pretoria

A public sale on Church Square, Pretoria, in the 1890's

Church Square was created in 1855, on the orders of M.W. PRETORIUS. The DEVEREAUX brothers, town planners, designed a square for market and church purposes. Pretoria expanded around Church Square. During its early days the square was also used as a sports field and in 1883 the long-jumper Izak PRINSLOO set the first world record by a South African. The first church on the square was completed in 1857, but burnt down in 1882. Burgers Park was established as Pretoria ‘s first park in 1882. On the 14th June 1882, the Transvaalsche Artillerie Corps was formed under the command of Cmdt. H.J.P. PRETORIUS.

Stephanus Johannes Paulus KRUGER, later President of the Zuid-Afrikaanse Republiek, was born on the 10th October 1825. He was so respected by his people that the first Kruger Day was celebrated on the 10th October 1882. The following year it was declared a public holiday. After the Anglo-Boer war it lost official status, until it was again declared a public holiday in 1952. In 1994 the day again lost its official status.

Kimberley

On the 2nd September Kimberley became the first town in the southern hemisphere to install electric street lighting. It was an initiative of the Cape Electric Light Company. Electric lighting was also installed in Parliament in 1882, and an arc-lighting installation was commissioned in the harbour. Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, Christmas 1882 saw the world’s first electrically-lit Christmas tree installed in the New York house of Thomas EDISON’s associate Edward H. JOHNSON.

The Kimberley Club was founded in August 1881 and opened its doors on the 14th August 1882. Cecil John RHODES was one of the men behind the club’s establishment. Amongst the first members were Charles D. RUDD, Dr. Leander Starr JAMESON, Lionel PHILLIPS and J.B. ROBINSON.

Knysna

The farm Melkhoutkraal was laid out in 1770. In 1808 George REX, who arrived at the Cape in 1797, bought the farm. In 1825 Lord Charles SOMERSET decided to establish a town on the lagoon, to make use of the surrounding forests for ship building. George REX donated 16 ha of land for the new village, named Melville for Viscount MELVILLE, First Sea Lord from 1812 – 1827. Knysna was formally founded in 1882 when the two villages, Melville and Newhaven (founded in 1846) amalgamated.

Muizenberg

In 1882 the railway line reached Muizenberg. The area was originally a cattle outpost for the VOC before it became a military post in 1743. It was named Muijs se Berg after the commander Sergeant Willem MUIJS. Muizenberg was a staging post between Cape Town and Simon’s Town. After the railway line was extended, the area developed fast and became a popular holiday destination.

One of Muizenberg’s prominent residents was Professor James GILL. He was born in Cornwall in 1831 and came to the Cape in 1860, where he took the post of professor of Classics at Graaff-Reinet College. In 1871 he moved to Cape Town as Classics professor at the Diocesan College. He was an opininated man who did good things throughout his career but was also involved in many controversies. He was dismissed from the College in 1882. He opened a private school in Muizenberg and became the editor of the Cape Illustrated Magazine. He died in Muizenberg on the 1st February 1904.

Villiers

The town of Villiers, on the Vaal River, was established in 1882 on the farms Pearson Valley and Grootdraai. It was named after the owner, L.B. DE VILLIERS. In 1882 the Volksraad was requested to open a post office there, and this led to Villiers being proclaimed in 1891. In 1917 it acquired municipal status.

Newcastle

The first government school in Newcastle was established in 1882 as a junior primary school with 47 boys and 30 girls.

Okiep

The Cornish Pump House was built in 1882. It was used to pump water from the mine and this pump house is the only remaining one of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere.

East London

A view of East London in the 1880's

The prison in Lock Street was built in 1880, replacing the old one on the West Bank. It was built by James TYRRELL and comprised an officers’ quarters, administration block, hospital, kitchen and two single-storey cell blocks to hold 100 prisoners. The first execution happened in 1882, for which a drop gallows was placed in the hospital yard. St.Andrew’s Lutheran Church was established by German settlers in 1872. It is the second oldest church in East London and was dedicated on the 30th November 1882.

Grahamstown

City Hall was officially opened on the 24th May 1882 by the acting Mayor Samuel CAWOOD. The foundation stone was laid on the 28th August 1877 by Sir Henry Bartle FRERE, Governor of the Cape.

Durban

Durban Girls’ High School was established in 1882. The old theatre Royale was built in 1882 and had seating for 1 000. It was closed in 1937. The Natal Herbarium was started in 1882 by John Medley WOOD, then Curator of the Durban Botanical Gardens. It was initially known as the Colonial Herbarium but changed its name in 1910 when it was donated by the Durban Botanical Society to the Union of South Africa.

Port Elizabeth

South End Cemetery in Port Elizabeth was started. The country’s oldest art school, Port Elizabeth Art School, was founded in 1882. It later became the College for Advanced Technical Education, originally situated in Russell Road, Central. In 1974 it moved to Summerstrand and became the PE Technikon in 1979.

Kaapsehoop

In 1882 gold was discovered in the Kaapsehoop valley. When a larger deposit of gold was found near the present day Barberton, most of the prospectors moved there. The first payable gold was mined at Pioneer Reef by Auguste ROBERTE (aka French Bob) in June 1883. Barber’s Reef was the next big find in 1884. Sheba ‘s Reef, the richest of all, was discovered by Edwin BRAY in May 1885.

Port Shepstone

Port Shepstone came into being when marble was discovered near the Umzimkulu River mouth in 1867. It flourished from 1879 when William BAZLEY, one of the world’s first underwater demolition experts, blasted away rock at the mouth to form the Umzimkulu breakwater. The town was named after a Mr SHEPSTONE, one of the area’s prominent residents. Before 1901 the area depended solely on a port that was developed inside the river’s mouth. Boats were often wrecked and blocked the harbour entrance, but it provided a vital transport link for the tea, coffee and sugar cane grown by farmers along the river’s banks.

Supplies were brought in on the return voyages from Durban. With the arrval in 1882 of 246 Norwegian, 175 Briton and 112 German settlers, this shipping service became more important. The Norwegians arrived on the 29th August aboard the CHMS Lapland. The new settlers were offered 100 acre lots around the town at 7 shillings and 6 pence an acre. Port Shepstone was declared a full fiscal port in 1893 and, after Durban, became the region’s second harbour. Eventually, with the ongoing ship wreckages and the arrival of the railway, the harbour was closed down.

Harding

In 1882 the first hotel was opened in Harding. The village then consisted of three trading stores and four private homes.

Dundee

Dundee was established on the farm Fort Jones belonging to Peter SMITH, who had bought it from a Voortrekker settler, Mr DEKKER. He named the town Dundee, in memory of his original home in Scotland. By 1879, as a result of the Anglo-Zulu War, a tent town had sprung up on a portion of the farm. British soldiers attracted traders, missionaries, craftsmen and hunters but after their departure the tent town ceased to exist. With his son, William Craighead; son-in-law Dugald MACPHAIL; and Charles WILSON, Peter proclaimed the town in 1882.

Dewetsdorp

The Anglican Church was inaugurated on the 17th December 1882 by the Anglican Bishop of Bloemfontein. It was named St. Bartholomew’s. Before this, Anglicans held services in the town hall. The church’s foundation stone was laid on the 18th August. It cost £395 to build and seated 60. Rev. L.A. KIRBY was the first minister. The first baptism was on the 7th January 1883, that of Arthur SKEA. The church was declared a national monument in 1996.

Fort Hare

Fort Hare was built in 1847. It was named after Lt.-Col. John HARE and remained a military post until 1882, when part was given to Lovedale and part to the town of Alice.

Kuruman

The London Missionary Society (LMS) established the Moffat Institute in Kuruman in 1882, as a memorial to Robert and Mary MOFFATT and in the hope that it would revive the mission station.

Upington

Upington’s history starts with Klaas Lukas., a Koranna chief, who asked for missionaries to teach his people to read and write. In 1871 Rev. Christiaan SCHRODER left Namaqualand for Olyvenhoudtsdrift as the Upington area was then known. He built the first church, which today houses the Kalahari-Oranje Museum. In 1879 Sir Thomas UPINGTON visited the area to establish a police post, which was later named after him.

In 1881 SCHRODER, Abraham SEPTEMBER and Japie LUTZ helped build an irrigation canal. Abraham (Holbors) SEPTEMBER, said to be a Baster and the son of a slave from West Africa, was farming in the area in 1860. He was married to Elizabeth GOOIMAN. He devised a way to draw water from the river for irrigation purposes. In 1882 he was granted land facing the river. In 1896 Abraham and Elizabeth drew up a will, bequeathing the land to the survivor and thereafter to their three sons. Abraham died in 1898. In 1909 Elizabeth appeared before the Court in Upington on a charge that squatters where living on the land. It was here that she heard that Willem DORINGS, a smous, was claiming the land as his. This claim was to have repercussions, even in 2000 when the great-great-grandchildren of Abraham were still fighting for the land in the Land Claims Court.

Elizabeth and her sons owed Willem £326, but Willem produced documents that they sold him the land for that sum. The family were under the impression that they had a debt agreement with Willem. They refused to leave the farm and Elizabeth died there in 1918. In 1920 the family were removed from the farm by the new owners who had bought it from Willem. According to Henk WILLEMSE, Abraham’s great-great-grandson, the family started action in 1921 to get their land back. He has documents dating back all these years, which also show that Willem DORINGS was William THORN. Part of their land claim was for the land on which the Prisons Department building stands in Upington’s main road. This belonged to Abraham’s eldest daughter, Elizabeth, who lost it when service fees were not paid. In 1997 Nelson MANDELA unveiled a memorial plaque to Abraham.

The Waterfront

A view of East London in the 1880's

The Victorian Gothic-style Clock Tower, situated near the site of the original Bertie’s Landing restaurant in Cape Town, has always been a feature of the old harbour. It was the original Port Captain’s office and was completed in 1882. On the second floor is a decorative mirror room, which enabled the Port Captain to have a view of all activities in the harbour. On the ground floor is a tide-gauge mechanism used to check the level of the tide. Restoration of the Clock Tower was completed in 1997. The Robinson Graving Dock was also constructed in 1882, as was the Pump House. The Breakwater Convict Station was declared a military prison in 1882. This allowed military offenders from ships and shore stations to be committed for hard labour.

Sources:

Drakenstein Heemkring

Afrikanerbakens; Federasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurvereniginge publication

Burgersdorp: http://www.burgersdorp.za.net/burgersdorp_photos.html

Maritime Casualties: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ridge/2216/text/MARITIME.TXT

The Will of Abraham and Elizabeth September: The Struggle for Land in Gordonia, 1898-1995; by Martin Legassick; Journal of African History, Vol. 37, No. 3 (1996)

Land Claim Case: http://www.law.wits.ac.za/lcc/wp-content/uploads/jacobs2/jacobs2.pdf

Rapport newspaper, 23 Jan 2000

Boswell’s Circus: http://www.boswell.co.za/

Article researched and written by Anne Lehmkuhl, June 2007

A large number of beauty contests have been held in South Africa since 1910. The most important being those in which the winners are entered in overseas contests.

The first beauty contests

In 1910, a beauty pageant was held in Cape Town to celebrate the newly formed Union of South Africa. Each province sent a representative that was picked by a prominent man in her region.
The first national beauty contest was organised by the magazine Stage Cinema in 1918. Three women were chosen to star in films based on Rider Haggard's books.

Edna JOYCE was chosen to play the Queen of Sheba in King Solomon's Mines. Mabel MAY and Elise HAMILTON were chosen to play twin sisters in Allan Quatermain.

Many contests held after World War I were mainly fund-raising efforts, often for the Governor-General's fund. In 1925 Mavis ALEXANDER won the Cape Argus Queen of the Gala competition.

The first woman to carry the Miss South Africa title, unofficially, was Winnie COMYNS of Cape Town, who won a national contest organised by the South African Lady's Pictorial in 1926. Blanca Borckenhagen was Queen of the Orange Free State; Ethel Jagger, Queen of the Cape, Gyn Hathorn, Queen of Natal, and Blanca van der Hoven, Queen of the Transvaal.
In 1927, the Cape Town city council banned beauty contest as they felt that they are undignified and not for the good of the city.

In 1930 Molly LAMONT, a dancing teacher from Scottburgh, won the Outspan Film Candidate competition. Her prize was a holiday in England and a film test at Elstree Studios. She went on to act in more than 50 films in England and the USA.

In 1938, the Sunday Express held a Marlene Dietrich look-alike national contest, which was won by Thelma Fairlie of Kensington, Johannesburg. In 1963, Thelma met Marlene Dietrich during her visit to South Africa.
During the late 1930s and early 1940s, there were many Wool Queen contests across the country. Local winners went on to regional and provincial contests, from which one girl would become the overall winner. However, the final stage was never reached. Doreen O'Neill was Midlands Wool Queen in 1939, but only four more regional queens were chosen and when World War II broke out, the contest was abandoned.

After the war, the Wool Board partnered with Photo News magazine and Metro Goldwyn Meyer Films to create a national Meet the Stars contest. The winner was to be known as Miss South Africa 1948. Forty-nine finalists spent a week in Johannesburg. General SMUTS, then Prime Minister, crowned Avelyn MACASKILL of Bloemfontein as winner at the Johannesburg City Hall. Her prize included a trip to Hollywood as the guest of MGM, visits to New York, Holland, London, Paris and Canada, and a diamond ring.

A few days before Avelyn's crowning, Stage & Cinema ran a readers' contest which gave the winner an entry in Universal International's Hollywood Beauty Contest. June FULTON of Durban won. Her prize included a six-month film contract and being photographed with film stars.

In 1944 Avelyn MaCASKILL won a beauty pageant. In 1949, Wynona CHEYNEY won a beauty pageant and reigned from 1949 to 1951.
Before the 1950s, most of the larger contests were organised by magazines such as Stage & Cinema, South Africa Pictorial and Outspan, or by newspapers, often in partnership with African Consolidated Theatres. Women submitted a photo and from these photos finalists would be chosen and published. The readers would vote for their favourite.

Beauty contests were racially segretated until the late 1970s. In the 1950s, Drum magazine, aimed at black readers, started running model and beauty contests. Later on a Miss Black South Africa pageant was held. Other popular contests were organised by the Ellerines furniture chain, and football associations.

In 1952, Outspan magazine and African Consolidated Theatres started a contest to find an entrant for the first Miss Universe pageant that year. Catherine HIGGINS, a short-hand typist from Johannesburg, wanted to become an actress. She entered the contest and won, taking her to Long Beach, California, where she was placed 7th and voted by the other contestants as Miss Friendly Spirit.

In 1956, Piet BEUKES, editor of Die Landstem, obtained the right to send a South African representative to the Miss World pageant in London. In 1960, the Miss Universe pageant in Miami Beach, Florida, and the Miss International Beauty pageant in Long Beach, California, also gave Die Landstem the right to enter a South African representative. Die Landstem, in partnership with the Sunday Times, arranged the contests for the Miss World entrant. The Sunday Express was in the partnership to choose the entrant for Miss Universe.

Beauty competitions were held in Margate where Miss Hibiscus was chosen and entered in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Hibiscus organisers re-named their title to Miss Protea in 1968.

The history of the Miss South Africa contest

The first official Miss South Africa contest was held in 1956. This was after the Afrikaans newspaper, Die Landstem, acquired the rights to enter someone in the Miss World pageant in London. Together with the Sunday Times, a South African English newspaper, they organised the first official Miss South Africa contest. It wasn't a pageant yet as entrants only sent in their photos and the newspaper readers voted for their favourites. The finalists' photos were again published and readers selected Miss South Africa. There was no crowning ceremony.

In 1964 and 1965, the selection system changed. The finalists and the winner were selected by the newspapers' editorial staff. In 1966 and 1967 the finalists were still selected by the newspapers, but the winners were selected by the readers.

In 1968, Die Landstem closed down and the Sunday Times took over the contest, bringing in another Afrikaans newspaper, Dagbreek. The selection process in 1968 still saw the finalists selected from photos but the winner was selected by a panel of celebrity judges meeting in Johannesburg.
The selection process changed again in 1970. Regional pageants were held and the regional winners appeared before celebrity judges in Johannesburg. The winner and runner-up were announced at a cocktail party in Johannesburg, after being announced in the newspapers. In 1972, the Miss South Africa contest became a pageant and Stephanie REINECKE was crowned in front of a live audience in the Johannesburg City Hall.
Regional pageants were not held in 1975. The finalists were selected after nationwide auditions. This system remained in place until 1994.

In 1978, the Miss South Africa pageant was opened to all races.
In 1994, Doreen MORRIS, a former M-Net presenter, went into partnership with Sun International to run the Miss South Africa pageant, after Rapport and the Sunday Times withdrew due to political interference from the ANC's Youth League. Sun International took full ownership of the pageant in 2000.

In the spotlight

Beauty pageants, especially Miss South Africa, crown came with many opportunities and most of the winners made good use of them. After their reigns, many beauty queens launched busy careers, while others found domestic life pleasing. Here we take a look at what happened to some of them.

Mavis Alexander

In October 1925, a Cape Town newspaper, the Argus, sponsored a beauty contest. Close to 800 contestants entered by sending in their photos which went on public display. On the 14 November the winner was crowned in the Tivoli Theatre in Cape Town.
Mavis ALEXANDER, a school teacher from Montagu won. Her prizes included a cheque for 25 guineas, theatre seats, a camera, a hat, a dress, silk stockings, shoes, an umbrella, lunch for six people for a week, a perm, a one-seater sofa, a watch, dance lessons, and a photo frame for her winning photo. She was also driven around Cape Town in the car which the Prince of Wales had used in Cape Town shortly before the contest.
Mavis later moved to the Strand, where her mother lived. She went back to teaching and spent 26 years teaching at Somerset West Primary. After her mother's death in 1950, she married a life-long friend, Bertie MITTEN. A few years later Bertie passed away. Mavis became involved in charity work and the Methodist church in Strand. In her will she left money to the Rotarary Club. In 1994, the Rotary Anns of the Strand, erected a clock in Beach Road in her memory. A bronze plate has the following inscription: "Tyd vir vrede, time for peace, Ixesha Ngo Xola. A gift to the community from Strand Rotary Anns. In memory of Mavis Mitton. 1994

Avelyn Macaskill

After her reign, Avelyn went to London where she attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art for two years. When she returned to Bloemfontein, she married businessman Jannie WESSELS and they had three children. After Jannie's death, she married Ronnie VAN REENEN. They moved to Cape Town in 1983, where they were involved with the Capab Opera Chorus and the Philharmonic Choir. In 1994, they bought an apartment in Spain 's Costa del Sol, and divide their time between Cape Town and Spain. Avelyn enjoys working in her gardens and painting in oils.
Winnie Comyns

Winifred (Winnie) Nora Mary Florence COMYNS married Egmar WESEMANN, but was divorced in 1951.

June Fulton

After returning from her prize trip to California, June met Antony BURTON from London. They got married and had two daughters. The family lived in Portugal for 11 years, where June ran a modelling school. They moved to England, where June died of cancer in 1990. June had acting roles in The Gal Who Took the West (1949) as a dance hall girl, and in Yes Sir That's My Baby (1949) as Mrs. Koslowski.

Catherine Edwina Higgins

Catherine became a successful model in South Africa. She was known for her diamond smile, as she had a diamond embedded in one of her front teeth. She was the daughter of James Arthur HIGGINS and Christopholina Edina VAN RENSBURG (MHG reference 10845/71, her father's death notice). She had an aunt and uncle, Mr and Mrs F.C. TOWNSEND who lived at 86 Moore Street, East London, in 1952. This was her mother's sister. Catherine's uncle on her mother's side, Freddie VAN RENSBURG, was a national professional snooker and billiards champion. He passed away in 1997 at the age of 88.

Ingrid Mills

Now Ingrid DE HAAST, she is a successful glass artist in Somerset West, after starting out as a potter more than 20 years ago. She attended classes in Corning, USA, as well as in Oregon. The former Miss South Africa 1953 also had a role in a Hollywood film. Ingrid was crowned in Johannesburg in May 1953. Her runner-up was Una DE BEER (Miss East London). Ingrid was Miss Salisbury, and was born in East London.

Penny Anne Coelen

Penelope Anne was born in Shepperton, Middlesex, on April 15, 1939, she lived in the Cape, in Witbank, Pretoria, Swaziland, Benoni and Estcourt before the family finally settled in Durban.  When she won Miss World in 1958, it was the 8th Miss World pageant and had 22 contestants. Penny was an 18-year-old secretary. After her reign, she tried acting in Hollywood with James GARNER's help, but failed her screen test. After returning to South Africa, she married her first love, Michael REY, whom she met when she was 16. Michael was a suger-cane farmer at Umhlali, outside Durban.
They had five sons – Michael, Jean-Paul, Dominic, Nicholas and Christopher. Penny ran a beauty salon and gave lectures. She used to do promotional work, marketing and sales for American Airlines. In 1991, the ATKV awarded her a Vrou vir Vroue award for her involvement in charity and environmental work. Penny has her own clothing range, and endorsed beauty products. Her hobbies include gardening, painting, and learning languages.

Anneline Kriel

In November 1974, Helen Morgan, Miss UK, was crowned Miss World. Four days later, it was discovered that she was an unmarried mother and the title was passed on to the runner-up, Anneline KRIEL (19). She was born in Witbank on 28 July 1955 to Johannes (Hannes) and Marie. Her father passed away in Pretoria in November 1997. Anneline's siblings are Renette and Ernst. Renette was married to Graham McKENZIE, an Australian cricketer.

Anneline was Joolkoningin at Tukkies. She was Miss Northern Transvaal when she won Miss South Africa. After her Miss World reign she appeared in films (she studied drama at the University of Pretoria), including Someone Like You (1978), alongside Hans STRYDOM; Kill and Kill Again (1981), alongside James RYAN, Bill FLYNN and Ken GAMPU; and Reason to Die, alongside Arnold VOSLOO. She also had a role in the TV series, Ballade van 'n Enkeling. In 1986 she acted in the play, The Marriage Go Round.

In 1976, a scandal erupted when her naked pictures appeared in the Sunday Times. Ray HILLIGEN, a bodybuilder, had taken them while Anneline was sunbathing next to his pool.

Anneline also tried her hand at singing, releasing a record, He took off my romeos, in 1981. At the age of 39, she posed for Playboy magazine, draped in the new South African flag.
When she won Miss World she was dating fellow student Jacques MALAN but the relationship did not stand the strain. A relationship with Richard LORING, the singer, followed. He recorded a song for her, called Sweet Anneline. Another short relationship followed with the wealthy Italian baron and industrialist, Rudolf PARISI. In 1979 she dated Henk PISTORIUS of Johannesburg for awhile. Anneline married three times – first to Sol KERZNER, hotel magnate, in 1980 in the Randburg magistrate's office (they divorced in 1985). On 10 October 1989 she married Philip TUCKER, a show jumper, but they divorced in 1993. They had two children, Tayla and Whitney. On 29 March 1996, she married current husband, Peter BACON (Sun International executive). They live in Cape Town where she is involved with charities such as Child Welfare and the Cancer and Heart Foundations. Her business interests include marketing her clothing range her beauty products and perfumes.

Margaret Gardiner

Margaret, born in Woodstock, was 15 when she was discoverd as a model by the then Rapport photographer Bernard JORDAAN. In 1978 she was crowned as Miss RSA. Later that year she won the Miss Universe pageant in Acapulco, Mexico, becoming the first African winner, and the only South African winner to date. Her mother, Dawn, lives in Table View. Her father passed away in 2000. Her sister, Sandy BRONKHORST, lives in Klerksdorp. Sandy was a finalist in the 1976 Miss South Africa pageant.
Margaret married André NEL, son of Kay, in Cape Town on 14 February 1987 at St. George's Cathedral. He is a medical researcher at the University of California in Los Angeles, where the couple have lived since 1989.
Margaret has faced some serious health issues. She had TB as a child. In 1993 she was close to death after suffering an ectopic pregnancy. In January 1995 she gave birth to Brandon. He was christened at St. George's Cathedral in 1996. Margaret had breast cancer in 1998.
She has a degree in psychology from Charleston College in South Carolina. In the early 1990s she took small roles in a TV series, a film and in theatre plays. In 1994 she published a book for aspiring beauty queens, Die wenpad vir modelle en skoonheidskoninginne, published by Human & Rousseau.
She is now a freelance journalist and TV reporter, and a member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Margaret often reports for the SABC show, Top Billing. Her articles regularly appear in the You, Huisgenoot and TVPlus magazines.

Norma Vorster

Later changed her surname to FOSTER and went on to make TV documentaries.

Mitzi Stander
Mitsianna (Mitzi) died in a car accident while driving her sports car in Victory Park, Johannesburg, on 18 June 1973. She was married to David Johannes FOURIE at the time (her death notice: MHG 6664/73).

Denise Muir
She died at her home in Sandton in 1992.

Monica Fairall
Monica became a radio presenter in Durban.

Yvonne Hulley
Her father served in the South African Air Force. Her parents retired to Hermanus where they had a restaurant.

Nickey Carras
She married Bobby VERWEY, the pro golfer.

Ellen Peters

She was Miss Africa South 1973 and placed in the final 15. In 1976, she entered Miss RSA and came second. Afterwards she went to live in Greece and met Israeli-born Naaman SKOLNIK, a businessman. She converted to Judaism and was married in Israel. They live in Hertzelia Pituach, where Ellen is an Orthodox Jew. (see picture)

Kazeka Ntantala
It's not everyone that hits the headlines thirty years after their moment of glory, but in the case of former Miss South Africa, Kazeka Somhlahlo (nee Ntantala) this is exactly what happened. BARBARA HOLLANDS recently caught up with her. Kazeka, of Idutywa then but now living in Amalinda, won the Miss South Africa 1970 pageant in Umtata, which was under the auspices of the South African Non-White Cultural Syndicate. Tandiswa BAM of Umtata was second. Kazeka's prize included cosmetics from Elida Gibbs, a bedroom suite, a radio display cabinet and clothing vouchers. The main prize of a trip to the USA was cancelled because the organisers ran out of money. She was a teacher in Idutywa. She endorsed Karoo Cream in magazines. In 1972 she was in a car crash near Willowvale, which left her with facial scars. Kazeka ended up marrying the social worker who was driving that night and they had two children. After marriage she taught in Alice and later worked for an insurance company before joining Zingisa Educational Project where she is still a regional co-ordinator.

Liz Bunting
In 1977, Liz was the first non-white contestant to place in the Miss South Africa pageant.

Ellen Liebenberg
Ellen was until recently the wife of Jannie Engelbrecht , former Springbok rugby player and owner of Rust en Vrede. She was Miss Matieland 1962. In 1963 she got engaged to Jannie in Sea Point and they went on to have three children – Jean, Angeline and Judy (married to GRAAFF). They met during her student days at the University of Stellenbosch. Ellen left her studies in 1963 shortly before her wedding, to represent South Africa at the Miss Universe pageant in Miami. Ellen was Miss South West Africa, which made her an automatic finalist in the Miss South Africa contest. The Engelbrecht family was broken up recently when Jannie divorced Ellen, and a court case followed whch involved the farm Rust en Vrede.

Vera Johns
Vera married the All Black rugby player, Alan SUTHERLAND. They have a horse stud farm, Somerset, near Mooi River. She has a rose named after her.

Wilma van der Bijl
She was a qualified pharmacist when she won the crown. She married the Greek businessman, Ari TAPANLIS, owner of a toy company. In 1995 Wilma's first child passed away two days after being born.

Yolanda Klopperss
She married Walter WARD, a doctor, and had a stormy marriage.

Karin Sickel
Karin married show jumper Errol WUCHERPFENNIG.

Odette Scrooby
She married Willie JOUBERT and they owned a nature reserve near Warmbaths for a while. Her sister, Olivia, was runner-up in Miss South Africa 1990.

Leanne Hosking
Leanne married an Australian cricketer, Mike HAYSMAN.

Letitia Snyman
She converted to Judaism in 1991 before marrying businessman Geoffrey RUBENSTEIN.

Andrea Steltzer
She owns a modelling agency in Edenvale. She is the only Miss South Africa to represent another country in the Miss World contest. In 1989, she won the Miss Germany contest as she was of German origin and still had a German passport. In 2002 she was engaged to the Springbok rugby player, James DALTON. Tat same year, a rose was named after her at the Bloemfontein Rose Show.

Sandy McCormack
She married businessman Richard BARKHUIZEN and lived in Knysna.

Janine Botbyl
She has a son and lives in Johannesburg.

Diana Tilden-Davis
Her grandmother was Thelma Fairlie, who was also a beauty queen. Older sister Janine BOTBYL won Miss South Africa 1988, and her sister Leanne was a finalist in 1982. Diana had a role in the horror film Howling IV and the action adventure Captive Rage. While doing a documentary in the Okavango, Diana met Chris Kruger. They were married at the Momba camp. They live in Maun in their safari business.

Michelle Bruce
She has a son and lives in Cape Town. Some of her business ventures included edible underwear and marketing condoms.

Suzette Van der Merwe
She was married to Greg VOGT, but later divorced.

Amy Kleyhans
Amy was the first Coloured woman to wear the Miss South Africa crown. Amy married a New Zealander, businessman Leighton CURD. The couple have a son, Thomas. She is involved in educational ventures.

Jacqui Mofokeng
Jacqui was the first black woman to win Miss South Africa. She was nominated by the ANC in the elections but she declined. In 1994 Jacqui appeared in the film, A White Man in Africa, in the role of Hazel, an illiterate rural woman who has a relationship with an Australian diplomat. Today she is involved with human resources and production companies, and serves on the boards of several companies.

Basetsane Makgalemele
Basetsane was a popular beauty queen. She was born and bred in Soweto. After her reign she became a TV presenter. She went on to become a shareholder in Tswelopele, the company that produces Top Billing. She has two older sisters, Lerato and Johanna, and a younger brother, Abbey. Her parents are Philip and Beatrice. She is married to Radio Metro station manager Romeo Khumalo and has a son, Nkosinathi.

Peggy Sue Khumalo
Peggy Sue (21) was Miss South Africa 1996. Five days afer her crowning, it was discovered that she was Peggy Priscilla Erasmus (24) and had changed her name first to Peggy Priscilla Khumalo and subsequently to Nonhlanhla Peggy-Sue Khumalo, as was publised in the Government Gazette on 04 April 1996. She was born in Newcastle on 07 December 1972 to Jumaima Khumalo and James Erasmus, a coloured or white farmworker. She was raised by her white grandmother, Afrikaans-speaking Cornelia Susanna Dunn. She attended Chelmsford, a coloured school in Newcastle, and matriculated from Haythorne High School in Pietermaritzburg. Peggy caused a public outcry when she said that she would slaughter a goat and several cows if she won Miss Universe or Miss World. After establishing her own PR company she went to study further in the UK, where she is a fund manager for Investec.

Kerishnie Naicker
Kerishnie had an honours degree and planned to open her own pharmacy. She was the first Indian woman to wear the crown. She grew up in Reservoir Hills, Durban, with her parents Amra and Joey, and two siblings. After obtaining a first class Matric, Kerishnie enrolled for a Bachelors Degree in Pharmacy, and later a Masters in Pharmacy. During her final year, her father passed away from a heart attack. He was a self-employed businessman and Kerishnie got involved in the family's business interests. In 1997, whilst practicing as a pharmacist, Kerishnie entered the Miss South Africa pageant and won. She participated in both Miss Universe and Miss World. Kerishnie is involved in many business ventures, health research, is a television presenter, producer, master of ceremonies and public speaker. She helped secure funding for the building of 12 community health clinics, and played a key role in getting the Chatsworth Youth Centre up. She is also director of her own company, KJN and Associates, a consultancy facilitating corporate social investment projects.
Jo-Ann Strauss
Now a TV presenter, businesswoman and speaker, Jo-Ann was 19 when she won Miss South Africa in 2000. She started presenting the magazine programme Pasella in the same year, and joined Top Billing in June 2005. She speaks English, Afrikaans and Xhosa. Jo-Ann was head-girl at Hottentots Holland High School in 1998. She graduated from Stellenbosch University with a B.Comm (Law) degree. In July 2002, Jo-Ann participated in the Celebrity Big Brother reality TV show to raise R2 000 000 for five children's charities. She finished in second place. She has her own communications company.

Heather Hamilton
Heather has a Bachelors in Commerce from the University of Kwazulu-Natal. She became a fund manager and joined a prominent asset management firm working as an investment consultant. In 1994 she won the South Africa Junior Equitation championships. Her brother was instrumental in exposing canned lion hunting.

Sonia Raciti
One of Sonia Raciti's dreams is to release her own CD. She was a member of the National Youth Choir for three years, having started singing at 13. Sonia, from Estcourt, studied for a higher diploma in education at Edgewood College of Education.

Joan Ramagoshi
Miss South Africa 2003 was rcently marred to Jeff. Khanyisile Mbau. She was a part-time model from Pretoria. Joan speaks five languages: English, Afrikaans, Northern Sotho, Tswana, and Zulu. After completing a PR diploma, she started her own PR agency.

Claudia Henkel
Claudia was a second-year top law student at the University of Pretoria when she entered the Miss South Africa pageant. She has two sisters, Anica and Nicola. Her father Irmin is an ear, nose and throat surgeon, and mom Linda looked after the family home in Pretoria East. Claudia attended Pretoria Girls High and was a finalist in a model search competition in Matric. She spent two months in Italy and finished Matric through correspondence while modelling. Claudia could not represent the country at Miss World in Sanya, China, as it was held on the same night as the Miss South Africa finals in Sun City. Her runner-up, Dhiveja Sundrun, was sent in her place.

Dhiveja Sundrum
She represented South Africa at the Miss World pageant in 2005. Dhiveja was a fifth-year University of Cape Town medical student. She lives in Gardens, Cape Town. The Miss World competition was the third pageant she'd entered. Her first one was Rapport's Miss Cape Peninsula in 2004, which gave her automatic entry into the Miss South Africa pageant. She's appeared in TV ads and fashion catalogues, and was a TV presenter. Her father Dayalan is an orthodontist and mom Veena is a former teacher.
South Africans in the Miss World pageant
Miss South Africa has done well in the Miss World pageant, with Penny (1958) and Anneline (1974) taking the top prize.

Politics got involved and from 1978 to 1991, Miss South Africa was barred from Miss World. In 1970 a non-white South African was chosen to compete in Miss World and was given the title of Miss Africa South. This continued until South Africa was expelled from Miss World after the 1977 pageant.

In 1975, Vera JOHNS was not allowed to take part in the Miss World as she did not meet the pageant's residency requirements. She had been Miss Rhodesia in 1972 and had not lived in South Africa for 5 years. Her first runner-up, Crystal Cooper, refused to enter Miss World unless she was awarded the Miss South Africa title and prizes.

The second runner-up, Rhoda Rademeyer, competed at Miss World 1975 and was finished in the top 15. In 1976, the presence of a black Miss Africa South and a white Miss South Africa, caused 9 countries to withdraw their contestants in protest against South Africa's apartheid system. In 1977 ten countries withdrew in protest against the presence of a white Miss South Africa. After 1977, Miss World organizers did not accept South African contestants until 1991, with the end of apartheid. Diana TILDEN-DAVIES represented South Africa at the 1991 Miss World contest, ending the ban.
From 1992 to 1995, and 2001, the pageant was held at Sun City, South Africa. In 2002, Vanessa CARREIRA boycotted the pageant which was held in Nigeria, in protest against the Amina Lawal affair. Claire Sabbagha, runner-up, was sent as a replacement when the pageant moved to London. This led to confusion as the Miss World organisers said that at 25, Claire was too old. Karen Lourens (19), Miss Junior Africa, of Roodepoort, was also sent in as a replacement but after two days she was sent home without being allowed to participate.

Contestants at the Miss World Pageant

1957: Adele KRUGER, third
1958: Penelope Anne COELEN won the title
1959: Moya MEAKER, semi-finalist
1960: Denise MUIR, third
1961: Yvonne Brenda HULLEY, semi-finalist
1962: Yvonne Maryann FICKER, fourth
1963: Louise CROUS
1964: Vedra Karamitas
1965: Carrol Adele Davis
1966: Joan (Johanna) CARTER, semi-finalist
1967: Disa DUIVESTEIN, semi-finalist
1968: Mitsianna (Mitzi) Stander
1969: Linda Meryl COLLET, sixth
1970: Pearl Gladys JANSEN (Miss Africa South), second, and Jillian Elizabeth JESSUP (Miss South Africa) fifth
1971: Monica FAIRALL, semi-finalist, and Gaily Ryan (Miss Africa South)
1972: Stephanie Elizabeth REINECKE, semi-finalist, and Cynthia Shange (Miss Africa South)
1973: Shelley LATHAM (Miss South Africa), fifth, and Ellen PETERS (Miss Africa South), semi-finalist
1974: Anneline KRIEL won the tile, and Evelyn Peggy WILLIAMS (Miss Africa South), semi-finalist
1975: Rhoda RADEMEYER, semi-finalist, and Lydia Gloria Johnstone (Miss Africa South)
1976: Veronica Rozette Kuki Matsepe (Miss Africa South) and Lynn Massyn
1977: Vanessa Wannenburg (Miss South Africa)
1991: Diana TILDEN-DAVIS, third
1992: Amy KLEINHANS, fifth
1993: Palesa Jacqueline (Jacqui) MOFOKENG, second
1994: Basetsane Julia MAKGALEMELE, second
1995: Bernalee DANIEL, semi-finalist
1996: Peggy-Sue KHUMALO, semi-finalist
1997: Jessica MOTAUNG, third
1998: Kerishnie NAICKER, fifth
1999: Sonia RACITI, third
2000: Heather Joy HAMILTON
2001: Jo-Ann Cindy STRAUSS, semi-finalist
2002: Boycotted the pageant in Nigeria, but then joined in London
2003: Cindy Nell
2004: Joan Kwena Ramagoshi
2005: Dhiveja Sundrum, semi-finalist

South Africans in the Miss Universe pageant

The Miss Universe pageant has been held annually since 1952. It was started by the Californian clothing company Pacific Mills to showcase its Catalina swimwear brand. In 1996 Donald Trump acquired ownership of the pageant. Various beauty contests had the right to send a South African representative to Miss Universe.

In 1952 the winner of the Miss South Africa (Universe) contest represented South Africa. In May 1952, Catherine HIGGINS, Miss Johannesburg, represented South Africa. Her runners-up were Jean BROWNLEE (Miss Cape Town), Stella COUTTS (Miss Durban) and Helena VAN DER LINDE (Miss East London). In 1953 the winner of Miss Golden Jubilee competed in Miss Universe.

From 1960 until 1967, the South African representative for Miss Universe was elected at the Hibiscus Queen contest in Margate. The contest existed prior to 1960 and still continues today. From 1969 to 1974 South Africa did not take part in the Miss Universe pageant. In 1975, Rapport, an Afrikaans newspaper, acquired the rights to send a representative to the Miss Universe pageant. They sponsored the Miss RSA regional pageant and the winner went to Miss Universe. Gail Anthony was selected to represent South Africa in 1975. In 1978 the Miss RSA pageant became a national pageant. Jenny KAY, Miss RSA 1980, did not compete at Miss Universe 1980 in Seoul as the Korean government did not recognise the government of South Africa and refused to grant her a visa.

In 1982 the newspaper changed the name Miss RSA to Miss South Africa. This followed after a dispute about the national title and international participation. In 1982 and 1984, the dispute led to two beauty pageants – each sponsored by a Sunday paper – Rapport, and the Sunday Times, an English paper. Rapport argued that as the only pageant to have entry to an international pageant, their winner should be known as Miss South Africa. This is why there are two Miss South Africas in 1982 and 1984. In 1985, the newspapers agreed to join forces and one Miss South Africa pageant was held.

Miss South Africa did not compete in Miss Universe from 1985 to 1994. In 1985, Andrea Steltzer was not allowed to compete in the pageant. Andrea went on to become Miss Germany 1988 and was a semi-finalist in the 1989 Miss Universe pageant. As Miss Germany 1988 she was not allowed to enter Miss World because of her South African background.

In 1995, South Africa was again allowed to participate in the Miss Universe pageant. A new title, Miss Universe South Africa, was created but was discontinued after the 1997 pageant, as the Miss South Africa organisation acquired the right to send their winner to the Miss Universe pageant. Miss South Africa now represents South Africa in both international pageants.

Contestants at the Miss Universe Pageant

1952: Catherine Edwina Higgins, semi-finalist
1953: Ingrid Rita Mills, semi-finalist
1954-1959: no entry
1960: Nicolette Joan Caras
1961: Marina Christelis
1962: Lynette Gamble
1963: Ellen Leibenberg, semi-finalist
1964: Gail Robinson
1965: Veronika Edelgarda Hilda Prigge, semi-finalist
1966: Lynn Carol De Jager
1967: Windley Ballenden
1968: Monica Fairall
1969-1974: no entry
1975: Gail Anthony
1976: Cynthia Classen
1977: Glynis Dorothea Fester
1978: Margaret Gardiner, winner
1979: Veronika Wilson, semi-finalist and 2nd runner-up for Best National Costume
1980: no entry
1981: Daniela Di Paolo
1982: Odette Octavia Scrooby
1983: Leanne Beverly Hosking
1984: Leticia Snyman, runner-up
1985: Andrea Steltzer did not compete
1986-1994: no entry
1995: Augustine Masilela, semi-finalist
1996: Carol Anne Becker
1997: Mbali Gasa
1998: Kerishnie Naicker, semi-finalist
1999: Sonia Raciti, third
2000: Heather Joy Hamilton, semi-finalist
2001: Jo-Ann Cindy Strauss
2002: Vanessa Do Ceu Carreira
2003: Cindy Nell, third
2004: Joan Ramagoshi
Miss Africa South
The Miss Africa South competition, for non-white women, was first organised in 1970, with the winner taking part in the Miss World pageant.
Winners:
1970: Pearl Jansen
1971: Gaily Ryan
1972: Cynthia Shange
1973: Ellen Peters
1974: Evelyn Williams
1975: Lydia Johnstone
Miss International Beauty Winners:
1960 Nona Sheriff
1961 Dina Robbertse
1962 Aletta Strydom
1963 Madie Claassen
1964 Lorraine Mason
1965 Dianne Webster
1966 Dawn Duff-Gray
1967 Mary Macdonald

Sources:

Naspers newspapers
Generations – A South African genealogy newsletter, Vol. 3, Iss. 19
http://www.pageantopolis.com/international/world.htm
http://www.pageantopolis.com/international/universe.htm
http://www.geocities.com/southafricanbeauties/
http://www.jimmyspageantpage.com/sa.html
http://www.golive.co.za/52/

Written by Anne Lehmkuhl

Biography of Ruda Wahl

Ruda was born on 18 November 1953 in Hartswater in the Northern Cape and was educated at Hartswater Primary School, Parow Central Primary, Keimoes High School and Upington High School, where she spent her final school years as a boarder. After matriculating she entered the Civil Defence College in George where she undertook voluntary military service for a year in one of the first women's army camps in South Africa.

In November 1977, she married JP Landman and begun her career as a TV newsreader in 1983. Her hobbies include r eading, movies, spending time with friends over good wine and good food and she, like many other South African women, belongs to a monthly book club. Ruda has one son Johannes Petrus who is 20 years old.

Ruda has few memories of her grandparents as most of them died when she was small. She remembers: "Oupa Gert" was my father and Oupa Wahl, his father, "Oupa Jonnie" as we called him, lived with us when I was little. He died when I was four. Unfortunately I don't remember much about him, but my dad talked about his family of course – I knew most of them, and so did my mum.

Oupa Wahl fought in the Anglo-Boer War as a young man and the legend was that he took so many Grandpa headache powders that his sleeping spot was surrounded by little pink papers in the morning. He also fought in the Rebellion – one of his sons (my uncle, my father's brother) was called Manie Maritz Wahl after General Manie Maritz.

Do you have any family heirlooms that belonged to your ancestors?

I have a handcarved wooden jewellery box. Written on the side is "From S van der Merwe T Miss G/T/C (very ornate) Verster Aandenking uit Tokai 1903". That would mean the jail after the Anglo Boer War. I don't know who made it, probably Schalk Willem Jacobus van der Merwe, my mother's grandfather. But who is the mystery Miss Verster? In 1903 he was a married man with children! And the jewellery box is in our family, i.e. his daughter inherited it. My brother has a hand-tied shawl and a little wooden chest from the same period.

Did any of your family members make an impact in your life and why?

I only knew my mother's father, Andries Petrus Viljoen. I lived with him and his sister (his wife died in childbirth in 1933) for a few months when I was nine, and we often visited them for holidays before and after that. He was "Oudad", devoted to his newspaper every evening, quietly comfortable with the neighbours we shared evening with. I was probably more affected by the place, the desert heat and simplicity, than by specific people.

What aspect of you family's history has fascinated or interested you the most?

The War and the Rebellion. I wish I could have talked to my grandfather about that.

Do you have a personal motto which you live by?

From Byron Katie: What is, is. Don't resist what is; don't waste energy on how other people should behave. Accept what is, and decide how you want to respond to it.

Memoirs of the Wahl Family

Stofvlei Farm, in the Magisterial District of Springbok, is where Gert Kotze Wahl was born. The old farm had a petrol pump and a post office. There were three buildings on the farm which included the house, the shop and about 300 metres west from the house was a third tin cottage. According to family legend Grandmother Gerrie's family (the Kotze's – had "money"). Initially grandmother Gerrie was the postmaster, and later it was Grandfather John. Grandpa John, who was General Maritz's attendant, promised him that he would name his next son after the General, and so the Manie Maritz name was brought into the Wahl family on 21 November 1914.

Naturally they were pro-German. Grandfather made a knives/forks bowl from wood in the Johannesburg Jail, as well as a tray. On the bowl it says: "Aan mijn lieve Vrouw van John, Johannesburg Tronk 28 Oktober 1915".

The Wahl's enjoyed playing Bridge and their ancestors were wagon makers. Grandfather John was an Elder in the N.G. Kerk in Loeriesfontein his entire life and the middle services, in-between Holy Communion, was always held on Stofvlei farm.

According to grandchild, Andries Wahl: "We knew grandfather as "Oupa Wahl" and all the other people I ever heard talking to or of him, used the diminutive – or in Afrikaans pronounced with a long "ô", or in English pronounced as "Johnny". During my stay in Keimoes I also managed an agency from the office in Pofadder, and there I dealt with 5 or 6 people who knew him. All of them added the "ie/y". A guy who rebelled against the English didn't want to be "John" if his name was "Adam Johannes".

Many of the area's children went to school at Nuwerus. The school lorry's destination, which was the transport of the area's schoolchildren to and from Nuwerus, was Stofvlei. Both Grandma and Grandpa Wahl's graves are in Stofvlei.

Grandfather Johnie had two sisters and as the family story goes there were two Wahl's that came from Germany. The one Wahl settled himself in Paarl and became Afrikaans and the other in Cape Town who became English – this part of the family included the well-known optometrist.

Grandfather Wahl's one sister married an Englishman, and grandfather never spoke to her again after that – remember it was the time of the Anglo-Boer War. I knew the other sister. She was Aunt Bettie Bodley and lived in Paarl. She had three daughters. Aunt Bettie's husband was Tom Boyley, but he died very young. The daughters were Hettie (her husband was a Van der Westhuizen, teacher at Boys High in Paarl), Magdaleen – married to a Hugo (English pronunciation), and Elise. Elise was a famous artist, especially for her sketches of wild flowers. She was married to Apie van Wyk, also an artist.

Grandfather John was a dignified, strict man with a good sense of humour who could always tell a good story – a trait that goes through all the Wahl's

Behind the scenes

Ruda Landman's birthplace in the dry and dusty town of Keimoes, in the Northern Cape, is a far cry from where her family's humble beginnings started in the lush and fertile valleys of Europe. From the Persecution of her family in France in the 1600's, her ancestry consists of a kaleidoscope of French refugees as well as Dutch and German Immigrants.

When the French Huguenots arrived at the Cape in 1688 as a closely linked group, in contrast to the Germans, they all lived together in Drakenstein, although they never constituted a completely united bloc; a number of Dutch farms were interspersed among them. Until May 1702 they had their own French minister, Pierre Simond, and until February 1723 a French reader and schoolmaster, Paul Roux. The Huguenots clung to their language for fifteen to twenty years; in 1703 only slightly more than one fifth of the adult French colonists were sufficiently conversant with Dutch to understand a sermon in Dutch properly, and many children as yet knew little or no Dutch at all. The joint opposition of the farmers toward W. A. van der Stel shortly afterwards brought the French more and more into contact with their Dutch neighbours; as a result of social intercourse and intermarriage they soon adopted the language and customs of their new country. Forty years after the arrival of the Huguenots, the French language had almost died out and Dutch was the preferred tongue.

In South Africa we are extremely lucky to have such superb and dedicated family historians, as well as exquisite records in our Archives, which begin prior to Jan Van Riebeeck landing at the Cape. Jan's diary of his voyage to South Africa is documented and stored in the Cape Town Archives.

This mammoth task of tracing Ruda's family tree in record time, was compiled to find out how far back the Wahl family and its branches can be traced as well as how many sets of grandparents can be found.  Click here to view Ruda's family tree.

The Wahl Family

Daniel Hendrik Wahl was born circa 1850 and research has proven that there is no legitimate documentation to prove his parentage. On the 17th February 1874, Daniel Hendrik applied for a special marriage license to marry Maria Catherina Reynecke.

Photographer of the Paarl: Daniel Hendrik Wahl's Insolvent Estate (In further documentation, and finding the Liquidation and Distribution account, it is noted that Daniel was known as the “Photographer of the Paarl and Wheelwright of Paarl” in 1883)

And in another image one section of the document refers to the surname as "de Wahl" and not "Wahl", which meant that one would now have to search under the many variants of including de Wahl, Waal and de Waal. Mr D.H Wahl's Insolvent Estate

Further documentation also mentions the "widow Reynecke" Elisabeth Wilhelmina Reynecke, which was his mother in law, as well as a Constant Wahl and Adam J Wahl who thus far cannot be linked to this immediate family as no parentage exists for Daniel. It is assumed that the two men mentioned are possibly brothers as they fit well with other documentation of the same period.

Unfortunately the common problem with variants of name spelling has been a classic example of the "brick wall" scenario, which has been encountered here thus the time limit on this research has been halted. The original Wahl Family whom Daniel Hendrik would have descended is (1) Johan(n) Christia(a)n Wahl, from Strelitz in Mecklenburg (Germany). Arrives here in 1752 as a soldier. Citizen in 1756. Married 10th September 1757 to Christina Gerrits, daughter of Herman Gerrits (2 children) or (2) Johan(n) Coenraad or Conrad Wahl, from Wildungen (Germany). Arrives here in 1774 as a soldier. Citizen in 1780. Died 15th October 1814. Married 12th November 1780 to Catharina Hilledonda van Dyk (7 children). Motto: Factis non verbis.

Most family pedigrees of this extent can take many years to complete and we at Ancestry24 have managed to go back 10 generations in two weeks.

A lineage and direct relation to South African actress Charlize Theron has also been illustrated and Ruda finds herself as the ½ 5th cousin to this Hollywood star.  Click here how Ruda and Charlize are related.

Jaques De Savoye

Jaques De Savoye (Ruda's 7 times great grandfather on her maternal side) was born in Ath, Belgium around 1636 and died in the Cape in October, 1717. He was a merchant and Cape free burgher and was the son of Jacques de Savoye and his wife, Jeanne van der Zee (Delamere, Desuslamer).

Jacques was a wealthy merchant in Ghent, Belgium, but his devotion to the Protestant religion led to his persecution by the Jesuits, and there was even an attempt to murder him. In 1687 he moved to the Netherlands and left for the Cape in the Oosterland on 29th January 1688. In addition to his wife, mother-in-law and three of his children, he was accompanied by the brothers Jean, Jacob and Daniel Nortier.

De Savoye soon became a leader among the French community at the Cape: he was one of the deputation which, on 28th November 1689, asked the Governor and Council of Policy for a separate congregation for the French refugees, and the following year he helped to administer the funds donated to the French refugees by the charity board of the church of Batavia. At various times he also served on the college of landdros and heemraden.

To begin with, Jacques farmed at Vrede-en-Lust at Simondium and in 1699 was also given Leeuwenvallei in the Wagenmakersvallei ( Wellington ), but settled at the Cape soon afterwards. He apparently experienced financial difficulties since in 1701 he owed the Cape church council 816 guilders and various people sued him for outstanding debts. In 1712 he described himself as being without means.

In March 1712 he left for the Netherlands in the Samson, accompanied by his wife and mother-in-law. He enrolled as a member of the Walloon congregation in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on 16th December 1714, but only four months later, on 20th April 1715, it was reported that he had returned to the Cape. There is, however no documentary proof of his presence neither at the Cape neither after 1715, nor in C.G. Botha's assertion that he died in October 1717.

De Savoye often clashed with other people. During the struggle of the free burghers against Wilhem Adriaen van der Stel, he was strongly opposed to the Governor and was imprisoned in the Castle for a time. He was also involved in a long-drawn-out dispute with the Rev. Pierre Simond, and he and Hercules des Pré went to court on several occasions to settle their differences.

He was married twice: first to Christiana du Pont and then to Marie Madeleine le Clercq of Tournai, Belgium, daughter of Philippe le Clercq and his wife, Antoinette Carnoy. Five children were born of the first marriage and three of the second. Three married daughters and a son remained behind at the Cape, as well as a son who was a junior merchant in the service of the V.O.C. and who died without leaving an heir.

Acknowledgements & Sources:

Ruda Landman
Gert Wahl
Keith Meintjies
National Archives Respository Cape Town
Dr Chris Theron
Janet Melville
Genealogical Institute in Stellenbosch
SAG Genealogies Volumes 1 – 13 www.gisa.org.za

Images Acknowledgement:

Images.co.za / Die Burger / Werner Hills; National Archives Respository Cape Town
Who's Who of Southern Africa (Ruda Landman)

The life of the early burghers of the Cape was rough and crude in the first few decades of the settlement. In the beginning they had to concentrate on producing their own food and sufficient foodstuffs for supplying the Dutch East India Company’s ships. The early houses generally consisted of only one or two rooms, sparsely furnished with the barest necessities, and a kitchen.

Home Making

By the 1770′s larger houses with more pretensions to comfort and appearance were being built in the Western Cape. In Cape Town itself flat-roofed, double-storied houses were not uncommon. At the same time, a greater variety of furniture began to appear. Sonic furniture was still being imported, from Europe or the Orient; but to an increasing extent it was locally made, either from South African woods or from wood imported from the Far East, Mauritius or Madagascar. The work was carried out mainly by White craftsmen, by slaves, or by Malay craftsmen from the Orient. From the 1740′s onwards the burghers were more and more able to purchase porcelain, pottery, stoneware and brassware from the East and from Europe. Silver and glass, too, became more general in the later 18th century.

In the pioneer days, most of the early houses were single-storey, rectangular structures. In Cape Town, in the course of time, they were generally built on the flat-roofed U plan; elsewhere they had high-pitched thatch roofs on the T, H or other pattern. But flat-roofed houses were also found in many other parts of the country in the 19th century, including the Little and the Great Karoo and the Eastern Province. The walls would be painted or colour-washed with red or yellow clay, or whitewashed with shell-lime. From the 1830′s, wallpaper began to be used on the interior walls. Floors were covered with slate or tiles, or smeared weekly with diluted cow-dung (`misvloer’), sometimes with ox-blood thinly spread over the surface. Alternatively, peach-pips were embedded in a clay floor to form a hardwearing surface. Windows might have external half-shutters or full-length shutters, while internal wooden blinds came into general use in Victorian times. In Cape Town in the late 18th and early 19th century fanlights were elaborately carved and an oil lantern was inserted in its centre to throw light on the stoep and steps as well as into the entrance hall.

Necessities of Life

Until about the 1870s, before communications had improved, farmers had perforce to be largely self-supporting and provided most of their own food (especially meat) and clothing. They made their own soap, candles, bread, butter, jam, ham and biltong; they cured and tanned hides and skins for harness and `riems’ (thongs). Where the climate permitted, they produced dried fruits, dried peas and beans, raisins and nuts. Their shoes were homemade `velskoene’, and they often wore trousers and jackets made by their wives from soft-tanned animal skins. Farmers made a journey once or twice a year to the nearest town or village to lay in supplies of whatever they could not produce themselves (coffee, tea, sugar, salt, needles, cotton, and bales of material for making clothes).
Beverages: Tea and coffee were introduced in the late 17th century and, although at first scarce and expensive, soon came into general use. Because coffee was often difficult to obtain, all sorts of substitutes, made from various roots, from acorns or even dried figs, were resorted to in remote districts; and the Voortrekkers were perforce tea-drinkers. Spirituous beverages were of course always popular; but many wine-farmers, from the last quarter of the 19th century, refused to drink wine as they believed in abstinence. Other beverages were cordials based on syrups boiled from fruit, e.g. lemon syrup, and homemade ginger beer based on root ginger, maize meal, raisins or other substances.

Social Customs

Family occasions such as births, christenings, weddings, confirmations and funerals all called for gatherings of friends and relatives from far and near. At a birth or at the christening the father would designate a calf or sheep as a gift to the baby, to be the nucleus for a herd or flock. By the time the child was 18, this might have reached an appreciable size, so that a young man would be able to set up on his own as a farmer, or a girl have a dowry on her marriage. Weddings were celebrated with much festivity and with large and elaborate meals; while music of some kind, probably on guitars and similar instruments, was provided, usually by the servants.

Funerals

Another class of paid mourners (‘tropsluiters’) walked at the end of the funeral procession. The bearers were provided with black gloves and long crape bands, a yard or more in length, which hung from their hats. In the early days of the Cape settlement funerals were held at sundown or after dark by torchlight, while interments of the highest officials or leading burghers took place in a church.

Birthdays

Birthdays were celebrated on a generous scale, many relatives visiting the person whose birthday it was. Large meals would be provided at mid day, while all day cakes, cookies, tarts and tartlets, preserves and other delicacies, as well as tea and coffee, would be served to relatives and friends.

New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day

New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day were generally given over to festivities of all kinds, while in country places picnics might be arranged in some shady spot, with games, dances and sing-songs, followed by lavish meals and much conviviality with friends and relatives who were otherwise seldom seen. The telling of tall yarns about hunting or adventures in the veld were a feature of such occasions.
Christmas was not celebrated before the 1850′s. Generally communion services (‘Nagmaal’) took place at that time, as Christmas was solely regarded as a sacred occasion.

Social Intercourse

The social intercourse of earlier generations largely consisted of exchanging regular visits with friends and relatives, varying from a few hours to several weeks. The usual social visit included offering refreshments to guests or smoking together, when pipes, tobacco and glowing coals would be offered, and possibly snuff, too. Chatting and exchanging greetings from and news about other relatives or acquaintances, as well as any general news, constituted an important element in an age when there were no newspapers or other means of communication. Hotels or wayside inns were generally unknown until about the 1830′s.

Hospitality to unexpected guests, as well as to total strangers, was a social obligation, part and parcel of colonial life. Meals, forage for horses and other animals, as well as sleeping accommodation, were provided as a matter of course: no payment of any kind was ever accepted or expected. Only after the discovery of diamonds and gold, when heterogeneous immigrants streamed across the veld and the kindly hospitality of people in the interior was on occasion abused, did the farmers begin to feel that they could no longer dispense universal hospitality.

Etiquette and manners

The mode of address for uncles and aunts (`oom’ and `tante’) was extended to all older persons. Older cousins would be addressed as `neef’ or `niggie’ (for a male or a female cousin respectively), and this was carried over in speaking to contemporaries. Courtesy and respect, too, were shown to all women and even girls. Rather formal manners and formal relations were the general rule. Elderly persons behaved with dignity, and their attitude toward the young engendered respect, which they expected to be returned. The moral code was strict and transgressions were severely frowned upon. Parents exercised a rigid discipline and protected their daughters assiduously, no girl ever being left alone with a man. In spite of that, the custom of courting at night (‘opsit’) was tolerated, a candle being provided by the parents of the girl; when it had burnt down, it was time for the man to go home.

The Traditional Kitchen

Until the introduction of iron stoves in the second half of the 19th century, the kitchen fireplace consisted of an open hearth. Over the fire-place there was a thick beam, while high up inside the chimney a thick iron bar was built in, from which chains hung for suspending pots, kettles and other cooking utensils over the fire. Pans were placed on trivets or on four-legged gridirons. The baking oven, if not a separate structure outside, was built on to the chimney on the outside and had a vaulted roof, being almost the size of a small room and up to a metre high or more. A large quantity of bread, 24 to 36 loaves, would be baked at one time, perhaps every other day or twice a week, since all farm labourers were fed from the farmer’s kitchen.

Utensils

In the kitchen there was generally a meal-bin of about 30 cu ft with separate compartments to hold different kinds of meal. Bread was kneaded in the dough-box. Both the meal-bin and the dough-box were usually of yellowwood, regularly scrub-bed after use until it was almost white. Unless the homestead had a separate dairy, a side table in the kitchen was used for skimming milk as well as for rolling out pastry or mixing cake-dough. A wooden churn, a sausage-making machine and a mincer (in the later 19th century) would be found in the kitchen, on shelves or in cupboards. Pride of the housewife’s heart would be copper tart-pans and cake-moulds, flat-irons, copper kettles and jugs, brass waffle-pans and the copper `komfoor’ with its brazier of glowing charcoal for keeping coffee hot through-out the day and from which the farmer and his sons could tap hot coffee whenever they came in from out-of-doors. A brass pestle and mortar would be used for pounding ginger and spices, while a partly hollowed-out wooden block would be used with a wooden pestle for pounding maize or wheat.

Jars, vats and tubs. In the burgher’s home a number of stoneware or earthenware jars or pots were generally to be found: for example, stoneware jars (or jugs) for vinegar or `moskonfyt’, jars for fat or lard, as well as earthenware jars for storing jams, often made from grapes, apricots, peaches or figs; preserves made from water-melons or green figs; or jellies made from apples or quinces. In the pantry or the kitchen a cask, with copper, brass or iron hoops and hinges, preserved meat in brine. There were also low tubs of various shapes (oblong, round or rectangular) and heights, used for salting or pickling meat and for washing the best tea-service, which would then be stacked in the tub and kept on a side table in the dining-room, covered by a white cloth. A fairly tall tub was for storing and preserving salted butter used for cooking. Wooden buckets with iron hoops were used for carrying water to keep the water-barrel filled. Water was not laid on into houses on farms or in small villages until near the end of the 19th century. A shallow tub of water was used in the dining room or kitchen by all members of the family who had been working out of doors during the day, for washing their feet before partaking of the evening meal. Coffee beans were roasted in a flat pan, then ground in a coffee mill; or in earlier days the beans were pounded in a mortar, specially used for this purpose.

Home Nursing

As there were very few medical practitioners or hospitals and practically no trained nurses before the second half of the 19th century (and then only in a few of the larger centres), the mother of the family living on a remote farm had perforce to undertake nursing at home.

She relied chiefly on home remedies, and most families purchased as an essential item a medicine chest containing homoeopathic remedies from Halle or other places in Germany. This home pharmacy (`huisapotheek’) contained a number of remedies for mostordinary ailments. The medicine-chest was supplemented by traditional home remedies (`boererate’) and medicinal herbs. Each village or neighbourhood had a midwife of sorts, completely untrained but not inexperienced.

Education

Such education as was provided was closely related to the church and was mainly concerned with learning to read, as a preparation for confirmation in church. Itinerant teachers were employed on farms for periods of six months to a year in order to teach the three R’s before moving on to another farm. Practically the only reading matter in the possession of farmers living during the 18th and 19th century in the interior was an, often illustrated, family Bible, a psalter and hymnal, possibly a volume of sermons and a Biblical commentary, or a few religious or devotional books.

Schools for young ladies in the early and mid-19th century taught little more than elegant accomplishments, rules of deportment and acceptable social behaviour. Boys’ schools of the same period aimed at turning out young Christian gentlemen who had acquired the elements of respectable behaviour, as well as some knowledge of the classics, a little arithmetic and a good handwriting. Both boys and girls were as a matter of course instructed in Biblical knowledge and religion.

Amusements and Recreation

Before the 19 th century there was little public recreation. The colonists had to depend on their own resources for amusements, which were mainly carried on in the home. But outside the home hunting wild animals, target shooting, horse riding or going for a drive in a carriage or other horse-drawn vehicle always remained popular.

During the 19th century horseracing gained in favour until even small villages had a rough, dusty racetrack of sorts. Dancing in the home was carried on from the earliest times to music provided by stringed instruments, often guitars, played by a couple of slaves or other farm or domestic workers. Public balls were generally confined to entertainments in Cape Town, provided by the Governor or by garrison regiments.

These later became also a feature of the main garrison towns such as Grahamstown, King William’s Town, Pietermaritzburg or Fort Beaufort, where regimental bands furnished the music. On farms an outbuilding was cleared and neighbours gathered from far and near. Some young women in later days came on horseback from long distances with their dresses packed in a leather or tin hatbox tied to the back of the saddle.

Outdoor games might include tip-cat (‘kennetjie’), competitions involving the throwing of horse-shoes, high cockalorum (‘bok-bok-staan-styf’) or playing with yoke-pins (‘jukskei’). Near the coast or rivers fishing was popular, or occasionally even rowing; while from the 1880′s cycling became a favourite pastime. The singing of English or Dutch folk songs was a feature of gatherings in the home, at picnics or wherever young people congregated, while even choral singing was on occasion indulged in.
From early times a favourite pastime in all parts of the country was attending auction sales of all kinds, whether in towns or villages or on farms. If on a farm, people would travel long distances to the sale, and ample meals had perforce to be provided by the farm-owner for those attending.

Mercenary troops in the Dutch East India Company’s service began from the 1780′s to produce dramatic performances or concerts. After the `African Theatre’ in Cape Town was opened in 1801, plays were staged more frequently, mainly by military or amateur groups, while concerts were, after the opening of the Commercial Exchange in 1822, frequently given there.

By the early 19th century there were various categories of drinking places, from taverns selling the cheapest types of drink for sailors and others, to more respectable inns or hotels which developed from this time. Soon after, clubs, which catered for the more dignified and affluent citizens, were established in Cape Town.

Mills

Mills to grind wheat or maize were found on many farms, particularly water-mills and horse-driven mills, which also served their neighbours. An 18th-century example of a windmill is the surviving Mostert’s Mill in Mowbray, Cape Town.

Lighting and Heating

Homemade tallow or water candles were among the earliest forms of lighting at the Cape. Each home owned a candle-mould for making 6 or 12 candles at a time from suet or lard. Candlesticks of brass or other metal were used to hold the candles. A scissors-like type of wick-trimmer was used, while snuffers for extinguishing candles were in general use. Both articles might be of pewter or brass, or later even of silver.

From the end of the 18th century whale oil was used for lighting and thenceforward oil lamps were introduced into more and more homes. In 1809 sonic oil lamps were erected for illuminating the Heerengracht and the Keizersgracht, Cape Town’s main streets. In the early 19th century the burghers in Cape Town were enjoined to put oil lamps on the corners of houses, which faced two streets. People going out visiting or to attend a gathering at night carried a lantern containing a candle. Gas became available in Cape Town from 1847 onwards, while by 1852 some 252 street lamps were installed, but for many years there were none in the suburbs. Paraffin lamps calve into use during the early Victorian age. Electricity made its appearance only toward the end of the 19th century.

Cookery

The ways of cooking and recipes have traditionally been handed down from mother to daughter until the early 1890′s. Thereafter cookery books began to be published. Strips of dried meat (‘biltong’) were equally enjoyed by the early colonists and by the Hottentots, and carried very well on long journeys in a warm climate. Sour milk (‘maas’) or calabash milk was much used among the Bantu. The Cape’s fat-tailed sheep played a large part in early cookery, supplying fat for spreading on bread and for baking cakes or cookies, as well as for candle-making.

East and West made their respective contributions to everyday life as far as cooking was concerned. This was much influenced by the Javanese or Malay cooks (whether slaves or exiles) in most Cape households. Various traditional dishes with distinctive flavours were evolved. Although the Bantu along the east coast had since the early 17th century lived on maize, which they crushed with a large wooden pestle in a hollowed-out tree-trunk, the White settlers favoured wheat. Although Kaffir-corn (grain sorghum) and maize are the staple food of the Bantu, and maize is also much used among the Whites, yet in the main all racial groups in South Africa have been mainly meat eaters. The tribal Bantu still regard vegetables as women’s food. The flesh of practically every kind of animal, bird or fish, large and small, has been used as a food.

Information about this picture: The most elegant hotel in South Africa in the 1880′s was the International at Cape Town, which led the way by introducing that very fashionable pastime, lawn-tennis. Players of today may marvel how it was possible for anybody to play in those frilled and bustled dresses, those flowered hats and gloves. The game was not very fast, but, judging by the generally relaxed air, our ancestors enjoyed it!

Source: SESA (Standard Encyclopedia of Southern Africa)

Are SA Venter’s and US/German Venters related to each other ?

Jan Adriaan Venter born 20 June 1881 and Christina Adriana du Plessis. Image taken circa 1906. Grandparents of Piet Venter

About a year ago my friend in the USA, Robert Venter, and I, asked ourselves the question formulated above. We had already been able to trace our earliest known ancestors back to two persons who were born in two different localities in Germany in the 17th and early 18th centuries, respectively. Robert’s earliest known ancestor was Johann Adam Venter, born in Roth, near Meisenheim in the Palatinate, in 1715, and my own earliest known ancestor was Hendrik Conrad Venter, who was born Heinrich Conrad von Dempter, in Hamelin, during 1663.

There are believed to be 60000 Venters in South Africa, so we are a large family. There are 189 Venters in the German Phone Book, and there are also a number of Venters in the USA – our guess is that all of them might be descendants of German emigrants to the US. In fact, Robert’s grandfather was an immigrant from Germany.

There was no way in which Robert and I could connect any of our ancestors in Germany by paper-genealogy, to find out whether we are related, and so we went the route of comparing our Y-DNA results. Robert’s Y-haplogroup, and that of another American Venter (and a Fenter), is R1b1 – a haplogroup is a group of persons classified according to specific DNA characteristics. I was the first SA Venter to have had my own Y-DNA tested for a project run by Robert, and the results showed that my Y-haplogroup is R1a. This also showed up in the tests done on four other SA Venters, who like me, can trace their lineages back to Hendrik Conrad Venter.

The fact that the five SA Venters shown on the chart belong to the same haplogroup (R1a), is hardly surprising, because this was the expected result, unless there was some non-paternal event in someone’s male ancestry that would have broken the ‘lineal’ chain or standard ‘pattern’ of Y-chromosome markers. Such markers are passed on unaltered, except for some random mutations, through many generations, from father to son, in any family lineage. Bearing all of this in mind, we are now almost in a position where we can state positively that SA Venter males are R1a’s, and that our ancestor, Hendrik Conrad Venter, must also have been an R1a.

Photo of Johann Venter born 12 November 1871 in Roth, Germany and Elizabeth Weinig (USA) grandparents of Robert Venter.

Are R1a and R1b1 Venters related? The answer is no! At any rate, a family relationship cannot be proved within conventional genealogical time frames – on the contrary, we would have to go back a few millennia to find a common ancestor. And he would apparently have been a person living somewhere in the Caucasus, whose haplogroup would have been R, or R1.

This article is an abridged version of an article called, “How many ‘Venter-lines’ world-wide?”, which obviously has a much broader scope. We are hoping to find out how many different lines of ‘genetic cousins’ we have – people with the Venter surname, or similar surnames.

Click here to see the Venter Tree. The People highlighted in red are those who have had their DNA tested

Persons who can help us in this research can contact the authors  here. 
Article written by Piet Venter (South Africa) and assisted by Robert Venter (U.S.A) .

This research enterprise is to take DNA samples from about 500-1000 South Africans in order to trace their geographical ancestry. It will provide the first national database available in the public domain. The gene pool found in the present-day South African population draws from the indigenous people of Southern Africa, namely the former hunters or San groups, the pastoral Khoikhoi who are thought to have migrated to the Cape in the last 2,000 years introducing sheep and cattle to the region, and people originating from the Niger-Congo area speaking Nguni-languages who migrated south in the last 1,200 years. In addition, sea-borne immigrants from Western Europe (largely from the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Germany and France ), indentured labourers from India and slaves from the Malaysian Archipelago, Madagascar and other parts of Africa, have also contributed to the gene pool. Varying degrees of gene admixture between the different parental gene pools have resulted in the rich diversity of South Africans and this is evident also from the cultural and linguistic diversity of the ‘Rainbow Nation.’ We wish to provide a DNA map of the genetic heritage adding thereby an additional layer of information to our self-understanding of where we come from and who we are.

Method

Two genetic histories are recovered using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y chromosome DNA testing as follows:

Maternal ancestry testing (mtDNA analysis): Females and males

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is passed on from mothers to both her sons and daughters. However, only her daughters will transmit their mtDNA in successive generations. Both males and females can be tested for mtDNA to trace their maternal ancestry. We sequence a region of about 1000 base-pairs (bp) of the mtDNA control region (also called the hypervariable region of which there are two, HVRI and HVRII). The sequence is then compared to a published reference sequence (also referred to as the Cambridge Reference Sequence, CRS) to identify the positions at which your sequence differs from the CRS. This information is used together with an internationally adopted nomenclature to identify the name of your mtDNA lineage. These lineages are also called haplogroups. Haplogroups are continent specific and subdivisions of these haplogroups have a regional geographic distribution.

Database Matches

After we obtain your mtDNA sequence and deduce the haplogroup, we then compare the sequence to a database of mtDNA sequences in individuals we have examined for our research as well as other published data collected on individuals sampled throughout the world by other researchers. This comparison allows us to find matches or close matches to one’s sequence, to give you information about the distribution of your mtDNA haplogroup, and the most likely region where your mtDNA profile originated.

Y chromosome analysis (only males)

Fathers pass on their Y chromosome to their sons only, who then pass on their Y chromosome to their sons, and so on. We make use of two types of markers on the non-recombining portion of the Y chromosome to resolve the Y chromosome lineages in males. The first type of marker, so-called bi-allelic variants (two states or alleles can be found at one site on the chromosome) is used to classify Y-chromosomes into lineages or haplogroups. These haplogroups, or major branches of the Y chromosome tree, show specific ethnic and/or geographic distribution patterns. The second type of marker, micro satellites or short tandem repeats (STRs) consist of repetitive DNA elements that are tandemly repeated and are highly variable in humans. STRs are used to define haplotypes (like a DNA fingerprint, but on the Y chromosome) within the haplogroups.

Database Matches

After we deduce your Y chromosome haplogroup, we use the STR data to derive your haplotype. We then compare your haplotype to our database and with information from a global database ( www.ystr.charite.de ). This comparison allows us to find matches or close matches to your Y chromosome lineage, to give you information about the distribution of your Y chromosome haplogroup, and the most likely region where your Y haplotype originated.

Limitations of genetic ancestry testing

The limitation of using mtDNA and Y chromosome DNA for genealogical testing is that this DNA will trace only two genetic lines on a family tree in which branches double with each preceding generation. For example, Y chromosome tracing will connect a man to his father but not his mother, and it will connect him to only one of his four grandparents: his paternal grandfather. In the same way it will connect him to one of his eight great grandparents (see figure below). Continue back in this manner for 14 generations and the man will still be connected to only one ancestor in that generation. Y-chromosome DNA testing will not connect him to any of the other 16 383 ancestors in that generation to whom he is also related in equal measure. The same scenario applies when using mtDNA.

Outcomes
• National database of the geographical ancestry of a sample of South Africans;

• Workshop to train journalists and academics to interpret the information and contribute to an edited anthology; Bringing History Alive: DNA and the Rainbow Nation.

• Special website to make ancestry information available for public use and dissemination.

Raj Ramesar is Professor and Head of the Division of Human Genetics at the University of Cape Town. He is also Director of the MRC’s Human Genetics Research Unit. Raj’s interest is in identifying those aspects of the human genome that are worth investigating for their most rapid benefit to our communities in South Africa.

Himla Soodyall is Principal Medical Scientist at the National Health Laboratory Service and holds a joint appointment as an Associate Professor in the Division of Human Genetics at the University of the Witwatersrand. She was appointed Principal Investigator of the Sub-Saharan Africa part of the global Genographic Project, a joint initiative of the National Geographic Society and IBM.

Wilmot James is Chief Executive of the Africa Genome Education Institute and Honorary Professor in the Division of Human Genetics, University of Cape Town. He is also Chairman of the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra, director of Sanlam, Media24 and the Grape Co and Trustee of the Ford Foundation of New York.

Written by: Dr Wilmot James

The general mode adopted by the inhabitants of Cape Town for the disposal of their goods, wares & merchandise. If a shopkeeper or indeed our principal merchants find themselves hard run for cash they apply to the Vendue Master for a day for his sale which is regularly entered in a book kept at his office. If the occasion is immediate he gets handbills distributed round the town and affixed at the usual places and the clerks or salesmen have notice to make the sale known at all the auctions they are employed at in the intermediate time by which means it becomes [known] throughout the town. On the morning of the auction a boy is sent round with a brass dish to tinkle at each corner of the streets to give notice to the inhabitants that there will be a vendue at such a house and by way of encouragement he declares the goods will be sold without reserve. This is not always the case but when the necessities of the seller are great, and immediate the goods are exhibited and at half-past-nine business commences. The highest bidder becomes the purchaser. Sometimes there are two bidders and neither of them will advance a sixpence more. On such occasions the auctioneer takes several pieces of money from his pocket and cries even or odd. By this means they instantly decide who is the purchaser. The money is not paid at the time of the auction as in England & other places nor is any deposit made at the time of sale.

If the person is known or has any friend who will stand forward as his security he has the usual credit of two months after which period he must attend at an office established for that purpose and take up his auction bills. Some of the inhabitants meet with great indulgences from the manager of this concern who is a man of the World, loves to eat and drink of the best things a good providence provider for the sons of luxury and extravagance. A well timed present procures you another month’s credit perhaps two and some I am assured now let their accounts remain unsettled six months to the great injury of the principal Vendue Master who is allowed by government great privileges in the disposal of this kind of property. When the sale is concluded the Vendue clerk furnishes you with an extract from his Vendue list which is in general very correct the necessary deductions made for the expenses of the auction salaries duties stamps &c.&c.. This upon being presented to the Vendue Master he pays the amount deducting two and a half per cent for ready money and takes upon himself the whole risque of the property sold. Here is the whole proceeding of the seller. But what are the consequences to the buyer?

Many persons who attend these auctions have small shops which from having no capital they gradually furnish by these means and sometimes are very fortunate in their endeavours. Several respectable tradesmen in Cape Town of great property have begun by the same means and now have capitals to import their own merchandise to a considerable amount. Others who are the purchasers come with a determination to buy to enable them to hold an auction in a few days with the very articles they now purchase to raise money to take up their former Vendue bills. To them the scheme is a very ruinous one and which must evidently end in an immediate bankruptcy. They buy dear. They sell at their own sale without reserve. Of course they must lose considerably upon the first purchase thus: with the additional seven & a half per cent which is the usual expense unless you employ an agent and then it amounts to full 10 per cent. This must in a short time swallow up principal and plunge the unwary adventurer in a prison. Frequently there are very good speculations to be made at Vendues.

I have myself attended them constantly for eight or nine years and have many times purchased a variety of articles at these places twenty per cent cheaper than their first purchase from the manufacturer at home and though perhaps not in immediate demand a few months has brought a want of them and they have sold at a hundred and sometimes two hundred per cent profit. The wary old auction hunters who have established themselves by a perfect knowledge of the various articles brought to the hammer and who have some capital to begin with will ever be gainers as ’tis with them a never failing maxim to not purchase but when they are sure of advantage.

The principal amusement of the ladies of the Cape is attending these auctions and (they) will sit mixed-up among a variety of frowsy smells that would really make an English woman extremely ill for three or four hours listening to the low and not infrequently obscene jokes of the auctioneer whose chief object is to keep his audience in good humour which can only be accomplished by the witty slang of double entendres suited to the capacity of his motley hearers. There is a great deal of trick and knavery in these sales which the government would act wisely to put a stop to. They have attempted it but unfortunately have acted upon a plan started by some person who has mistaken the whole business and instead of remedying has only given a sanction to a system of corruption and left the errors of the whole where they found them.

One method too frequently practiced by the sellers is to have several of their friends that they fee by little presents at times to keep them steady in their services who run up their goods to a high price considerably more than their value and this is knocked down to them. The credulous and unwary seeing these old rocks whose judgment they know is infallible become purchasers bid and from one to another the mania spreads and by this trick a tradesman has disposed of his property to a very considerable advantage. another defraud upon government is constantly practiced. all purchases at public auctions above 100 rixdollars are obliged to be upon a stamp of a certain value which rises according to the amount of the sum purchased at one morning or afternoon’s sale. Now to avoid this: the wary buyer bids up to 99 rixdollars in his own name but the moment he finds he has upon his list to that amount the purchases in the name of his Wife his sisters Brothers and in short goes around the whole of his connections of relations & acquaintance(s). By this paultry means sometimes saves to himself 20 or 30 rixdollars in a day which is actually defrauding the government revenue of a very considerable sum annually and which might be easily prevented by permitting no person to purchase for others. another scheme is practiced but that carries with it its own punishment.

‘Tis not unusual for a man to become in the name of a second person the procurer of a great part of his own property. By this means he saves money at the rate of 30 per cent which may sometimes save his sinking credit by enabling him to make a good purchase by which he is assured he can make fifty to 60 per cent but this seldom happens and where it is not the case such exorbitant interest will only hurry him on to that rock he is perhaps striving to avoid. Upon the whole auctions are fraught with good and evil. It always affords a person a sure and speedy way of disposing of his property without trouble & at a certain expense. No waste of time in running after the proceeds of your sale. The Vendue Master takes that upon himself and the moment your goods are disposed of he pays you the whole amount. A person coming to the Cape of Good Hope a perfect stranger having no regular appointed agent will find it much to his advantage if he has no offer for what property he may bring that he thinks to his advantage to accept to try the state of the market by public auction. Here he is certain to have a guide that will be an unerring one for though he puts up his goods at auction he is not obliged to sell them unless he finds they will bring the price he expects to get for them. So far auctions are serviceable. On the other hand ’tis a temptation that has ruined many.

The idea of two or three month[s] credit is irresistible. The young the giddy can herein satisfy their wants with articles of dress & finery which from the shops they have not sufficient credit to procure. A thousand ways their imagination points out to them that will enable them to pay at the appointed time. The dreaded moment arrives no money no friend to advance it for them. The consequence is they have a suit instituted against them in the court. Sentence is past with a long list of expenses swelling the original bill to double its amount. This sentence is given from the Court of Justice to the Chamber of insolvency who put it in execution [as] soon as convenient by selling whatever property there is belonging to the person ’till a sufficient sum is raised to satisfy all demands. This is one of the ill consequences attending credit being given at auctions. Many others may be brought forward big with danger to the unwary frequenter of public sales. ‘Tis in my humble opinion opening a door which will ever enable the deep designing villain to prey with certainty upon the property of others.

There have been some few instances of it already but of this I am positive that were auctions conducted upon the same principles in England as they are at the Cape the Vendue Master would keep upon his legs twelve months thinking he had the wealth of Crossus. Half the paper currency in circulation passes through the hands of the auctioneer who is allowed by government 2 1/2 per cent for advancing ready money upon sales. Though this very money is what he has received as the proceeds from other sales which sometimes remain in his hands for a considerable time and draws out in small sums as the convenience of the owner may require it. Therefore he is making an amazing property by the interest of other peoples money. ‘Tis upon an average about 15 per cent per Year he receives for what money he advances. This I believe is considerably more than our pawn brokers are allowed even adding to the lawful the unlawful practices they make use of.

A great deal more might be said respecting Vendues and their good and evil tendency. These few remarks are the result of actual observation in a long residence at Cape Town. Auctions in the country are conducted in the same manner except it is considered a treat to which people flock for many miles round the country and according to the respectability of the person at whose house the auction is held an entertainment is provided if the company is very numerous. They eat from a clean cabbage leaf instead of a plate & each provides himself with a knife and fork for the occasion as these are seldom furnished by the proprietor of the auction . Sometimes these sales continue a week and those who come from a considerable distance remain the whole time generally providing themselves with a bed in their wagon which is their usual accommodation when traveling from the interior to the Cape Town.

These sales frequently occur as the Dutch Wills generally – if the surviving parties are young – provide for the children in this way. In case the surviving husband or Wife marries again the property is immediately sold by the Orphan Chamber the widow taking one half & a child’s share. The remainder is sealed in the above chamber for the benefit of the children when they arrive at twenty five or upon their marriage. therefore the frequency of public auctions & estates changing their original owners. ’tis a bad thing in respect of landed property as it prevents many proprietors from setting afoot improvements which would benefit the estate and beautify the face of the country could their property descend from father to son in regular succession but when he knows the improvements he makes and which ’tis probable he may not himself live to enjoy and at his death the seat of his pleasures of his enjoyments and his toils may go into the hands of his greatest enemy it prevents him doing a thousand things that he would otherwise would execute with pleasure.

In the Article of Estates selling by auction is somewhat different than other moveable property. When you put up a house or land the auctioneer says after having read the regular title deeds and transfer of the property to its present owners to show the intended purchaser his right to the estate to be sold. The proprietor as an encouragement to the bidders puts in so many hundred rixdollars which goes to the highest bidder. As the estate is run up on value there is a stated time for bidding which they seldom exceed.

When this time is expired the highest bidder is entitled to what they call the Strike Gelat though he may not be the purchaser. As the auctioneer says Mister – such name – has bid such a sum for the house or estate but the owner conceiving the property to be worth much more he begins at several thousand guilders more than the sum already bid and descends down unless someone cried (mine) before it reaches the sum originally bid by the first purchaser he must take it at his first price. But should any one cry mine the former purchaser retains the Strike Gelat and the person who says mine becomes the owner of the house or estate at the price he says mine. He produces his securities, signs the new transfer and within six Weeks pays his 4 per cent transfer duty to government and the business is concluded.

All bonds are registered and lodged in the castle and must be cancelled there which is done by cutting them several times across with a penknife and delivering them to the proprietor. Estates are generally sold upon three payments. The first in six weeks after the sale the second in six months and the third in twelve months. The periods are sometimes lengthened to three years and some keep the whole purchase money upon interest. The clerks to the auctioneers are all sworn in and the auctioneers are obliged to find good security for their fidelity and honesty to the principal Vendue Master – there are as I have pointed out many abuses in this department that call for the active interference of government. Since writing the above some new regulations have taken place. An order has been issued forbidding any person from selling at these Vendues goods upon commission unless they are kept separate entered in the real proprietor’s name and carried to account upon a separate extract as there has been some strange swindling transactions carried out in this way to the evident detriment of the Vendue Master and the public in general.

A person in debt to the Vendue Master by this means secured to himself the proceeds of property not his own and when the law insisted upon payment of his just debts the whole of his merchandise and effects were [taken] away. Now unless he sells them privately all accounts must pass through the hands of the Vendue Master who can assess the proceeds of such sales to reimburse the accounts standing open against him. A new system entirely is much wanted in this department framed upon such a plan as to secure the buyer from impostors and the seller from the many acts practiced against him and his property. At the same time to curtail the very heavy expenses attending public auctions and to prevent the Vendue Master from being a sufferer & by giving him such security that the percentage might be lowered which he might very well do as he has then no risque to encounter which at present is great.

The present Vendue Master is supposed to be the richest man in the colony and from the immense advantages he enjoys it is morally [...nearly...?] impossible he should be otherwise. I should suppose if the English retain this place many alterations must take place particularly in this department and I think none wants it more. Another abuse of auctions in this colony and at the same time an actual default in government instances of which I am fearful are too common even in those circles where one would naturally suppose their high situation would effectively preclude them from such dishonourable practices.

The government stores are not infrequently brought to the hammer. After a partial survey has been taken of them by persons whose interest it is to say and act as these men in power would have them. They find their account in this acquiesence by furnishing those articles they deal in and so become links in the great chain of peculation. At these sales a sample is produced bad enough from which the whole is sold and not infrequently bought in again and I am afraid finds its way under another head into the government stores again at the advance of fifty or a hundred per cent. I do not speak this from hearsay having more than once become the purchaser at these sales of articles no way damaged but equal in quality to those regularly served out for actual service. I do not exactly say the principle in these departments does this but if he has under him ones who act upon his authority and do these things without check or control he himself by his neglect and inattention becomes a party in the defraud. This is with prize goods so frequently the case.

They are intrusted to the care of men regardless of everyone’s interest save their own. I could produce proofs where things have been purchased at these sales & afterward changed by the connivance of the person intrusted with the management for articles of more than double worth and these resold at the next day’s sale. For example I will venture to say that in the disposal of one prize brought in from the Isle of France at least a tenth was plundered of the whole cargo by these very means to the injury of the captors and the advantage of these public pillagers who fatten on the spoil of the men who nobly venture their lives in the service of their country and shed their blood to fatten these reptiles at home who prey viciously upon the hard earnings of our naval defenders.

From such prize agents and their under puppets good Lord deliver us – the auctioneer too frequently has a fellow feeling in their depredations for knowing of the chicanery practiced he makes his advantage in becoming a party whenever he finds opportunity of getting a bargain at half its value he knocks it down and has it set on the Vendue roll in a friend’s name who countenances the deceit because he hopes of reaping the same advantage in some other article. To sum up the Whole with an incontrovertible proof every one knows What the salary of these men are and the manner in which they live which must necessarily take the whole of their income to support their appearances. Yet a few years find these men masters of horses inferior to none slaves rich furniture monies at interest and become sleeping partners in some of the first mercantile houses. I only leave impartial persons to judge how this is all accomplished and from it to show the necessity there is for some wise regulations to counteract these villainous proceedings and to prevent such depredations being made upon the property of the credulous & unwary. Another source of plunder by these auctions is in goods and merchandise sent out from England to merchants at the Cape.

When the market has been found overstocked they have been said to be damaged in the voyage or from some other cause or other a survey has been made by those mostly interested in making a good thing out of a seeming misfortune. The goods have been put up to public auction purchased in again by the very persons to whom they were consigned for a third of their first cost and the shippers have recovered the whole from the underwriters. How easily may this nefarious business be carried on in a far distant part of the world where there are no checks upon such a combination of villainy and that it is so I have had ocular demonstration. I should imagine an agent for underwriters upon a liberal establishment here would answer a good purpose particularly where the person appointed was of known integrity and had penetration and discernment to cope with these unfair speculators. Had that enlightened statesman the Earl of Macartney remained at the Cape a few years all these things would have been differently regulated but unfortunately we have had governors who had no eyes to see no ears but to listen to the most ready way of securing to themselves the one thing needful.

If we may judge from the numerous abuses not only in this but in other departments that have remained unattended to it will be the most convincing proof either of the inattention or inability of those whose duty and interest it was to have them as speedily as possible redressed. These practices by long use become almost sacred and woe to the man who had firmness or honesty (enough) to innovate upon long established customs. He must be above the common stamp of fortune getting mortals. His must be the Herculean task to cleanse this Augean stable – and bring the different departments of the colony into anything like regularity or order to curb the licentious spirit of peculation and establish the character of honor and honesty among those whose forlorn hopes are become stationary at the Cape of Good Hope.

Whilst there are bills brought forward at home to prevent mock and fraudulent auctions and to protect the respectable and fair trader in the disposal of his property it is to be hoped that the same endeavour will be used to check the same growing evil on the other side (of) the Water and to prevent as much as possible the possibility of injury being sustained by those who through necessity are obliged to trust their property to a public Auction – and the manifest injury sustained by government in the constant frauds practiced by both purchasers and sale(s)men at these places. I may venture to say many thousands of dollars annually in the article of stamps only. The ends of justice are frequently defeated by the combination of those persons who are set as guards upon the property they are to sell and the auctioneers.

The Insolvency Chamber undertakes to dispose of the goods chattels houses and slaves of all unfortunate persons who cannot pay their debts. The proceedings are short summary and the expenses attendant on them exorbitant. The day of sale arrives. The auctioneer has his friends who receive his account of those things he has commissions for on the part of others or wishes to purchase himself. These articles are too frequently knocked down at half their value to the evident injury of the man’s estate and also to the creditor for the laws of the colony are if a man becomes a bankrupt (he must) pay 10 shillings in the pound gives up all he has to accomplish this. The remaining ten shillings must at some future period by paid. Though at the distance of years the debt hangs over him in terrorism and is exacted whenever he is in ability to pay it and the Insolvent Chamber generally takes good care to have a fellow feeling with the creditors so that with expenses of auction and a variety of fees and exactions the debtor too frequently instead of paying twenty shillings to his creditors finds thirty will scarce clear him from the expenses attendant on these lawful and humane proceedings. Yet all is carried on with the semblance of justice. The forms are outwardly observed with – to the strict letter of the law but the tricks of office which are seldom dragged to the tribunal of the public escape notice, for whilst such facilities are allowed its officers to act corruptly there remains but little chance for honesty to find room amongst such an assemblage. I recollect once at the sale of some furniture belonging to an American vessel from Boston I wanted to purchase a convenience for my bed chamber of which there were several.

The person who had the agency a Mister T____ and myself were not on the best terms from some disagreement respecting official business. I attended the sale & saw one of the conveniences knocked down to a friend of Mr. Smith’s for twenty odd dollars. This was in the morning (in the course of the) afternoon sale another of these articles was put up. I went as high as thirty dollars. It was bought in by the (friend, agent?) which I thought somewhat extraordinary and happening to mention the circumstance in the evening before the purchaser of the one which was bought in the morning he said: “Yes my dear sir, but Mister Smith is my very good friend and we accommodate each other in this way,” and when I expressed my indignation at such a palpable fraud upon the property of another he was aware he had gone too far without trying his ground first and attempted to draw back with a paltry excuse of the article being damaged. This I knew was adding a lie to the crime as I had particularly examined it and found it a much better article than the one I had bid thirty dollars for in the afternoon sale. Here was a connivance with agent, auctioneer and buyer and I am confident when a man is not upon the spot to see the property fairly disposed of these tricks and rascally proceedings are pretty general at most of the Cape auctions. I conceived it a duty I owed to Captains Folges, the owner of the furniture, to mention the circumstances and upon the matter being investigated the only satisfaction he got was the article was damaged an assertion I had convinced him was untrue. It operated so forcibly on the American that Mynheer lost his credit with the American and I believe it was nearly the last agency he was honoured with.

Another very dishonourable mode is that of the friends of auctioneers looking out the prime articles laying them by ’till after the sale and have them put down by the auctioneer’s clerk at the very lowest price the inferior articles of this description have brought at the sale. This is done at most auctions where the actual proprietor is not on the spot to counteract such fraudulent transactions. These damning proofs I should presume are quite sufficient to open the eyes of those who have dealings with auctioneers and to set every engine at work to put an end to this iniquitous mode of plunder. Where many nay most of the trading Jews are concerned with the unprincipled salesmen and share no doubt the profits of their deep laid schemes of peculation. Every one must be aware how impossible it is to always guard against these depredations however much might be effected by a firm and persevering system to detect and bring to justice these pests to society who leave an honest and fair trader no chance.

As from their successful method of purchasing at these auctions they are enabled to under sell the upright conscientious shop keeper at least ten or fifteen per cent. What a manifest advantage! This is in many countries where the sales are quick ’tis a decent and reasonable profit – against all risks but here it puts an end to all fair speculation and gives the general trade of the colony into the hands of a set of sharpers whilst the honest plodding man finds himself without custom – becomes unable to make his regular remittance home so that in a short time his stock is brought to the scene of iniquity the public auction and he gets his name in the gazette. To sum up the business: their honesty is no match against such villainous combinations.

By Samuel E. Hudson 1806

The Vendue Master, more properly the Commissary of Vendues, was a civil officer of the Cape government and the only person in the colony allowed to sell by auction which was “a state monopoly.” By 1822, the Vendue Master employed four auctioneers, and a “proportionate number of clerks”; see W. W. Bird, State of the Cape of Good Hope in 1822 (Cape Town: Struik reprint of 1823 edition, 1966), pp. 44-45.

i. e. slave.

In New York, ‘”A credit of three, four, or six months, is usually given on sales by the piece. . .”‘ as quoted in Westerfield, “Early History of American Auctions”, p. 176.

Elsewhere Hudson modifies this, pointing out that only the English merchants managed to prosper, the Dutch inhabitants remaining the pettiest of shopkeepers, an observation buttressed by other travellers to Cape Town. William M. Freund points out that even the established Cape Dutch entrepreneurs, e.g. D. G. van Reenen, J. F. Kirsten, and W. S. van Ryneveld “all fared poorly under British rule.” Idem, “The Cape under the transitional governments, 1795-1814, “in R. Elphick and H. Giliomee (eds.), The Shaping of South African Society, 1652-1820 (Cape Town: Longmans, 1978), p. 215. Hudson was sometimes a solipsistic observer: what happened to him he often ascribed to some unidentified “many.” Possibly, this is his form of self-justification. An excellent example of this trait occurs in his essay on “Slaves,” when he informs us that generally the slaves at the Cape are well looked after: his own establishment of slaves is the only one cited, see Ray Bert Westerfield, “Early History of American Auctions-A Chapter in Commercial History,” Transactions of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences 23 (May, 1920): 159ff., esp. 193 et seq .; at this stage we cannot say how many of these findings are directly applicable to the Cape, nevertheless there are sufficient points of similarity to stimulate an investigation.

James Ewart, a contemporary of Hudson, confirms this: “…the females, if not engaged at home, attend the venduties or public sales, which they are extremely partial to, and where they are as busy trying to overreach each other in small matters as their husbands are in greater ones.” Idem, James Ewart’s Journal, covering his stay at the Cape of Good Hope (1811-1814) (Cape Town: Struik, 1970), p. 25; also see Bird, State of the Cape ,” p. 346.

Possibly this is a reference to the Publicatie issued in November, 1805, which prohibited auctioneers from buying articles for themselves by using accomplices in the audience as fake buyers. The legislation, among many restrictions, forbade the auctioneer from directing the attention of the audience to other objects and then suddenly and unexpectedly closing the sale, PB., 6: 275-76. When the British took over the Cape in 1795, one of their first acts was to confirm the office of Vendue Master; they also streamlined the tax structure somewhat; see Placcaat Boek, 5: 15. According to George McCall theal, this 1795 legislation was “a popular proclamation.” Idem, History of South Africa, 1:3.

The Court of Justice during the Dutch East India Company consisted of one chief justice and eight justices. Although this number varied see G. G. Visagie, Regspleging en Reg aan die Kaap van 1652 tot 1806, met ‘n Bespreking van die Historiese Agtergrond (Cape Town: Juta, 1969) pp 40 to 62; also see C. Graham Botha, Social Life in the Cape Colony with Social Customs in South Africa in the Eighteenth Century (Cape Town: Struik reprint of 1926 edition, 1973), p. 16; for a fuller treatment, see Bird, State of the Cape, pp. 9-16 and 249-281; the British administration introduced payment for the justices and reduced their number.

Shortly after Hudson wrote this, the Chamber of Insolvency merged into the Office of the Sequestrator, which, however, was also at liberty to sell by public auction the assets of the insolvent person; see Bird, State of the Cape, pp. 28-9.

i.e. Croesus, last king of Lydia, ruled c. 560-546 B.C., renowned for his great wealth.

Hudson might well be correct. Bird calculated that in 1822, there was 3,000,000 Rixdollars in circulation, State of the Cape, p. 35; elsewhere he tells us that “The gross amount of vendue sales” is “computed to be about 250,00 Rixdollars monthly,” Ibid, p. 45. During one year then, 3,000,000 Rixdollars would pass through the Vendue Office. The amount of money passing through the Vendue Office during one year was equivalent to all the money in circulation.

If we believe Hudson’s title to this set of Essays, the “long residence” could only have been 10 years; however, there is later, internal evidence which suggests that he returned to these manuscripts after 1806, see p. (000).

Bird augments Hudson’s description: “An auction in the country is an important event for the vicinage. It furnishes what is there extremely rare, a cheerful pastime. A wedding and an auction are the only occasions of lively assemblage. The resort of boers, with their families, from the neighbourhood, is general; from distant places frequent. The ladies repair to the vendutie, dressed as for a gay assembly. The men resort to it as they would to a fair or a country wake. “Idem, State of the Cape, p. 346, and also see pp. 347-8.

Possibly this was done for the good reason that the cutlery was on sale: James Ewart, however, suggests the cabbage leaf was not a universal phenomenon at rural auctions “Soon after dinner the auctioneer, who was by this time as drunk as his neighbours, commenced selling off the remaining articles which consisted of little more than the wretched utensils in which the dinner had been cooked and served up.. . Idem, James Ewart’s Journal, p. 83.

In the Cape colony a form of compulsory partible inheritance prevailed; in contrast to the same practice in colonial America, partible inheritance did not result in subdivision of the property itself. This practice ensured that the heirs in the Cape colony sold the ‘family farm’ and divided up the money. In colonial Andover, Massachusetts; land itself was divided up until there were many small holdings. These differences in inheritance customs gave rise to quite different settler persistence rates and geographical mobility patterns in the two areas; see Phillip Greven, Four Generations: Population, Land and Family in Colonial Andover, Massachusetts (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1970), pp. 83, 130, 230; and R. Cole Haris and Leonard Guelke, “Land and Society in Early Canada and South Africa,” Journal of Historical Geography 3 (1977): 135-53. Entail, which has now entered Afrikaner culture, was probably introduced by the 1820 settlers.

Many rural inhabitants took advantage of Vendues organized by the Orphan Chamber by bringing their own goods to such a sale, see ‘Interdictie’ 17th April, 1780, PB ., 3: 106. Some colonies in the New World also devised such safeguards for orphans. In Virginia, for instance, where mortality was quite high, at least in the first half of the 17th century, the father often took precautions that his children, and not his widow’s husband, would obtain their legacy. E. S. Morgan informs us that; “In making a will, men often named a guardian other than the mother to protect the child’s interests, and in addition, appointed feoffes in trust to see that the guardian did his job properly. Where a child was left without either parent, the county court appointed a guardian.” Idem, American Slavery, American Freedom: The Ordeal of Colonial Virginia (New York: W. W. Norton, 1975) p. 168.

i. e. Strykgeld [= bidder's premium]: Botha clearly explains the somewhat obscure mechanism of strykgeld: the landed “property was first sold by opslag, advance bidding, and then put up again and sold by afslag, or downward bidding. The bidder in the first instance did not intend to make the purchase, but rather to increase the final sum. For this service, he received a bonus, or as it was called, strykgeld. If on the downward bidding no more was offered than the price he bid, he was obliged to take the property. The risk was, however, negligible, and there was many a one who made a reasonable income by attending such sales regularly and receiving strykgeld. Advertisements of sales invariably stated that “liberal strykgeld” would be given, which naturally tended to bring many to the sale and also enhanced the purchase price.” Idem, Social Life and Customs, pp. 84-5.

According to Ralph Cassady, who wrote a global comparative study of auctions, this is called ‘upside down or Dutch’ bidding, and is only practiced in Dutch areas, although some fishing ports in England, where the Dutch had traded, also used the upside down system. It is heavily disputed whether the system favors the buyer or seller, however it does, concludes Cassady, save the auctioneer much time. Idem, Auctions and Auctioneering (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1967), passim.

Westerfield suggests that much the same process was occurring in New York, only a decade later. In that city, however, there was no limit on the number of auctioneers: “As the auctioneers grew in number and wealth they became a powerful influence in the money market. They were directors in nearly every bank in New York and obtained almost indefinite lines of credit.” Idem, “Early History of American Auctions”, pp. 176-7.

i. e. goods seized in maritime war.

Former name of Mauritius.

Hudson would have been in a commanding position to observe such goings-on, after he became first Clerk of the Customs in the closing years of the eighteenth century.

George Macartney (1737-1806) was born in Lisanoore, Ireland. After being educated in Trinity College, Dublin, he entered the British Parliament, was knighted in 1764 and sent to Russia where he concluded a treaty with the Czar. Between 1769 and 1772 he was Chief Secretary for Ireland. Appointed Governor of the Antilles (West Indies) in 1775, he stayed there until 1780, when he was captured by the French and taken to France. After his release in 1781 he was appointed Governor of Madras, where he remained until 1785. Returning home to England in that same year, he spent a fortnight at the Cape. In 1792, he was sent as British Envoy to the Emperor of China. In 1797 he arrived at the Cape with a brilliant staff including John Barrow and the Barnards – Hudson’s employers, see Dictionary of South African Biography., 3: 551-552.

i.e. money; this is a reference to Sir George Yon ge, Macartney’s ill-fated successor, whom even the sanguine Theal castigates as “decidedly the most incompetent man who has ever been at the head of affairs in the colony…” Idem, History of South Africa since 1795, 1:71 et seq. Yonge was forced to leave the Cape ignominiously under heavy suspicion of, among other charges, an association with bribes concerning the slave trade to the Cape. Hudson loathed the governor, and made him the butt of his “new comic opera He would be Governor”; see “The diary of Samuel Eusebius Hudson, Chief Clerk in the Customs, Nov. 1798 – April 1800″ pp. 16 et seq., S.A.L.

Ellipsis in original.

Possibly a pseudonym, but there were several ‘Smiths’ in Cape Town at this time; possibly though, this one is William Proctor Smith who was listed in the 1800 street directory as “van America”, Eric Rosenthal, compiler, Cape Directory 1800 (Cape Town: Struik, 1969), p. 77. This bit of guesswork is buttressed in that some other Americans were settling at the Cape at this time, and setting up as merchants, see, for example, the Semple family from Boston, in Frank Bradlow’s “Introduction” to Robert Semple’s Walks and Sketches at the Cape of Good Hope (Cape Town: Balkema, 1968), pp. 1-3.

i. e. Dutch appellation = ‘Mister’, here a sarcastic usage.

Author Huby Thorndike

Huby Thorndike, relative of Dame Sybil Thorndike, a non-golfing and teetotaller gives his memoirs to the surviving a world of cheques and balances.

“The title begs the question; “But has he been successful?” The obvious counter is; “How do you define and measure success?” Success is not measured by what you have, but by what you do with what you have. After nine career transfers around South Africa and to the United Kingdom, Huby Thorndike, now retired, reflects on his life’s journey-personal development, family, business, sport, motivation and much more.

Before you can realise your dreams you have to first wake up. It is a life crammed with anecdotes, told with honesty and without pretension, offering sound advice to anyone seeking answers to life’s ever-present challenges. Laced with humour and interesting facts, Huby paints a canvas of his life illustrating his values, ideas, hopes and aspirations for future generations.”

Product Details:
Book Price: R110.00 plus postage & packaging
Softback: 240 x 170mm
Layout: 136 pages
1st Edition
42 B&W halftones
Published by UB Publications
Email: Huby