So much has been written in the past about settlers and immigrants to South Africa but also many of them have been sadly neglected or overlooked until now. Keith Tankard’s “Broken Promises”, Exploring Sir George Grey’s Settler Schemes for the Eastern Cape Frontier, could not have arrived at a more appropriate time than Heritage Week 2012.
This remarkable E-book covers numerous aspects of the primary role players such as German Military Settlement, Saving the military settlement, Some Legionnaire stories, German agricultural families and some postscripts. Read about the drama on the high seas from when Baron von Stutterheim was bitten on the hand by his favourite bulldog and in a fit of temper flung the dog overboard the ship, to the construction of houses with even a kiln in every village. Keith provides a fascinating insight into the lives of these new immigrants.
Tankard is assisted by Nolene Lossau, who has an Oxford Undergraduate Advanced Diploma in Local History. She shares her research for the first time with 4 separate databases of Military settlers, Lady Kennaway Passenger list, Shipping Lists 1858 – 1859 and 1859 – 1883. 30 years of research and dedication have gone into this publication that unravels fascinating insights and unpublished historical information that as Tankard says “Our methods of interpretation are also different.
Whereas historians in the mid-20th century accepted evidence at face value, the 21st century researcher questions all the sources. Keith has a Master’s degree and a Doctorate in History through Rhodes University and also did a thesis on the early history of East London. He was a senior lecturer in History at the University of the Transkei and then become head of the History Department at the East London Campus for 11 years before taking early retirement. Well researched, easy to read and a new resource for anyone researching their family who may have been included in one of the Grey Settler Schemes.
Unfortunately this author is now deceased and the book is no longer for sale.
