EXCELLENT CONFERENCE HOLDS GREAT PROMISE

The first Karoo Development Conference, recently held in Graaff-Reinet, was a great success. Over 300 delegates, most key role players, attended. They represented a wide variety of small, medium and well-established businesses, various sectors of the tourism industry, many government departments and local authorities, as well as private entrepreneurs and their focus was the Karoo in all its aspects across the three provinces – Eastern, Western and Northern Cape. All talks were kept crisp, short and to the point. The well-chaired sessions all ran to time and question sessions were keenly monitored. There was much to discuss and a great deal of positive comment. Delegates were motivated by the presentations and local government officials held an impromptu meeting to discuss closer and keener working relationships. The way ahead will include investigations into aspects such as branding, closer co-operation, and more clearly focused approaches to marketing. There was a call to repeat the conference every second year, and to hold smaller more tightly targeted sessions in the shorter term. An excellent Trade Fair held at the same time proved the Karoo extends to many interesting products.

INTERNATIONAL MOHAIR SUMMIT PLANNED

This year, 2009, is the Year of Natural Fibre and to celebrate an International Mohair Summit is to be held in Jansenville and Graaff-Reinet from September 3 to 8. “South Africa supplies 54% of the world’s mohair,” said the organisers, “and holding the event in the Karoo will give us an opportunity to showcase the industry and re-generate interest in the product, particularly among fashion designers.” They added that few people knew that American President Obama’s wife, Michelle, wore an outfit made of South African mohair to his inauguration ceremony. “She looked extremely elegant in a lemon coloured designer outfit made from a product that initially came from the Graaff-Reinet area of the Karoo,” they said at the Karoo Development Conference. The summit is expected to inject almost R40million into the local economy and about 1 000 people are expected to attend the festival in Jansenville. As a follow up to this year’s event trade shows are already being planned for 2011 and 2013, they said.

EARLY CHURCH – CAN YOU HELP?

Professor Franco Fescura, who is well known for his on-going research into early settlement of South Africa, is now researching the history and development of the Dutch Reformed Church across the country. He is searching for lesser known information, i.e. documents, snippets, memories, and hopes that the people of the Karoo might be willing to share information on the church and its establishment with him.

PAINTING THE TOWN DIFFERENTLY

Many may seek to paint their town red, but not so the Richmonders. They aim to paint literary quotations all around their village by October when the Booktown is held there. “The idea then is to have a ‘Textacy’ competition during which the man on the street will be able to air his views on the quotes,” says Darryl Earl David, one of the organisers. “Perhaps Round-up readers would like to send Please remember to include all references as to author and name of the book from which the quote comes.”

INTERESTED IN KAROO BOOKS

An intense interest in books on the Karoo led to David McNaughton’s launch of Karoobooks.com. This It is an offshoot of Graaff-Reinet’s popular McNaughton’s Bookshop, which in turn developed out of David and Andrew’s popular tour guiding company, KarooConnections. David had an excellent variety of Karoo books on show at the Karoo Development Conference.

TOP HONOUR FOR ONE OF BEAUFORT WEST’S SONS

Professor Nathan Finkelstein, who is known to many as Mr Pharmacy, has been awarded a top honour by Beaufort West. The mayor, Councillor Juliet Jonas, granted him honorary citizenship of the town at a surprise party to celebrate his 70th birthday at the S A Pharmaceutical Society Headquarters in Cape Town recently. Nathan was led into the venue by the skirl of bagpipes played by Mike Inggs, from Simonstown, as a mark of his love for Scotland. Beaufort West-born Nathan has never lost his love of the Karoo. After completing his schooling there, he announced a desire to become a veterinary surgeon, but his parents persuaded him that studying at Onderstepoort near Pretoria would take him too far from home. So, he opted to study pharmacy and joined Edwards Pharmacy in Strand Street, Cape Town as an apprentice. “From the start he was brilliant, and he was the highest paid apprentice in the business,” said Linda Zacharais, who worked him in those days. Since then Nathan has never looked back. He rose to become one of the most highly respected men in this profession in South Africa. Lynda Price, who organized the party said well over 300 people wanted to attend. “As soon as I mentioned I was planning a surprise for Natie, people from across the globe announced they were arranging flights.” Many of his colleagues and former students paid tribute to him at the function.

THE ROAD TO SUCCESS

After completing his apprenticeship Nathan Finkelstein went on to the Cape Technical College and obtained diplomas in Pharmacy and Clinical Chemistry. Then he went to Scotland to study for an MSc in Pharmaceutical Chemistry. He fell in love with that country, hence the piper at his party. On returning to South Africa he was appointed senior lecturer in Pharmacy at Rhodes University and there he was a favourite among students, many of whom came from across the world for this special birthday celebration. Nathan went on to obtain a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences before going to the University of Stellenbosch, where he was awarded a BSc (Hons) (Med Sci) in Pharmacology cum laude. He was elected to S A Chemical Institute, the board of Trustees of Fedhealth and chairman of the Managed Healthcare Committee and of the Ex-Gratia Committee. He was appointed director and head of the School of Pharmacy at the Cape Technicon and served on the Faculty Boards of Medicine at the universities of Cape Town and Stellenbosch. Professor Finkelstein is a fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain and the Pharmaceutical Society of South Africa. He is also the owner of Finks Consultancy and N Finkelstein Pharmaceutical Consultant Pharmacy. Nathan is also widely known in botanical circles. His love of plants grew out of his chemical studies and he has a particular interest in plants with medicinal values, especially those which show anti-cancer properties. He is a member of the S A Association of Botanists and the Botanical Society. He combines his love of fynbos and flora with hiking and mountaineering. Nathan collects artifacts related to the history of pharmacy. He and his wife, Hilary, have two daughters, Melissa and Stacey, who lives in the UK.

DINNER JUST KEPT FADING INTO THE DISTANCE

Christo Barnard’s reminiscences in Round-up No 67 struck a chord with many folk. Some called, others e.mailed to say how much they enjoyed his account of his childhood pranks and their consequences. “I loved the stories,” writes Midge Carter from Australia. “And, Christo provided the answer to a question that has long puzzled me; I never could discover the location of Fraserburg Road, now I know it was an earlier name for Leeu Gamka. In December 1939, before World War II got serious and petrol was rationed, my Dad had to go to from Benoni to Cape Town on business. We decided to make this a ‘holiday trip’ and enjoy ‘a slap-up Christmas dinner at a wayside hotel.’ Much easier said than done. We spent a night in Bloemfontein and on Christmas Day, set off with a delicious feast in mind. I was about nine years old and my brother seven and it fell to us to open and close hundreds of gates on the road through the Karoo. The day was hot, but the promise of a good meal kept us going. As lunch time approached, we cruised up to a country hotel only to find they were not planning to serve a meal that day. It was early enough to aim for the next town, but to our horror they too had no food to offer. As we followed the railway line, driving from one small place to the next, the story was always the same – ‘no Christmas dinner.’ Beaufort West, went by, so did Fraserburg Road, Prince Albert Road and Laingsburg. We’d lost all hope. Hungry, forlorn and irritable, we watched as Matjiesfontein came into view. The road went right past the Milner Hotel. My father stopped in the hopes that they may be able of offer us a snack. To this day I bless the staff of that hotel. They rustled up a Christmas dinner par excellence for us and, in 70 years, I’ve never forgotten it!”

THE MAGIC OF SATURDAY VILLAGE SHOPPING

Saturday mornings in Klaarstroom were quite exhilarating in the world of a young boy. Christo “Barrie” Barnard, who in this issue continues his reminiscences of life in Klaarstroom, recalls the thrill of waiting for the surrounding farmers to come into the little hamlet for supplies and to chat about the happenings of the week. “Every Saturday morning, they brought their farm workers and their families in on tractor-drawn trailers or packed onto the back of their bakkies. This enabled the labourers to also shop for their weekly needs. Most bought provisions from my father on the ‘book system’. This was designed to help them when they were short of money and to allow them to settle up on ‘pay day’. My sister’s son still has one of these books. One day a traveller came to Klaarstroom with a briefcase-type holder full of ‘new’ sweets. He unfolded it like a magician to show the range to my father who pondered each item with great consideration. We longingly eyed each one and were positively drooling by the time he placed the order, however, neither he nor the traveller seemed to notice us that day.

ANY OLD SKINS, ANY OLD BONES?

This traveller bought animal skins (‘velle’) from the farmers. So, when they knew he was on the way they brought them to town. “The skins had all been laid flat, salted and dried dry so that he could easily inspect them. He paid according to quality. A good skin with no tears fetched more than a tattered one. The skins looked like large sheets of cardboard as he placed them in his vehicle. He sold the skins to the tannery at Oudtshoorn. He also bought animal bones. These were packed into bags and weighed. He paid for each bag by weigh as it was removed from the scale, so this too was a lengthy procedure. The bones, of course, went to bonemeal factories. Bonemeal was a sought-after garden fertiliser, but it attracted the dogs and got them digging up all the flower beds if you were not careful.

POWER SAVING CALLS BACK THE PAST

These current pleas from Escom regarding power saving also brought back memories to Christo Barnard. I remembered the Lister engine we used to generate our electricity in Klaarstroom,” he said. “When it didn’t work, we used paraffin lamps. They cast quite a mellow glow throughout the rooms. We used paraffin heaters in the winter and my mother kept a little pot of water on the top of each so that they didn’t dry the air. As children we thought that this was a wonderful idea because at night there was always boiling water available for a cup of cocoa before bed. Our water supply came from a huge metal water tank outside the house. When the water level dropped so low that it would no longer pour out when the tap was opened, we had to go down to the river to collect water and carry it back in two buckets hanging from a pole carried across our shoulders. This was a tedious procedure; several trips were needed to fill the tank. When we needed hot water, we had to fill a big pot on top of an outside fireplace with water and light a log fire beneath it. The system had pipes which brought the almost boiling water to the kitchen and bathroom. To keep this system on the go wood had to be chopped and fed into a Dover stove – my parents considered the wood chopping an ideal job for a schoolboy like me.”

EGGS, BUCKETS AND HOLY CHRISTMAS NIGHTS

Fresh farm eggs, said Christo, were always available. “There was no problem having an egg for breakfast or supper because we collected some every day from the hatchery. This job had its dangers. We had to keep a careful look out for the geese and run like mad when we got near the little dam where they lived because they considered it the greatest fun to chase children. I think there is nothing quite a sore as a peck from a goose.” Klaarstroom’s sanitation system in those days was quite primitive. It was a bucket system, cleared by a night cart (‘nagkar’) hauled by an old donkey, driven by Outa Gollie. Christo said: “Old Outa Gollie used to pass daily to collect the buckets and clean the toilets. We used to run away when we saw him coming, because his was a very smelly task.” Christo also recalled many high days and holidays in Klaarstroom but says: “I think Christmas Eve was one of the most wonderful in our village. The local coloured folk would come to our house around midnight to sing Christmas carols. This was particularly beautiful on the quiet plains of the Great Karoo and somehow the carols made the dark, starlit night more holy. When they finished singing my mother would then give them all cookies and cooldrinks and we would all wish each other Merry Christmas. When Savage and Lovemore laid the new tar road through Meiringspoort everything changed. The more modern road somehow destroyed some of the magic conjured up by its dusty counterpart. We left for Oudtshoorn in 1968. The current shop, owned by Derrick Gavin, used to be the little hotel.”

WHY CRANES SOMETIMES FLEE AND DON’T FLY

Moulting blue cranes are not often seen in the Karoo, but this year people have been privileged to see some “runners” “This term is used for these birds when they moult. Then they cannot fly for almost 30 days, and they behave strangely, running away with their wings held high when they perceive something as a threat – even if it is a long distance away,” says blue crane expert, Bradley Gibbons. “The cranes immediately start to run when they spot an unfamiliar thing and this strange behaviour worries many people who fear the birds are injured or have eaten something might be poisonous. Moulting cranes are often accompanied by other cranes that can fly and this is possibly for safety.” Cranes tend to stay in groups of varying in numbers when they moult also mainly as a safety measure. This year there was a group of 16 cranes near New-Bethesda and another of seven near Richmond. Cranes usually moult in February and March, following good rains. This indicates that there is still enough food for them. “Cranes are not able to travel far when they moult and cannot fly so, they settle in veld that is in good condition mostly with a dam for water and a good place to roost at night,” says Bradley. “The grey crowned crane, one of the two other species found in South Africa, can fly while moulting – which doesn’t really make sense, as they have lovely wetlands in which to hide. The wattled crane, like the blue crane and cannot fly while moulting.”

HERITAGE WEEKEND PLANS IN THE PIPELINE

The Vernacular Architectural Society of South Africa (VASSA) plans to visit Prince Albert in September to study the local architecture. The annual weekend outing is being organised by Pat and John Kramer. Judy Maguire, chairman of the Fransie Pienaar Museum and a member of the local cultural history society, will show them around the town. VASSA members will arrive in Prince Albert on Thursday, September 24, in time for afternoon tea at the museum, spend Friday and Saturday reconnoitring the town and surrounds and depart for Cape Town again on September 27.

GETTING CLOSER TO CULTURE IN THE KAROO

Prince Albert Cultural Foundation has arranged a series of interesting events from May to November. Guided tours to Tannie Daddi’s traditional Karoostyle house for coffee and koeksusters will be a highlight of the Olive festival on May 1 and 2. The cost will be R20 per person. A cultural evening of “Stories around the Camp Fire” is being organised for June 6 in the Scholtzkloof barn in conjunction with the Friends of the Iziko Museums. A full-day visit to Merweville is planned for July 11, a tour of the Dutch Reformed Church and parsonage on Heritage Day in September 24, and an “away visits” to Aberdeen and Steytlerville on October 31 and Matjiesfontein and Sutherland on November 21

INDULGE YOUR CULTURAL HISTORY INTERESTS

The Stellenbosch University Museum is planning an exciting series of three-day courses for the public covering various aspects of cultural history. These will be held at different venues throughout the Western Cape depending on demand. Each course, which costs R1 850 per person, will be 15 hours in duration and each will cover one of the following topics – Genealogy, Differing Architectural Styles, e.g. Cape-Dutch, Colonial, Karoo, Edwardian, Victorian, etc., Old Cape Furniture, Toponymy (Place Names), Heritage Conservation, Pictorial Africana and Folk songs. The first two will be presented in George from May 25 to 30. The presenter is Dr. Matilda Burden, who has lectured in cultural history at the University of Stellenbosch for the past 27 years. She also serves on several cultural, conservation and heritage organizations. On completion of the course each delegate will receive a certificate.

KNOW ANYONE CALLED KAROO?

Jacqueline, 60, is trying to trace the ancestry of her rather unusual surname, Karoo. She wonders whether anyone has heard of a family with this name. Her mother Christina Stephania Karoo, born in 1909, died in 1959 when Jacqueline was only four. She only has a photograph of her mother, a letter “when are you coming to see your Zulu friend?” and her death certificate. In the hopes of finding out more she turned to Bernard White, who in turn appealed to Rose’s Round-up to see whether anyone who lives in the Karoo may have any leads they could follow. “I know this is a long shot,” says Bernard, “but perhaps someone, somewhere, has a lead we could follow.”

“If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.”
Frank A. Clark