Village Life No 15



	Number 15: December 2005–January 2006 Full-size PDF of cover (128K) Time for a rest along the way It is now precisely two years since we became responsible for -Village Life and decided to take it beyond the boundaries of our own village. The business plan was simple: "To maintain the highest standards in content and production quality. Growth will be organic and incremental." With this issue we have grown some more, with the addition of four pages. Our distribution covers the area from Velddrif/Laaiplek and Clanwilliam in the northwest, to beyond Plettenberg Bay in the southeast and Graaf-Reinet in the Karoo. The mailing list is well on its way to 500 subscribers. We are sometimes surprised by how far Village Life is read. At Stormsvlei we ran into a television production team from Gauteng who were producing an insert as a result of one of our articles. The radio station RSG, also from up North, recently produced a programme on the Overberg after reading Village Life and asked our regular writers Nico Myburgh and Louie Lemmer for contributions. So we have come some way in the two years. But now it is time for a rest before we tackle the next volume. May all our fellow-travellers have a peaceful holiday season and a healthy, prosperous 2006! Cover portrait A face from Greyton’s past: Aunt Lena Fourie (82) was tiny when her twin and also her father died. After that her mother raised the children on her own. Aunt Lena has been living in the same house in Main Road for fifty years, now with a dog, and a cat who licks her tears from her face when she is sad. – page 38. Photo: Maré Mouton. Contents Page 2 A weight over historic cave A residential development at De Kelders draws criticism. Read full text. Page 6 Langebaan Lagoon – wetland without water Geelbek farm lies at the centre of the West Coast National Park Page 12 Agulhas Park taking shape We unveil the plans for the park and the Agulhas Lighthouse Precinct (with two diagrams). Read full text. Page 14 A special offer for our readers from Jonathan Ball Publishers: Save on two great books on the old buildings of the Cape View the special offer and download an order form. Page 15 The cultural heart of Montagu The Montagu Museum celebrates its thirtieth anniversary Page 20 ‘South Africa is denied its rich cultural history’ Contemporary history textbooks start the recorded history of Southern Africa with the arrival of explorers and settlers from Europe in the seventeenth century, with a few notes on Portuguese explorers a century earlier; in the more remote areas prehistory lasted into the nineteenth century. Not so, says Cape Town historian Dr Cyril A Hromnik (photo at left), whose vast body of research takes our history back more than 2000 years. Citing pervasive influence from India over the millennia, he also offers compelling explanations for many of the unanswered riddles in the region. Text by Maré Mouton Read article as PDF. Page 24 Geophytes – buried treasures of the veld The amazing riches of flowering bulbs on a single farm. Text and photogrpahs by Helene and Geoffrey Coetzee. Page 28 Horses and hounds at Zoetendals Vallei By Annalize Mouton Michiel van Breda introduced merino sheep farming at Zoetendals Vallei near Agulhas and thereby saved the economy of the Cape Colony. His son, Michiel Jacob, continued with innovative farming practices and became the foremost breeder of stud horses. He also introduced the use of hounds to control jackal, and helped fulfil his father’s dream of a lighthouse at Cape Agulhas. This is the third part of the family history, largely based on unpublished information from family diaries. Page 34 The brave little Batis Nico Myburgh relates birding stories from his personal experience. Read full text. Page 38 A visit to Greyton Thirty years ago, author and artist Molly D’Arcy Thompson set off from her home in Newlands in her Austin Minor 1000, with her Irish spaniel Liffey, and drove to the Forgotten Corners of the Cape. We follow in her footsteps to the village of Greyton in the Overberg, today a popular getaway for city people and home to dozens of artists. On some days the village is a hive of activity, with throngs drawn by the many restaurants, coffee shops, art galleries and festivals. On other days the cottages and people of the village withdraw quietly amongst the roses and lush greenery, in the shade of magnificent old trees. Molly wrote… Page 42 The gentle brilliance of T O Honiball The iconic cartoonist is best loved for his animal characters Page 46 A festive chicken for Christmas Chicken with litchies, a delicious dish for the traditional family meal Page 48 The beauty of a pond The Village Gardener looks at the creatures and plants around a pond Page 50 Healthy food from the kelp forest Louie Lemmer continues her series on edible seaweeds Page 52 End peace A blind girl touches hearts with a song
		Spring flowers in the West Coast National Park, an easy day trip away from Cape Town. Photo: Binks McKenzie

			Pieces from the dinner service used by Paul Kruger and Genl Piet Joubert in 1880, on view in Montagu Museum.

		The rare purple disa is one of dozens of flowering bulbs growing on one farm. Photo: Geoffrey Coetzee
From the Country Table: Annalize dishes up a festive chicken with litchies. Fit for a king, or for the family Christmas dinner.

			The second Michiel van Breda to farm at Zoetendals Vallei. The family diaries tell the story of the times.


				T O Honiball had great influence as a political cartoonist, but he is best remembered for his animal characters.
Proof of Indo-African links? Mahlatini, a Negro-Asiatic Bantu chief from Mozambique with clearly Indian features (early twentieth century) – a photo from Dr Hromnik's book.

		The indigenous blue water lily at home in a garden pond.