Dear Friends of the Museum

July 2013 Phone 044-620-3338 Fax 044-620-3176 Email: [email protected] Web: ourheritage.org.za Volume 2013, Issue 7 Dear Friends of the Museum, Editor; Rene’ de Kock We would like to mention that this dress for the Great Brak Commu- Newsletter is a means of network- nity /Information Office ing and communicating with as many www.greatbrakriver.net has been friends of the museum and other established. They have also regis- organisations as possible sometimes tered the Afrikaans version. on possible diverse topics. The Great Brak River Museums web- There is a lot happening out there site and existing other local commu- in the big wide world! nity web sites will be linked both to and from this web site. Anything that we e-mail in our spo- radic contacts or post is for your Those attending the second meeting information. Neither the editor or were briefed by the seven sub com- the museum necessarily endorse mittees. The committees embrace This museum latest exhibi- the items that we post. Please do Businesses and Services; Arts and tion is about the different as you will with the information. Culture; Restaurants & Coffee peoples of the ‘Cape Corri- Shops; Sports and Entertainment; dor’ of the Western Cape Please feel free to circulate this who began their lives in our Accommodation; Environmental De- Newsletter to others. area; Modern Man who velopment and Marketing. started some 200,000 years At a recent meeting in June on If you have a suggestion or would ago to colonise the earth, tourism and tourism networking, the San who believe they like to be involved please contact interested parties and local busi- were here from the begin- the specific committee. Contact de- ness again discussed how to en- ning of time and for at tails available from 044-620-3338. courage more holidaymakers to least the past 12,000 years and our Khoe who are the visit Great Brak River. High Tide at the Rock Pool Mossel more recent arrivals. Bay. The famous St Baize Cave A new and additional exclusive and Lighthouse in the background. Great Brak River events web ad- Many many thanks to Kitty Munch for the Museum Posters.

Special Points of In-

terest this month.

Computer & Cell-phone Talk …. P age 8

Chopines or Platform Shoes ……Page 13

Historical Collection ……………. Page 16

Ina’s Tourism Snippets …...... Page 5

Information on Fossil Tracks ………. Page 9

Origins of the S A Ferreira’s ..…. Page 10

Our Nature Corner ...... Page 15

Point of Human Origins .…..….... Page 7

Reconstructive Work on Heritage Properties ………………. Page 11

Village News …………….….…..…. Page 2

What’s On in Great Brak ………… Page 4

July 2013 Great Brak River Museum News Letter Page Number 1

VILLAGE NEWS Your Editor

Our information office has always felt obligated to It was also a great week for the numerous local keep our village people informed on happenings in primary school children who participated in the the village both good and unpleasant. hands on museum’s outreach programs on Indige- nous Herbs, the Khoe-San and on Fossils. Erf 3933 which is on the hill above the upper section of Long Street has been given a five year ex- tension to complete their development. This was

put on hold at the beginning of the economic crunch. The hundred and thirty year old cast iron fencing around the Searle Family Grave Yard which was being systematically removed by vandals has been

replaced with a steel fence.

The stain glass window in the Searle Memorial Church which was recently broken when a stone was thrown at it is being repaired by our glass mas- The mobile Karoo food exhibition is on show until ter Henk du Plessis who is seen below re-fixing the the end of June. Do you want to know how to ancient glass beading. Other church windows are prepare Rabbit Stew or Sweet Potato Pie, give being fitted with see through Aluminium oxynitride us a visit. Full recipes are available. "glass” shields.

Rabbit Stew and Sweet Potato Pie

The problem element in the village do not seem to appreciate the large monetary help they receive from the communities churches. An untidy addition to the village is the new secu- The Great Brak River museum celebrated its 35th rity fence around the Ellen van Rensburg li- Birthday in style surrounded by balloons. Numerous brary. discussion groups met on the museums veranda to Please report those noisy motorists, who race relive the past with stories and to enjoy the tea, through our normally quiet village at 2.00 to 3.00 scones and cake. am in the morning, to the local police.

July 2013 Great Brak River Museum News Letter Page Number 2

GREAT BRAK RIVER – DESIGNER TOWN OF THE SOUTHERN CAPE

The redesigning of the entrances to GREAT BRAK RIVER is one of the immediate short term goals of the newly established Aesthetic Committee of the Great Brak Tourism Forum. Designers, landscapers and garden enthusiast must sharpen their pencils and get to their drawing boards! Workable and realistic suggestions and plans are welcomed. The closing date is the 31 st July 2013. The areas are the entrances into town from the N2 Mosselbaai, the 102 Road from George and the entrance to Greenhaven. Designers have Carte Blanche – but good design and practical landscaping are es- sential! Anyone interested in assisting with this great idea, can contact Ina at gbrtour- [email protected] or phone -044 620 3338 or visit the Great Brak Information Office at the Museum between 9 am and 4 pm to obtain entry forms.

Gesoek: ‘n Blink Idee!!! WANTED : A Bright Idea !!! Groot-Brakrivier skud vere reg om ‘n nuwe Great Brak River is getting ready to get a bright baadjie aan te trek – Dorp van die Jaar 2015 new image – Town of the Year 2015 Alle blink denkers ; kreatiewe siele en groot en All bright thinkers; creative souls and great and klein kunstenaars word hiermee hartlk uit small artists are herewith enthusiastically in- genooi om deel te neem aan die soeke na ‘n vited to take part in the search for a new iden- nuwe identiteit vir Groot Brakrivier. tity for Great Brak River Ontwerp: 1 ‘n Kenteken vir die DORP Design : 1 Logo for the TOWN ‘n Slagspreuk Slogan ‘n Komiese gelukbringer (mascot) Mascot

Daar word dus gesoek na ‘n maklik herken- We are searching for an easily recognizable bare kenteken vir die dorp. ( bv. Tafelberg logo for the town (as the Table mountain skets vir Kaapstad) en slagspreuk wat ge- sketch/logo for Cape Town) and slogan to use bruik kan word op alle berigte ; promosie on all corporate promotion material, adverts materiaal en advertensies -om plaaslik , land- and articles to use locally, nationally, and inter- wyd en internasionaal - herkenbaar te wees. nationally. ‘n Komiese gelukbringer (mascot) wat plaaslik A comical mascot to use locally to get all the gebruik kan word om alle inwoners en Groot inhabitants and fans of Great Brak River ex- Brakrivier aanhangers opgewonde te maak vir cited for cause of our great little town – local will ons lekker dorp – local is lekker. always be great . Sluitingsdatum : 31 Julie 2013 Closing Date : 31 July 2013 Stuur alle inskrywings aan Ina by Send all entries to Ina at [email protected] or [email protected] of lewer af by Ina by die INFO kantoor by die museum in GB deliver to the INFO office at the GBR museum.

July 2013 Great Brak River Museum News Letter Page Number 3

To make certain of receiving the full email newsletter, please ensure that your museum mem- bership is up to date.

What is on, in and around the Museum in Great Brak River this Family members only R50.oo per annum. and in the coming months. For the news letter Month & pro- Description Contacts to be sent by post, visional date please add R50.oo. Greatly enlarged Display of pre-owned books on sale in the Museum. July The museum Both English and Afrikaans books available from R2.oo each (specials) 044-620-3338

New batch of Children's Books available. I used to think Exhibition that I was inde- The Mobile Karoo Foods Panels will The museum July be on display. 044-620-3338 cisive, but now I For This Month Only am not so sure. 18th July Mandela’s Birthday Day The museum 044-620-3338 Glass on dewerf th Barry Clark at Anchor 18 July Next Estuary Management Meeting Environmental [email protected] SLIGHTLY FURTHER AFIELD Tuition in the traditional Contact Ina at the method of manufacturing Third Tourism Meeting. Info Office on Date to be advised. stained- or leaded glass 044-620-3338 or panels is offered. July Come and discuss your Ideas for gbrtour- Tourism in Great Brak [email protected] 8 de Werf Street Great Brak River Friday, 28 Knysna Oyster Festival Knysna Tourim Office: June to Sun- Phone:+27 44 620 044 382 5510 or email: 5248 day, 07 July the 'Best 10 Days of Your Winter' knysna.tourism@pixie. co.za

28 June - 8 GRAHAMSTOWN ARTS Organised by the Great Brak River July FESTIVAL Grahamstown Shoestop NATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL Foundation. [email protected]

PRINCE ALBERT Zelia phone: 023 August 5411 366, or e-mail: WINTER SCHOOL princealberttour-

Great Program [email protected]

© Compiled & Distributed by the Great Brak River Museum. The content of this newsletter is copyright and it may only be reprinted by request in writing from the Great Brak River Museum Association. 1 Charles Street The Museum Association cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies, editorial Great Brak River comment or omissions in the text. If you no longer wish to receive this e-newsletter, please reply to our email address Phone 044-620- /with the word ‘unsubscribe’ or ’Stop’ in the subject box. 3453

July 2013 Great Brak River Museum News Letter Page Number 4

De Dekke Restaurant Mainly Tourism & liquor Store Information by www.dedekke.co.za Ina Stofberg

What is happening, in and around The Garden Route and South Africa.

JULIE TOERISME OPVOLG  PRINCE ALBERT Off the N2 VERGADERING IN GROOT WINTER SCHOOL IN BRAK RIVIER Great Brak River AUGUST Phone 044-620-2531 JULY TOURISM FOLLOW-UP One of the highlights of this year's Winter School is sure to be Sandra MEETING IN GREAT BRAK Prinsloo in the award winning "Oskar RIVER Dr E M de La Harpe en die pienk tannie" Please book courses on the booking T B A form which you can download from http://www.princealbert.org.za/ Medical forthcoming/2013-winter- school/ Practioner

If an event or course is cancelled the full HOW TO SPOT AN fee will be re-funded For more information & accommo- ANTI-POACHER dation bookings contact Zelia 5a Long Street

phone: 023 5411 366, or e-mail: Great Brak River [email protected] FRAUDSTER. Phone 044-620-2208 or visit www.princealbert.org.za  Look for Non Profit Organisa- Cell Phone 082-556-5275 tion Number OR PHONE: Di Steyn (convenor) phone: 023 5411 454 or e-mail: Art @ 39 Long  Look for Section 18 A certifi- [email protected] cate [email protected]

 Ask for an audited financial  OUDTSHOORN statement

 Ask what your donation will Date: 08 August be used for specifically

 Find out whether the organi- Film Theatre sation works with a wider net- End Date: 11 August and Art Studio work of partners such as 39 Long Street, Great NGO’s Brak River, 6525. Location: Oudtshoorn Cell Phones 082-576-  Check if email address is le- 3338 & 082-558-5244 gitimately connected to the organisation Great Brak Pharmacy

 Check what percentage of the [email protected] donation will be spent on ad- ministration – it should be

reasonable and defensible 49 Long  Those collecting money on Street behalf of the NGO should have an original, signed letter Great Brak River with correct details and letter- Phone 044-620-2511 head

July 2013 Great Brak River Museum News Letter Page Number 5

the good life and sport and has taken place every year since 1983, where it began as  PLETTENBERG BAY the Knysna Winter Festival - a combination of sport that drew people to Knysna during  Wedge Classic the quiet winter season. When: Thursday, 04 July 2013 to Sunday, 07 July 2013 Plettenberg Bay. his is South Africa's biggest bodyboarding con-  Knysna National Boat test and Plett's longest running event! & Lifestyle Show Venue: The Wedge (Plettenberg Bay) Rating: 5A Classification: National Circuit Dates to be confirmed (Saturday, 06 July More Info: Telephone +27(0)82 321-8177 2013 to Monday, 08 July 2013) Knysna. We are hosting the first ever Knysna Na- tional Boat and Lifestyle Show to be held at  GEORGE Thesen Island Harbour Town in Knysna from the 6th to 8th July 2012.  Vodacom George

Cheese Festival  Knysna Cycle Tour  When: Dates to be confirmed (Saturday, 27 July 2013 to Monday, 29 July 2013) - Dates to be confirmed (Sunday, 07 July George -3 Days of Cheese, Wine, Food, music & 2013 to Monday, 08 July 2013) Knysna Pick Fun all under one roof. R55 buys you entrance 'n Pay Weekend Argus Rotary Knysna Cycle to all demo sessions, tastings and music is free. Tour: The Pick 'n Pay Weekend Argus Rotary 72 Cheese, Wine & Food exhibitors, Live Music, Knysna Cycle Tour is part of the prestigious 9 Restaurants, Full Bar, Smoking Lounge, Cof- Mazda Mountain Bike Marathon Series. fee Bar. Cheese & Wine pairing session: Brandy Contact: Zandile on 044 - 382 1129 & Belgian Chocolate pairing sessions. Food Theatre: interactive cooking demos with Top SA Chefs. Champagne with Cheese, Oysters &  Rastafarian Earth Festival Strawberrys! Supervised Children's Area for under 10s and a play park for older children. Dates to be confirmed (Monday, 22 July 2013 to Thursday, 01 August 2013). This Venue: Outeniqua Primary School, Cathedral colourful, rich festival celebrates the Rasta- Street, George Contact: Info Line: 082 032 farian way of life - their food and music, as 4589 Opening Times: 13h00 to 19h00 Fees: Friday Special - Adults R35 pp and children well as the philosophy behind this some- u/18 R15. Saturday and Sunday 28, 29 July - times misunderstood faith. Judah Square in Adults R65 pp and children u/18 R30. Knysna plays host to ten days of ceremo- nies, music and art exhibitions. Please Note: Dates for this event to be confirmed Venue: Judah Square

 KNYSNA Oyster Festival You can now follow us on Twitter at Dates to be confirmed (Saturday, 06 July 2013 to Monday, 15 July 2013) Rene’ de Kock The Knysna Oyster Festival is probably one of @HERITAGEMOSBAY the most popular annual events in the Western Cape. It is also something of a celebration of

July 2013 Great Brak River Museum News Letter Page Number 6

The Point of Human Origins experience 2013 044 699 1204 or Mossel Bay 082 550-4788

Come and visit the “Human Origins” exhibition at the

Great Brak River Museum then visit the real thing.

The Point of Human Origins experience POHO is kept fresh and exciting because we tailor each visit according to the personalities and interests of participants. You will be involved not only in the direction and depth to which each POHO experience takes you, but also in your con- tribution to the conservation of humanity's cultural heritage.

The POHO experience involves a PowerPoint presenta- tion and tour to the caves. It is emphasized that the walk to the caves includes a wooden walkway and nearly 200

steps that requires a moderate level of fitness for the return trip to the Club House. Comfortable walking shoes are a must and don't forget your camera! The duration of A number of the Pinnacle Point Caves your POHO experience is up to you, but to a maximum • Cave 13B is a globally significant archaeological of around 4 hours. site in the process of being nominated both a Na- The structure of the Point of Human Origins (POHO) ex- tional and a World Heritage Site. The cave is situ- perience is roughly as follows: ated in a spectacular, rugged Table Mountain sandstone cliff and about 13 meters above a dra- • You will self drive and meet a POHO representative/ matic and dynamic intertidal zone. Here you will guide at the Pinnacle Point reception building from experience the awe of standing at the Point of where you will be accompanied to the Club House that Human Origins!! is situated above theworld renown archaeological cave sites • Along the way you will be shown the cause for the presence of fossil bone and shell in the archaeo- • You will meet Dr Peter Nilssen who originally made the logical cave sites, evidence of ancient and chang- archaeological discovery and who, with Prof Curtis ing landscapes, cave formation processes, rem- Marean, initiated the research into the origins of mod- nants of fossil dunes, speleothems, archaeologi- ern humans which is still ongoing under the direction of cal sediments and artefacts, the importance of Prof Marean conservation and more ...

• Then Dr Nilssen gives an interactive PowerPoint pres- • Depending on participants, the cave visit it self entation that is partly directed by participants, but cov- may take anything from half an hour to 2 hours ers the following topics; • You will then return to the Pinnacle Point Club • Time Line - Stone Ages House where you may wish to relax and enjoy the breathtaking, 360 O panoramic view with a deli- • Background & Archaeology at Pinnacle Point cious, affordable meal, coffee, drink etc before • Sea Levels, Cave Formation & Archaeological Deposits you hit the road

• Excavations • You will be transported to the Pinnacle Point Re- ception from where you will depart with a new or • Archaeology of Modern Humans refreshed sense of what it means to be human.

• Where & when did modern human behaviour emerge? • Where to now as a species? Light meals and drinks are available from a 5 star "cash bar". • Depending on participants, the talk and discussions may take anything from 1 to 2 hours

 You then accompany Dr Nilssen to Cave 13B - not currently under excavation - where you will stand at the point on Earth where the earliest evidence for the origins of modern human-behaviour was discovered.

July 2013 Great Brak River Museum News Letter Page Number 7

Computer & Cell-phone Talk Your Editor & Curator

Occasionally I get asked why do I receive a file in Mime format instead of pdf. CELL PHONE MARKET-

MIME is a specification for the format of non-text e ING IN AFRICA -mail attachments that allows the attachment to be sent over the Internet. MIME allows your mail The booming mobile market in Africa and client or Web browser to send and receive things South Africa. like spreadsheets and audio, video and graphics files via Internet mail.

You receive it in Mime because something may be Did you know that there are more mobile missing from your computer. Probably a conversion phones in Uganda than there are light update or your pdf program is out of date. This hic- bulbs, and the average sub-Saharan cup occurs most often when your computer is most woman touches her hair 37 times a day busy like when down loading a file. There might also be an electrical spike when but checks her phone 82 times a day? downloading. Computers can become over loaded with too many Businesses often overlook mobile mar- programs. keting when putting together their over- all marketing strategies. Try speeding up your computer by doing the following: 1) Remove (unload using control panel) all pro- However, research shows that approxi- grams that you don't normally use. mately 821 million people in Africa 2) Update your Windows files. It can take a long owned a mobile phone by the end of time if you have not kept them up-to-date. 3) Update your Adobe reader, it is free and we are 2012 and this number is expected to rise now on platform XI. to approximately 80% mobile phone 4) Some times it is WinZip that causes the prob- penetration this year. lem and the program needs updating. FOOD FOR THOUGHT!! I always send out the news letter pdf files in version IX which gives you some breathing space. I also send a (THANKS & ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO TOURISM UPDATE) copy of the file back to myself to test that it works. Please email me and I will send another copy.

The Museum and Heritage have a Twitter Account which is an additional way to send out short packets of event news. If you are resident in Great Brak River and have an interesting event happening that you would like pub- lished send it to Ina at [email protected] We will then relay it via Twitter (and where ap- plicable Face Book). If it is less than 130 charac- ters, including spaces, it could be circulated around the whole of Mossel Bay in a few hours. Follow us on Twitter at Rene’ de Kock @HERITAGEMOSBAY

July 2013 Great Brak River Museum News Letter Page Number 8

Information on Fossil Tracks, BY CHARLES HELM Great Brak River

There are many exposures of aeolian deposits, the remains of ancient sand dunes, along the southern Cape coastline. Typically these have been dated between 60 000 and 90 000 years old through optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and amino acid racemisation (AAR) chro- nology. Well-preserved fossil trackways have been found in such rocks, best found on recently exposed surfaces. Great Brak River is no exception, and fossil trackways were discovered and photographed

here in 2012. One such trackway consists of four evenly spaced tracks, where the sand layer that filled in the original tracks has broken away from

the rock ceiling along a plane of weakness. An- other rock surface is rich in tracks - over thirty Great Brak River Conglomerate with shell natural casts of medium-sized ungulate tracks fragments as found alongside the ‘Vis

are apparent within just a few square metres. A Hoek’ (Hersham) and estuary mouth. rock sample has been taken for dating close to Probably about 60,000 years old. the track-bearing layer.

Your editor was given to understand that our local coastal sand dunes were created by wind some 10,000 years ago. This is certainly the case in upper Bergsig and around Eureka Park and in the Wilderness, however it would now appear that in other instances the base structure was fashioned much earlier.

Petrified wood is a fossil in which the organic remains have been replaced by min- Ancient footprints in the rock. erals in the slow process of being replaced with stone. This petrification process gener- Elsewhere along the Cape coast, fossilized ele- ally results in a Quartz Chalcedony miner- phant trackways, bird trackways and even hu- alization. Special rare conditions must be man trackways have been found, as well as fos- met in order for the fallen stem to be trans- silized mammal bone from the same time period. formed into Fossil Wood or Petrified Wood. These tracks overlap in age with the internation- In general, the fallen plants gets buried in ally significant archaeological finds from the re- an environment free of oxygen (anaerobic gion. Researching them can provide a further environment), which preserves the original glimpse into this fascinating period in our history. plant structure and general appearance. The other conditions include a regular ac- cess to mineral rich water flowing through the tissues, replacing the organic plant structure with inorganic stone. The end result is petrified wood, a plant, with its original basic structure in place, replaced by stone. This process could occur in less than one thousand years but is normally a lot longer. Minerals allow the more colourful hues that can be seen in some specimens. The petrified tree stump in the Great Brak River Museum was originally found in the Brandwacht River and was donated by W.M.S. FRANKLIN

July 2013 Great Brak River Museum News Letter Page Number 9

THE ORIGINS OF SOUTH AFRICA'S FERREIRA FAMILY & BY YOUR EDITOR THEIR CONNECTIONS TO GREAT BRAK RIVER

When Charles and Pamela Searle arrived in Great Brak 1941 it was occupied by my grandfather, Henry von River from England in 1859, the division of the farms in Buddenbrock, who was the Searle’s accountant. It then and around the valley into smaller properties had already became a schoolroom forming part of the school for begun. coloured children.

In 1865 it was recorded in the George Divisional Council Most South Africans are proud of the fact that they can Minutes that in a re-survey of Outeniqualand everything trace their heritage back to Dutch, German or French was settled except for the dispute between the proprie- forefathers. The influence of other European nations on tors of ‘Voorburg’ and the government regarding the the composition of the Afrikaner before 1807 was negli- piece of land occupied by Saloman Marthinus Ferreira, gible. It is thought that it was as little as 2.9%. At that the great-grandson of Ignácio Ferreira, on its western time the individual forefathers who came from other boundary. In short, the Botha’s claimed it was their land countries numbered about 104, only two were from and that they had occupied it for 37 years. Apparently Portugal. the previous year J G Aspeling, Chief Commissioner and resident Magistrate had unlawfully measured out an erf The two Portuguese mentioned were both from Lisbon to Salmon Ferreira who immediately built a large house and both were shipwrecked along the Cape coast. They on his ground. The Botha family was not successful in were Ignácio Ferreira (1722) and Manuel Joao their claim and eventually in 1869, following its seques- d'Oliveira (1792 - "Olivier"). Having been shipwrecked tration Charles Searle purchased the property. The house 70 years earlier, these Ferreiras’ are far and away in was known as the ‘House of Accommodation’ and was in the majority. all probability an Inn. Salmon Ferreira presumably lived and did business there for five years. Ignácio Ferreira was born in 1695 in Lisbon, Portugal. Nothing further about him can be substantiated except Salomon married Margaretha Elizabeth Fouché of Little that the registration of his baptism as a Roman Catholic Brak River and they lived on the farm ‘Klipheuwel’ before could be confirmed reasonably accurately from the removing to Great Brak River. He called himself a black- cords of the Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo of smith and agriculturalist. During 1849-50 he took out Lisbon. According to the records, Ignácio Ferreira was retail shop licences at Great Brak River and was also in- baptized on 1 November 1695 in the parochial church volved in various property transitions. Nossa Senhora da Ajuda by father Luis Alurz' do Soutto. His parents, Manuel Ferreira and Antónia The house also had an interesting history. In 1862 part Francisca, were from Alcântara, a suburb of Lisbon of it was used as a school and in 1869 after Charles near the harbour from where Vasco da Gama left in Searle purchased the property, it was advertised as pro- 1497. viding good accommodation following which he turned the house into a schoolhouse and chapel. This was until On 16-17 June 1722 a powerful north westerly wind hit 1894 when it became a dwelling house again. Until about the Cape. During the night, pieces of wreckage were found on the beaches. Nothing could be done except to

The House of Accommodation in Great Brak River

July 2013 Great Brak River Museum News Letter Page Number 10

light a big fire on the beach. On the morning of the 17th Etienne subsequently left his wife because of the inci- it was ascertained that all the ships of the V.O.C, namely dent. Terblanche had to remain out of reach of Ferreira Standvastigheid, Rotterdam, Zoetigheid, Schotse Lotter- as he, not without reason, feared that Ferreira with his draayer, Lakeman and Gouda, as well as a Cape ship assertive nature could any time do him great harm. D'Amy and three English East India Company ships, namely Chandos, Nightinglae and Addison had all been However on 6 November 1735 Ignácio Ferreira, then wrecked and stranded. Ten ships were lost and more aged 40, married Martha, the Protestant girl aged 18 than 600 sailors perished. years, at Stellenbosch. Two children, Maria Magdalena and Jan Leopold - who died young - were born out of 27 year old Ignácio Ferreira was a surviving sailor on the wedlock before the above date. Eight more children Chandos, a ship of 440 tons. The Chandos was on its completed the Ferreira family, nine of which were sons. return voyage from Bengal to England. They were lucky Interestingly, not a single child carried the name of and only two sailors of the ‘Chandos’ drowned. either parent or family. All their children were given Dutch names. They lived on the farm Hartebeeskuil in Probably because of the terrible experience on being the present day Mossel Bay municipality. At the time it shipwrecked, he decided to stay in the country and he was part of the Stellenbosch district. The original joined the Company (V.O.C.) as a soldier. During his mili- homestead and a portion of the farm is today under tary service period he was hired out as a knegf” (servant) the water of the dam supplying Mossel Bay. The dam as the Company often did with soldiers and sailors during was built in 1970 but the water is too brackish for nor- peace time. Whilst encamped on the farm ‘Sonquaskloof’, mal use. he met Martha Terblanche (or Terblans) and fell in love. She was only 15 years old and lived with her parents. From here the Ferreira family spread through the local area, Langkloof, Karoo, to the Gamtoos Valley, Etienne Teblanche was so against his daughter marrying throughout the Eastern Cape, South Africa and Ferreira because of their different religious upbringings neighbouring states. At one stage about 20% of all that he sought the Council of Justice and the Court in inhabitants in the Gamtoos Valley were of the Ferreira these marriage matters to ensure that it would not hap- family. Many had the same names so that nicknames pen. (At that time, men under 21 and women under 18 had to identify the families. Thus there were the Eer- years must have their parents consent to marry). likes (honest ones), Langsalmons, Matabelies, Giele, When questioned, Etienne Terblanche's opposition to his Wittes (white ones), Stompies (short ones), Salies, daughter's proposed marriage was so strong that he pro- Vales (grey ones), Swartes (black ones), Skeles (squint vided not only information about Etienne Terblanche's -eyed ones), Konings (kings), Fisante (pheasants), At- wanderings, but also his supposedly being caught with ties, Jape, van der Poele, Bloubokkies, Geelbekke etc. his own wife in a scandalised situation. He said he could never allow his daughter, although she already has two children with Ignácio "in onegt geteelt" to marry. He was, however, the only witness to the affair.

The Font and the Igreja Nossa Senhora da Ajuda, Lisbon

EXTRACTS FROM GAMTOOS TOURISM, THE STORY OF GREAT BRAK RIVER & TERBLANCHE- LAND

July 2013 Great Brak River Museum News Letter Page Number 11

Reconstructive Work on Heritage Properties By Your Editor

 Resist the planting of creepers, particularly ivy.

 Do not aggravate damp problems at the base of walls by replacing timber floors with concrete floors on consolidated fill.

 Retain under floor ventilators for timber floors.

 Repair old walls with lime plaster and then seal with lime wash. Use mortar and plaster

with a low cement and high lime content so that the mix is not stronger than the brick or stonework. Bear in mind that the sun baked brick’s strength is much lower than modern stock brick. • 1:1:4 (lime + Ordinary Portland Cement + sand) is the usual mortar mix for the experienced builder. Note: this calculation is based Recently our local building inspector had to stop work on on weight, not volume. A higher sand content is No 7 Long Street as two labourers were in the process of no longer recommended for a long life using removing the front façade plaster. They were insuffi- new stock bricks. ciently experienced to undertake the project and the • 2:1:9 (lime + Ordinary Portland Cement + owner has not sought a permit from Heritage Western sand) is the usual plaster mix for the experi- Cape. enced builder. The main complaint is that the owner has undertaken repairs without a permit and without understanding the • Retain and repair decorative plasterwork such major issues involved. as rustication, corner quoins, levelled edges etc. The front wall is extremely wet and re-plastering without • Obtain professional help when cleaning or re- some sort of damp proofing will not necessarily be suc- pairing stone walls. cessful and could result in the wall failing completely. • Never use patent Along-life@, tiling cement or other water repellent coatings or surface Repairing plaster in buildings in the Mossel Bay treatments on the interior or the exterior of old and Great Brak River area that are older than buildings. They promote water retention about 90 years. and internal wall decay. Before about 1920 all houses in Great Brak River and many in Mossel Bay were built using low strength sun Stone walls must never be painted. baked bricks. No damp proofing barriers were used. • Rising damp can often be halted by means of Many of these buildings now suffer from rising damp the injection of silicon into the walls. leading to the plaster becoming loose and falling off and eventually complete destruction. If shrinkage and cracking of the lime mortar does oc- Removing the existing plaster and replacing it with mod- cur this can be as a result of either ern plaster does not work and the wall will soon start to  The sand being poorly graded or with a particle degrade. The new plaster, if conventional, soon falls off size that is too small as there is insufficient bonding to the underneath wet surface.  The mortar being applied too thickly (Thicker These old walls need to breath to allow the moisture to coats increase the possibility of shrinkage, crack- escape and to do so requires the use of a lime based ing and slumping) plaster with a lime wash finish.  Too much suction from the substrate Old Walls  High air temperatures or direct sunlight which • If the house develops structural problems like crack- force dry the mortar ing find out what is happening and take immediate steps to solve the problem.  High water content in the lime mortar mix. • Once the cause for cracking has been established  Poor quality or unmatured lime putty and corrected, fill the cracks to prevent water penetration. • Maintain and repair joints and pointing of stonework Contact Heritage Mossel Bay or the Mu- with the correct mortar which should be weaker than seum for assistance on 044-620-3338. the stone or brick.

July 2013 Great Brak River Museum News Letter Page Number 12

Chopins or Platform Shoes By Wendy Welch

With the Searle factory being one of the first Chopines of the Spanish style were more often coni- shoe factories in South Africa we undertook to cal and symmetric, while their Venetian counter- provide more stories on shoes. parts are much more artistically carved. Chopines

Have you ever wondered how platform shoes came about. Long ago between the years 1400-1700 , near the beginning platform high-heels first started as a shoe called the chopine (said as sh oh - p ae n). The Italian word for chopines is "zoccoli" which comes from the Italian word "zocco," which is described as a stump or a block of wood.

The beginning of chopine shoes is not certain. Some say though that they come from Turkish women's large bathhouse clogs. These clogs were worn to keep feet from coming in direct touch with the hot and polished marble bathhouse floor.

People who wore chopines had a number of problems walking with them. They often needed help from one or two servants to put on or take off their chopines and help them to balance themselves as they walked. Women would also use a cane to help them walk at ease without falling Different heights of chopines showing the differ- over. Women who wore beautiful long gowns and ent ranks of the wearer chopines needed the help of their husbands or On the front of the chopine a vamp braid goes up maids to walk on the uneven streets and royal one side of the front of the shoe, around the vamp, backyards of Venice. With practice a woman could and then back down. The vamp reaches almost all walk and even dance well when wearing a pair. the way to the front of the chopine. Belted stitches were used to pin the velvet that was attached to

the vamp. A decorative ribbon trim was attached to the vamp.

At the back of the chopine there is an uneven running stitch with very wide thread at the back, and

the boundaries of the velvet are not curved inward. The seam was covered with a braid of some kind, to hide the stitching from view.

The bottom had stitching which is done through a

score, about halfway through the bottom sole. The reason for this is so that when the stitch is pulled tight, the stitches cover themselves into the

leather and the wearer does not walk on the stitches, wearing them out. There was a big support nail in the middle of the chopine.

The sole had white stitching above where the velvet Making of the chopines (often red or green) is pulled below the base and Chopines were made from wood, cork, metal, and covered by the sole. This type of stitching, done higher end models were covered with leather, through the sole, surround and bottom fabric was jewel-stitched velvet and brocade. made with a double layer of leather, the bottom

July 2013 Great Brak River Museum News Letter Page Number 13

layer appearing to be a bit thicker than the top. In Venice, the chopines were worn by courtesans The interesting thing about this stitching is that and noble women. The height of the chopine became they do not meet one another like a normal shoe- a symbolic mark to the cultural and social rank of maker's stitch. the wearer. The higher the chopine was the higher the rank of the wearer. High chopines allowed a The insole had an attractive tooling on the sole, woman too literally and figuratively tower over oth- which was done with a metal colouring stamped into ers. For the time of the Renaissance, chopines be- the insole. There is also a small piece of velvet came an object of women's fashion and were made edge around the sole. This means that the insole even taller; some present examples are over 50 cm was cut a little smaller than the top of the base. high. In a symbolic way, the highest woman in public It was almost indeed done for decoration as well events instructed mainly social control between her as not to put the stitches on a sharp bend of the peer. carved wooden bottom. Stitch marks in the velvet easily spread it to the insole. The insole was awled Also in Italy clergymen saw the wearing of chopines through the side to make a border seam, similar to as mostly worthy as the shoes included the wearer a turn shoe. The velvet was sewn onto the insole from make a fuss of in morally unsafe pleasure such and folded down over to hide the stitching. as dance.

The outsole is concave with respect to the plane of Chopines were regarded by some viewers as equip- the ground, and is bowed up into the base. It has a ment to keep women in the home, to keep them nail to keep the outsole bowed up. There is a hol- from walking or getting lost. lowing made out in the bottom of the base, it In the 15th century, chopines were also part of makes the chopine lighter and more stable to wear. fashion in Spain. Their fondness in Spain was so There is stitching on the outsole. huge that the larger part of the nation’s cork sup- The purposes for which people used chopines plies went in to the construction of shoes.

Chopines were used differently in unlike places Chopines were most popular in China, Italy, France, such as China and in Italy. In China the Manchu’s England, Switzerland and Spain. The fashion never (people who were local in Manchuria who ruled reached northern Europe. China from 1644 to 1912) used chopines in the mid- The shoes showed the beginning of trade between 1600’s as a less hurtful way to change the practice Venetian merchants and the Near East, or south- of foot binding that had been used since the tenth west Asia. century. Foot binding was a normal way in China where girls and young women would bind their feet At present platforms are worn for both duty and so as to make them stop growing. The stand of the fashion. The choice of shoes for people who are Chinese chopines were a lot thinner than those looking for extra height and leg increase in skinny made in Venice, giving women a footprint that was jeans styles, the weight of the shoe balances a good the same as bound feet but giving them the same outfit and adds just the right quantity of the past trouble walking. importance when worn with vintage-inspired accom- The royal and upper class people used paniments. chopines which were a thick-soled, raised shoe that was made to protect their shoes and dresses from unevenly paved and wet or muddy streets.

As their need to show fashion in clothes increased with the largely upper class, this started the growth of trade between European countries and their neighbours from Africa and Asia.

Chopines became a fashion style, mainly with technology that was in some better off parts of Europe. ………………...Right; Lady with Servants.

July 2013 Great Brak River Museum News Letter Page Number 14

PHOTO’S AND TEXT;

OUR NATURE CORNER SALLY ADAM

In March we camped at Plett and I found this This beautiful tiny mantid is not usually odd looking creature on the side of the tent. It seen in the Western Cape. It is probably a took a while before I realised it was a spider species of Oxypiloidea - one of the diag- (probably a Palystes) which had captured a nostic features is its habit of vibrating its cockroach. antennae very quickly. I found it on the fence and encouraged it onto my hand so that I could rush off and

get the camera. It was quite content to perch on a finger, watching the goings-on of the dogs. There's something so intelli-

gent about a mantid - I think it must be the way they move their heads from side to side to track movement.

Its camouflage outfit is also impressive

I love close-ups and this feisty female crab was willing to oblige as I shoved my camera practi- cally up her nose. I often find these river crabs quite a way from water and wonder what they're up to.

The Crab.. Close Up

July 2013 Great Brak River Museum News Letter Page Number 15

OUR HISTORICAL COLLECTION; INVENTIONS BY INA STOFBERG & DISCOVERIES

A concise history of Spectacles: Spectacles, hinged at the centre to grip the 13th century AD nose, appear quite frequently in paintings of the 15th century. During the 13th century it was discovered or probably rediscovered that a crystal with a curved As demand increases, glass replaces quartz surface can help the elderly to read. as the material for lenses and the trade of the lens-grinder becomes one of great skill Mounted in a holder, such a lens is simply a small and importance. magnifying glass. Early spectacles all use convex lenses to re- The philosopher-scientist Roger Bacon refers to dress long sight (difficulty in seeing things the use of a lens in a text of 1268. At this time it which are close). would be shaped and smoothed from a lump of quartz. By the 16th century it is discovered that concave lenses will compensate for short Soon after (probably in Florence during the 1280s) sight (difficulty in seeing distant objects). the idea evolves of placing two lenses in a hinged frame which can be held in front of the eyes. It is The Nimrud lens or Layard lens (in a natural next step to perch this on the nose. the British Museum) is a 2800-year old piece of rock crystal, which was un- earthed by Austen Henry Layard at the Assyrian palace of Nimrud, in modern- day Iraq.

It may have been used as a magnifying glass, or as a burning-glass to start fires by concentrating sunlight, or it may have been a piece of decorative inlay.

Because the lens is made from natural rock crystal the material of the lens has ABOVE: old spectacles & case at the Great Brak not deteriorated significantly over time. Museum. It has an approximate three times magnification.

July 2013 Great Brak River Museum News Letter Page Number 16