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Land, Church, Forced Removals and Community on Klipfontein Farm in the District of Alexandria, Eastern Cape C

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Land, Church, Forced Removals and Community on Klipfontein Farm in the District of Alexandria, Eastern Cape C Land, Church, Forced Removals and Community on Klipfontein Farm in the District of Alexandria, Eastern Cape c. 1872 - 1979 By GJW Bezuidenhout (G06B2242) Degree: Master of Arts Supervisor: Professor Gary Baines Department: History Abstract This thesis is a case study of how church, land and dispossession of land has influenced identity formation of a coloured community in the Eastern Province, namely the Klipfontein community. Coloured history in the Eastern Province has largely been neglected. This study attempts to rectify such a lack of in-depth enquiry as it may lead to misinterpretations that may influence contemporary politics and identity formation. Through research based on primary sources, it is evident that the social landscape of Klipfontein Farm and the relationships between that community and surrounding black African and white communities have largely been shaped by the stipulations contained in the joint will of the community’s ancestors: Dirk and Sarah Janse van Rensburg. The land devolved into a trust and has been administered by trustees since the death of the first spouse in 1877. By keeping the land in a trust, it enabled the descendants to continue to live on the farm in perpetuity, without the risk of being forced off the land via financial restraints or racially-based legislation. But the usufructuaries could also never fully utilise Klipfontein as an agricultural concern due to a combination of a lack of equipment and skill, and the provisions of the will. These complications inevitably led to inter-familial disputes and tension. Before 1939 there had already been three court cases dealing with the interpretations of the Will. In that same year the Supreme Court ordered that tracts of the land, including a part of Boesmansriviermond village, be sold in order to pay off arrear rates and taxes. Although the responsibility for these sales lay with the trustees, the community has been suspicious of the usufructuaries ever since. A key element of the Klipfontein identity is their religion. The church legitimises their right to the farm - against those who wish to take that right away. Their claim to occupation is couched in scriptural discourse, viewing Klipfontein as 'their Garden of Eden' that God gave to the stamvader, Dirk Janse van Rensburg. This seemed to have been partially successful for the Klipfontein community in staving off harassment by authorities. It also caused friction between the community and the black African residents. Some usufructuaries and family members felt that such right was exclusively given to the coloured community and so they became increasingly annoyed by the black Africans who settled there. Other usufructuaries did not share this feeling. They allowed evicted black African farm labourers to settle on certain portions of Klipfontein until the late 1970s. The black African population rapidly increased due to misinformation and evictions from neighbouring farms. This only further exacerbated the inter-familial conflict between usufructuaries, flaring tensions between the black Africans and their reluctant hosts as well as animosity from the white community towards Klipfontein. In 1979, after a series of court cases, a decision was made to remove all the African settlers by force and relocate most of them to the ‘homeland’ of Ciskei. The rest, who were of ‘working-age’ were left behind in a ‘temporary emergency camp’ on the outskirts of Kenton-on-Sea. The effects of these removals still impact the relationships between the different racial groups in the area to this day. Preface It is a pleasure to thank the many people who made this thesis possible. I would firstly like to express my sincere gratitude to my thesis supervisor, Prof Gary Baines. This work would never have been possible without his sound advice and steadfast guidance. Financial assistance from the Oppenheimer Trust, through the tireless and selfless work of the Post Grad Funding Office (most notably Liezel Strydom) is hereby gratefully acknowledged. Her as well as Prof Baines’ tireless efforts to obtain finance for this research can never be overstated. I also appreciate the assistance and support I received from my colleagues and other staff of the Rhodes History Department. I wish to thank in particular, Prof Ennocent Msindo, Dr Nomalanga Mkhize, Dr Nicole Ulrich and Dr Alan Kirkaldy for their unwavering support and guidance in the details of thesis-writing. Even just to have people like them to chat to when the walls seemed to close in was highly appreciated. To have allowed me into your circle of knowledge and wisdom is a privilege. Also, I would like to thank the History Department secretary, Ms Annidene Davis, for her warm smile, kind words and invitation for me to abuse the departmental coffee pot and left-over cake when she saw I was down. I also wish to thank the staff of the Cape Archives and Cory Library for Historical Research, as well as the Rhodes University Library. Their assistance and overall efficiency was remarkable. I am really grateful for my friends for their continued support and willingness to indulge my sessions where I tend to think out loud and seek some kind of response. Thank you to my colleagues and friends, Craig Paterson, Tarryn Gillit and Jonathan Stein, whose soothing words during our "smoke breaks” saved me from numerous cataclysmic meltdowns. I am particularly indebted to my good friend, Garth Elzermann, who first inspired me to pursue my Masters in History, and continues to stimulate my need for knowledge in the form of lively debate over many glasses of wine. To all my other friends whom I neglected during my self-imposed exile to write this thesis, I humbly ask your forgiveness but also extend my eternal gratitude for understanding and still sticking it out with me. I am particularly grateful to all the interviewees (listed in the Bibliography) who gave their time without once turning me away. I thank them for sharing their knowledge of Klipfontein with me and encouraging me throughout the process to complete the thesis. I also owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the people of Klipfontein, Kenton-on-Sea and Boesmansriviermond, for allowing me the opportunity to tell this story. Without their enthusiasm it would have been close to impossible to gain access to the information I needed for this thesis. I thank them for inviting me into their homes and providing me with encouragement and support. I am incredibly thankful for Jenny Vermeulen and Louisa Windvogel who provided me with crate­ loads of tangible information when I had nothing to work with but a rumour. I also wish to thank the Klipfonteiners in particular. They invited me into their homes and church with enthusiasm and the warmest hospitality. Sharing their experiences (especially with a white man) could not have been easy, but I value their trust and I hope I have done it justice. I have nothing but respect and love towards these people. Finally, I would like to thank my family for their support, encouragement and unwavering love. My brother, Dawie supported me in his own, brotherly way. My parents, Johan and Marietjie, are the two main reasons why I managed to complete this thesis. From organising family holidays to coincide with my trips to the Cape Archive, to demanding of me "progress reports” and offering advice wherever they could. My dad encouraged me to choose Klipfontein as my research topic after realizing what significance the existence of such a community held in the area. My mom listened to my "progress reports” and was there when I just wanted to chat over a cup of tea. My parents provided me with more love and support than I deserve. I dedicate this thesis to them. CONTENTS: Abstract Preface Chapter 1: Introduction 6 - The setting 6 - Terminology: Origins and problematic terms 10 - Coloured identity and community 12 - The Klipfonteiners 20 - Klipfontein Land, Church and ‘Community’ 22 - Methodology 25 - Scope of study 27 Chapter 2: Origins of Klipfontein 32 - The genealogies of Klipfontein 'colouredness' 32 - Where there's a Will there's a way- Provisions of the 1877 Will 45 - The rise of the usufructuaries 50 - The 'asylum' clause 54 - Conclusion 62 Chapter 3: 'Hierdie is onse Kanaan' - Church and identity formation in Klipfontein 75 - Promised Land rhetoric 77 - The vakansie-sendelinge ("Holiday missionaries”) 88 - Customs and rituals 94 - Conclusion 101 Chapter 4: Land and identity formation in Klipfontein 104 - Klipfonteiner Identity: Taal and storytelling 105 - "Ons is arm maar die land maak ons ryk” (We are poor but the land makes us rich): Usufructuary identity 110 - Klipfonteiner Identity: the status of the inkomers 113 - "Die ou mensies is uit hulle land verneuk” : Expropriation and dispossession of land 115 1 - "You're my people and I can't refuse you” : The black Africans on Klipfontein 117 - Conclusion 129 Chapter 5: Black Africans on Klipfontein: Prelude to the Forced Removals 139 - Glenmore: The "finest African township in the Republic” 144 - Threats and Resistance 152 - "People are being moved in terms of an order that may be illegal.” 165 - The Hearing continues 177 Chapter 6: Black Africans on Klipfontein: Dispossession and Resettlement 198 "Then they took the house to pieces.” 198 - "I will not allow indignities for other people.” 203 - The journey to Glenmore 206 - "There is no way you can describe that hunger” 210 - "Free coffins” 216 - The Aftermath 220 Chapter 7 - Conclusion 242 Bibliography 250 List of maps and illustrations Maps: - Map 1: Klipfontein Farm in relation
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