June 2011 Phone 044-620-3338 Fax 044-620-3176 Email: [email protected] www.greatbrakriver.co.za www.ourheritage.org.za

Editor Rene’ de Kock

Dear Museum Friends Issue 6 of 201 Most Important

May is always a busy month at the museum. Our AGM took place on the 11th and Heritage Mossel much of the past committee was reelected for the April 2011-March 2012 year. Bay is holding its A. Chairperson Rene’ de Kock nd B. Heritage Nisde McRobert AGM on the 22 C. Secretary Hope de Kock June 2011 at 6.30 D. Treasurer Rodney McRobert pm. E. Additional Committee Members Coralie van Heerden, Kitty Munch, and Jan Nieuwoudt The Museum is The two members elected from the above to represent the museum on the Board of open Monday, Control are Nisde McRobert and Jan Nieuwoudt. We would like to welcome Jan Tuesday, Thursday Nieuwoudt who has a good deal of knowledge on Great Brak’s history. and Friday between 9 am and In addition was the bi-annual Arts and Crafts week organised by Hope de Kock 4 pm and on with the assistance of many of her craft class members. The standard this year Wednesdays from has been simply amazing and the work done by the class was outstanding with 9.00 to 12.30 pm. many new crafts being worked and on display. In-between these craft displays were a large collected Hopes next fund works by Vivian raising “Hands Holtzhouzen of Laotian On” crafts hand woven silks never workshop will be before seen. in June and will be held at the Great Most of the pieces contain Brak River motifs of floral, geometric Museum on and diamond patterns and Tuesday 21st. mythical animal borders. They display either three or Please call Hope de five large diamond panels, Kock on brocaded almost from one 083 378 1232 end to the other, with only for full details. small plain section at both ends. Colour changes on the weave have been made so as to confuse the evil spirits. These collections are good as Short of a book table runners or for wall hanging or even as shawls. to read

TIM SIN, Laotian women A large collection wear simple black tubular skirts. of Pre-owned To identify themselves and adorn their skirts they weave books on sale in ‘Tim Sin’ and sew them to the the Museum bottom of their skirts. The ones Shop….Every on display are all used ones and week day morning depict the dragon/serpent and afternoons which is central to a lot of their when the museum folklore. Tigers and elephants is open. are also depicted. Laos means ‘The land of a million Proceeds go to elephants”. museum funds

GBR MUSEUM NEWS LETTER JUNE 2011 Page No. 1 Hand-woven silk brocades are often irregular and have natural flaws or colour changes on the material. These are not considered as the defects but the charm of Southeast Asian The museum shop artistry. has a new range of cards depicting Many such as various scenes in the one on and around the the left from village northern India tell a simple story. In September 2009 This work tells the Wolwedans dam the story of a water level stood at rural woman 44.50% full and who had to water restrictions travel to a city were introduced. for the first time in her life in order to The Department of sign a contract Water Affairs and for her Forestry reports that upcoming during late May nuptials. She 2011, our saw a plane, a Wolwedans dam ferry and many water level is other new things on her 82.6% full and is still rising. journey.

The museum celebrated Museum day on the 25th May with a collection of photographs depicting people of the village of , some in special events depicting our diverse heritage such as a wedding or simply children playing in the sand using the theme MUSEUMS and MEMORY. The photographs will be on display for the next few weeks.

The annual museum’s workshop takes place from the 8th to 10th June 2011.

An Evening of Entertainment

Local History Above, the ‘First Shoe of Film and Factory’ in 1884 and the Photography ‘Road to the Height’, 1885. at the museum has Right, the villagers of been Great Brak River leaving the Apostolic Faith postponed nd Mission. ‘The Wedding’ until June 22

GBR MUSEUM NEWS LETTER JUNE 2011 Page No. 2 “Money Makes the World Go Round” Contribution by your editor

“I have been reading a new economics book by Edmund Conway titled 50 ‘So you think money Economics Ideas. is the root of all evil. Have you ever asked An 1874 newspaper what is the root of illustration from Harper's money’ - Ayn Rand Weekly, showing a man engaging in barter: offering chickens in First evidence of exchange for his yearly bartering in parts of newspaper subscription. Africa 12,000 years ago “For hundreds of thousands of year’s Cattle, which include civilisation tended to anything from cows, to barter for goods, sheep, to camels, are trading shells and the first and oldest form precious stones for of money. With the food and important advent of agriculture commodities. For the came the use of grain first evidence of money as a currency we need to go back 5,000 years to where and other vegetable or modern day Iraq now sits, to find the shekel. Though this was the first form of plant products as a currency, it wasn’t money as we know and understand it. It actually standard form of barter represented a certain weight of barley equivalent to gold or silver. Eventually in many cultures. the shekel became a coin currency in its own right. In much the same way, 11,000-8,000 years Britain’s ago currency is The Shekel (unit of called the weight) trades in pound Mesopotamia because it 5,000 years ago was originally equivalent to First evidence of gold a pound of and silver coins in silver. Lydia. 2,600 years ago A 640 BC one-third stater electrum coin from Lydia (An ancient country of west-central Asia Minor on the Aegean Sea in present-day northwest China invents first Turkey) banknotes 1,200 years ago The ancient Greeks and Romans used gold and silver coins as currency, with the Latin denarius Introduction of the gold ultimately giving birth to the dinar in various standard, pegging all countries, including Jordan and Algeria and money to a set amount providing the ‘d’ that served as an abbreviation for of gold the British penny before dissimilation In 1971. It 1816 also gives us the word for money in Spanish and Portuguese- dinero and dinheiro. The first ever bank notes were issued in 7th centaury ‘Money never made a China, though it took another 1,000 years before the man happy yet, nor idea of paper money was adopted in Europe, by will it. The more a Sweeden’s Stockholms Banco in 1661”. man has, the more he wants. Instead of filling a vacuum, it The world's earliest paper money. Song makes one’ Dynasty Jiaozi (Sichuan capital of Chengdu) Benjamin Franklin

GBR MUSEUM NEWS LETTER JUNE 2011 Page No. 3 Elephants in Early Contribution by your editor

At up to 4.5 meters in shoulder height, Elephas reki was one of the largest elephant species to have ever lived. It is believed that they ranged throughout Africa between 3.5 and 1 million years ago. It is not known for sure, but the disappearance of E. recki from Africa by the Late Pleistocene was probably related to vegetation changes which became more suited to Loxodonta.

Within the borders of the present , elephant material has been identified from sites in the present provinces of the (18,000–1,500 BP, and 500–recent BP). It would appear that at some or other time in the past, elephants could or did occur over much of what is now South Africa, including the arid north-western parts. Two of the most important fossil localities that have yielded proboscideans (Elephants, Mammoths, Mastodons) are Langebaanweg and Elandsfontein in the Western Cape.

There are also numerous examples of painted and engraved elephant figures sometimes shown being hunted by a large party of men. The transhumant herding communities of the western and south-western Cape, the Khoekhoen, were familiar with elephants and the value of ivory – they traded ivory bracelets with the Portuguese navigator and the explorer in Mossel Bay on 25 July 1497 – but there is no direct evidence that they engaged in extensive ivory operations (Axelson, 1973).

In the eighteenth century, formal expeditions set off from , travelling for a number of months and returning with wagons loaded with ivory (Wilson, 1969b). Two professional trading expeditions left the Cape in 1736 under Hermanus Heupenaer and returned with profitable stocks of ivory bartered from the Thembu and Xhosa (MacKenzie, 1988).

African Savanna Elephant (Loxodonta africana)

Many of the road passes in the Southern Cape were built on paths created by the elephant. These giant animals made easily followed trails through the forests, and we know that the Elephant Trail from nearby Riversdale through the Attaquas Kloof was used by the early people right through the ages to the new explorers like Le Vaillant (1782). Lawrence G Green writes in ‘Trails of the Tuskers’ that the Bloukrans pass on the is also an old elephant highway.

DNA-based studies indicate that two species of African elephant exist, namely, Loxodonta africana (savanna elephant) and Loxodonta cyclotis (forest elephant). In addition the two exhibit certain other more obvious differences; most notably, in habitat – cyclotis occupies mainly the forested parts of Central Africa, whereas africana occupies mainly the savannas of eastern and southern Africa. Cyclotis is smaller than africana, and there are differences in the ear structure.

Middens found on the Southern Cape coast show that elephants formed a small part of the Khoekhoen diet.

There is also evidence in the middens that some animals such as Zebra and Buffalo were 50% larger than our present-day species. On the right, the top line is a drawing of zebras found to day whilst the bottom line is of the quagga, a close relative of the zebra which became extinct 128 years ago.

GBR MUSEUM NEWS LETTER JUNE 2011 Page No. 4 Moving closer to our area, the forest is well known for its original herd of forest elephants. These animals were physically larger than other elephants found in South Africa. During 1650, there were about 1000 forest elephants in the Knysna region. At the beginning of the 20th century a large herd still existed. By the end of the 1980’s the Knysna forest elephants were however almost extinct. An attempt to introduce new elephants from the Kruger Park failed. The animals could not adapt to the tough and wet conditions in the indigenous forest.

Loxodonta cyclotis in the ADDO Park, .

The Great Fire of 1869 which took out portion of the Tsitsikamma Forest between and Humansdorp where it was thickest. The fire was extremely widespread and raged across almost the whole coastal area from Swellendam to Riversdale to Humansdorp.

In our local game parks we find several examples of the White Rhinoceros or Square- lipped rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum). It has a wide mouth used for grazing and is the most social of all rhino species.

These animals are, nonetheless, not indigenous.

The Black Rhinoceros or Hook-lipped Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis), is a species of rhinoceros, native to the eastern and central areas of Africa but from bones found locally they appear to have lived in the Mossel Bay area some centuries ago.

The Black Rhino is smaller than the White Rhino, and has a long, pointed, and prehensile upper lip, which it uses to grasp leaves and twigs when feeding.

A skull of Diceros bicornis

GBR MUSEUM NEWS LETTER JUNE 2011 Page No. 5

What’s in and around the museum in Great Brak River this and the coming months? Month & Description Supported Contact person provisional date by Late February Launch of the new museum and GENERAL Museum & ENQUIRIES heritage web site. Heritage Rene’ de Kock: ourheritage.org.za 083-448-1966 Pre-owned books on sale in the Museum Shop….Every week day. The Museum for The museum June museum funds Both English and books 044-620-3338 available from R4.oo each Postponed to An Evening of Entertainment GENERAL nd Museum ENQUIRIES 22 June Local History of Film and Nisde McRobert @ 6.30 pm Photography 044-620-3783 MEC Dr Ivan Meyer will re- th GENERAL 18 July launch the Nobel Peace Prize ENQUIRIES Nisde McRobert @ Travelling Exhibition 044-620-3783 at the museum

NEAR BY 11th June Light House Walk Mossel Bay Jack van der Lecq Heritage 044-620-4220 22nd June Mossel Bay Heritage Mossel Bay Jack van der Lecq Heritage 044-620-4220 Association AGM For more details on what’s on in our area email Hennie & Rene with a request for their news letter: [email protected]

TE KOOP BY DIE MUSEUM Quote of the Month.

VAN STRAND RUST TOT REEBOK The art of life lies in a constant Stories en vertellings sedert 1909 readjustment to our surroundings.

Deur Anna Kühn ‘n Pragtige boek met ‘n gelamineerde voorblad wat sal hou as die boek oor en oor gelees word. ‘n

Kleinood vir enigiemand wat bekend is met

Reebok, die geliefde stranddorpie van talle Okakura -en binnelandse families. So ook die Kakuzo van Anna Kühn. Die boek word in 17 (Japanese hoofstukke verdeel met ‘n vooraf vertelling scholar, en ‘n nawoord. Dan is daar ook ‘n 1863- aanhegsel van dokumente en briewe. Hier 1913) en daar is sketse en taksraampies met boererate en resepte. Die boek boei die leser vanaf die eerste bladsy. As jy iets van die kultuur van strandhou in Desember weet, moet jy hierdie boek aanskaf. Jy sal saam met die skrywer nostalgies raak oor die ou dae en ure se genot uit hierdie heerlike boek put. Slegs R 120. oo GBR MUSEUM NEWS LETTER JUNE 2011 Page No. 6 Information by Ina Stofberg SA Tourism and Other Snippets TOURISM SNIPPETS

 SAFETY FIRST

Secure your establishment. The aim is to create an environment that is not only as safe as possible but also to provide information and equipment that reassure guests that their safety is of paramount importance. The most obvious place to start is the front door. Special entrance systems offer a myriad of solutions. Staff must also be trained to spot loiterers and members of the public behaving in as suspicious manner. Crimes taking place at accommodation establishments etc. are quick to make the newspapers.

Cape Town has been named the top tourist destination in the world in the 2011 Travelers' Choice Destinations awards.

Travelers' Choice Destinations awards honour the top travel spots worldwide based on millions of real and unbiased opinions from TripAdvisor travellers. Award winners were determined based on a combination of travellers' favourite places and overall destination popularity.

Cape Town beat Sydney, Machu Picchu, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Rome, London, Barcelona and Hong Kong to the top spot.

TripAdvisor websites operate in 29 countries worldwide and have been recognized as top travel resources in 2010 by Condé Nast Traveler, Good Housekeeping, TIME magazine and Travel + Leisure.

 Cape ballot papers longest in SA history

Ballot papers in the Cape Metropole were the longest ever encountered in South Africa.

Cape Town had a record number of 33 parties and candidates contesting the municipal polls in May 18th 2011.

DID YOU KNOW?

Unbelievable trivia from Britain

 40% of men feel more confident at cooking than DIY.  22% of 1,073 adults questioned did not know bacon and sausages came from farms.  29% of adults have never visited a farm.  47% of people did not know porridge's main ingredient is produced on a farm.  Four in ten people did not know that yoghurt is made from farm produce.

Thanks and acknowledgment to Tourism Update & other internet sites.

GBR MUSEUM NEWS LETTER JUNE 2011 Page No. 7 More about the camera obscura…

The Mystery in the Mirror - Vermeer's Camera

This painting, often referred to as 'The Music Lesson', was created by the great Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer in the 1660s. It shows an exquisitely painted interior scene, with a woman playing the virginals and a man listening. The woman has her back to us, although we can see a reflection of her face in the mirror on the wall. The man's role is unclear. He appears to be wearing an outdoor coat, and is carrying a stick. Has he just stepped inside from the street, to ask the woman a question, and now hangs on her answer? Is he a relation? Her teacher? Her lover? The answer to this little mystery we may never know. But this painting contains a quite extraordinary set of clues about a much bigger mystery, one which has only recently been deciphered. Vermeer (1632-75) only produced about 30 paintings during his lifetime. He really seems to have worked rather slowly. When he died, his wife and family were left in debt. Two paintings went to the local baker to settle a bill. But since about 100 years ago, his work started to be re- assessed, and today he is regarded as one of the greatest artists that ever lived.

Very little is known about Vermeer's life, and his methods of working. He had no students or apprentices, and he left no records. But many people have speculated that he might have used some sort of optical device to help him create his paintings, possibly a device called a Camera obscura, the forerunner of the modern camera. Literally 'darkened room' a Camera obscura is a box which has a lens at the front. A portable Camera obscura can have a ground glass screen onto which the image from the lens is thrown. Or a Camera obscura can be big enough for the observer to be inside it.

These speculations about Vermeer's possible use of a Camera obscura are based on general observations about his paintings. But recent work by Professor Philip Steadman, of the Open University in England, has thrown new light on this issue. In this article we will explore Professor Steadman's work, which shows how clues that Vermeer has left us in the actual paintings suggest that the paintings can be thought of as photographs as much as paintings. And, rather than belittling Vermeer's contribution to the world of art, we will suggest that, in his almost scientific examination of the world using a lens, we should also think of Vermeer in the same context as those scientific geniuses of the 17th century, the microscopist van Leeuwenhoek, who turned his lens on the miniature world contained in a drop of water, and Galileo, who turned his telescope to the heavens.

GBR MUSEUM NEWS LETTER JUNE 2011 Page No. 8 THE CURATOR’S CORNER Nisde McRobert

GREAT BRAK RIVER INDUSTRIES SINCE the mid 1800’s - PART TWO

1891 WATTLE BARK MILL

Charles Searle junior was probably one of the first to grow black wattle trees in the area. An article appeared in the “George and Knysna Herald” of July 16th 1890 as to the value of black wattle bark as a tanning material. Charles Searle junior obtained wattle seeds from the Forestry Department in October 1891 and brought back 20lb (9.09kg.) from Natal in 1895. The Company started using wattle bark from its own plantations as a tanning material in 1898. In the early 1900’s large plantations of wattle and pine were planted at Geelhoutboom near George.The wattle bark mill fell under the supervision of the resident engineer H. Simpson. The wattle bark mill was sold in 1968. The Wattle Bark Mill stood near to the Tannery. The building built in c1940 still stands in the grounds of the old Sawmill. The Bark Mill was closed down in c1960 shortly after the Tannery had been moved to Kingwilliamstown in 1957.

SWANSEA BLACK WATTLE BARK MILL

In the Swansea Museum Tasmania the bark mill shown is the only restored Black Wattle Bark Mill in working condition. The bark from the Black Wattle were once crushed and sent all over the world. The bark is a basic ingredient in tanning leather. This mill was established in 1885 and continued operation until the early 1960’s.

GBR MUSEUM NEWS LETTER JUNE 2011 Page No. 9

1893 WAGONMAKING FACTORY

The wagon wheels can be seen resting along the fence.

The photographs in our Museum show that the wagon making was made at the forge near the river. It was established after the school had moved to the Mission Hall and Salmon Ferreira’s house of accommodation had the blacksmith’s forge to do the ironmongery needed to build a wagon. Later in 1908 the wagon making enterprise was moved to George and also included furniture making as part of the facility. Although the advertisement appeared in the South African Commerce and Manufacturer’s Record no further information can be found during the present research.

Placing the metal tyre on the wagon wheel next to the Great Brak River. The woolwashery can be seen in the background.

GBR MUSEUM NEWS LETTER JUNE 2011 Page No. 10

1908 SEARLE’S FURNITURE FACTORY

The Company advertised its own furniture manufactory in George. The Company won several awards for chairs both polished and unpolished at the Historical and Industrial Exhibition in 1910. The factory operated until 1921.

Examples of a stinkwood and blackwood table and a ‘riempie bankie’ and famous Volkwyn chairs can be seen in the museum. The Volkwyn family still make chairs in today.

Stinkwood “bankie” on display in the Museum from Searle’s Head Office.

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

GBR MUSEUM NEWS LETTER JUNE 2011 Page No. 11