Arid Areas Program

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Characteristics of Arid areas in SA

Karoo books and Legacy of Research

Key features of research

Karoo development Conference - Trade fairs

2012 Karoo Development Conference

Gariep dam Nov 2009

Graaff-Reinet March 2009

Published articles

Research opportunities

19 - 21 March 2012
Karoo Development Conference / Strategy workshop

Arid Areas Programme Sponsored By:

The open Society
foundation

The National Research
Foundation

Karoo books and Legacy of Research

Books - Cuisine / Environmental / Jewish History / Healing Karoo herbs / Novels and stories / Photography / Tour guides / Town history
Legacy of Research

Hailed as the most read writer

Loxton- born Ena Murray is described as one of the "most read Afrikaans writers in South Africa.” She was a prolific writer and in a period of 33 years during which she wrote full time, 131 titles appeared from her pen. Many are romance novels, but she also wrote detective stories, espionage tales, general fiction and adventure novels for a wide audience. She wrote spiritual literature and produced a volume of poetry as well. Ena emerged as the most popular Afrikaans writer in a survey conducted by Radio Sonder Grense a few years ago. Many of her novels were semi-biographical, some appeared in large print, to assist the visually impaired and others were recorded by Pionier School for the Blind in >Worcester, and in Braille by Bandhulp vir Blindes. This institution also recorded several. Two were filmed. One was a Christian film entitled Vrou uit die Nag and the other was set in a leper colony. She was hailed as an extremely professional researcher and in order to write this book, Plekkie in die Son, (Place In The Sun) she lived for a while in a leprosy shelter outside Pretoria. Ena was born in Loxton on 27 December 1936. She was the second of three daughters born to the local medical practitioner, Dr. Mans and his wife. She attended the little local school as well as a school at nearby Victoria West. After matriculating she worked as a nurse. Ena later married Boet Murray of Loxton, thus returning to the town of her birth, where she started her literary career in earnest. Her marriage lasted 20 years and then ended in divorce. After that she settled in the Wilderness. Two years later she married Jaques Mostert and 10 years later they moved to a retirement village in Mossel Bay.

Rose's Roundup, Febr 2012 (No 217)
To subscribe to Rose's Roundup, contact Rose Willis at: karootour@internext.co.za

Outward-bound from prince albert - Tel No 023-541-1172

Prince Albert’s Dick Metcalf claims to have “Karoo-blood” in his veins. A keen historic researcher, photographer and explorer, with longstanding family ties to this fascinating arid area, he loves nothing more than travelling through the vast, ancient Karoo thirstland. To share his love of the area he recently devised 27 trips for fellow adventurers and published them in a small, well-illustrated, black-and- white, wire-bound booklet entitled Outward-bound from Prince Albert. It is available from the Fransie Pienaar Museum. Using the book as a guide, visitors can travel across the Swartberg Pass to the Cango Caves and Oudtshoorn, through the Weltevrede Valley, to the Gamkapoort Dam, to the local goldfields, and to several historic farms. For those who’d like to venture further there are drives to Towerwater Hot Springs, Willowmore and Vondeling, The Hell, Koup, Leeu Gamka Dam, Sutherland, Hoekplaas and Seweweekspoort.

Become better acquainted with olive

A new biography on Olive Schreiner is proving popular. Written by Heather Parker Lewis, it is not a political work, but concentrates rather on Olive’s day-to-day life, marriage, wardrobe and medicine chest. Olive lived simply in the “uptight” era of Victorian respectability. When no woman dared to be seen without stockings, she shunned these together with corsets and stays. Olive also skinny-dipped and sunbathed in the altogether. Sadly in later life she was so poor that she packed the inside of her coat with newspaper to keep warm. Olive Schreiner - The Other Side Of The Moon, is an informal biography which covers Olive’s love for the Karoo, places she lived, people she knew and liked, as well as those she didn’t. It contains much hitherto unpublished material and lesser known facts. Much material was gleaned from her letters and the background research for her novels. “I was given a grant by the National Arts Council to write the book and was able to go to the places she stayed and also to read her letters at the University of Cape Town and in the National Library,” says Heather. Professor Rosemary Gray of the English Academy of South Africa says: "What distinguishes this biography is its easy-to-read format. Heather’s skills enable her to place herself into the midst of Olive’s society in South African, England and Europe. She imaginatively projects Olive into the 21st century and by the end of the book one feels that one has somehow personally gotten to know Olive, a remarkable seeker of the Truth, an extraordinary and unconventional woman of genius, South Africa's first major novelist, humanist, liberal thinker, and feminist. Heather’s style is direct and conversational yet the content is impressively authoritative. She has cleverly melded unpublished archival material with first-hand accounts of people who knew Olive. Heather has managed to treat Olive, an immensely complex person, with empathy but without sentimentality or judgement." This well-illustrated 242-page book, published by iHilihili Press, is available at major bookstores, Matjesfontein and at the Olive Schreiner Museum in Cradock. It costs about R145 plus postage.

Love of travel leads to church book - Tel No 078 598 2312

In the 1800s hinterland settlers went to great trouble and sometimes immense cost to establish places of worship. These kept fledgling communities focused and together. Many of these early churches still stand and most are still used. Almost all have a story to tell, so, two men, who they share a love of travel and photography, decided to compile a book entitled 101 Country Churches of South Africa.

They share a serenity, they exude an air of peace, tranquility and community pride.” Published by Booktown Richmond Press, 101 Country Churches of South Africa, is available from davidd@ukzn.ac.za, at R200 plus postage.

A ballade of words and images - Orders: (021) 788-1773

A rainbow of light shimmering through a dewdrop almost 80 years ago has resulted in a book which captures the essence of the Karoo. Tom Burgers’s Karoo Pastoral, encapsulates the spirit of the Karoo in extraordinarily beautiful photographs coupled to the works of some of South Africa’s finest poets. Among these are emotive works, such as Dolf van Niekerk’s Dubbel Ster and Jan F Cilliers’s Die Vlakte, which have been translated for the English version of the book by Deryck Uys. No ordinary travel book, Karoo Pastoral is a journey through the endless, limitless landscape of the Karoo and into the lives of people, under the guidance of a master photographer. It spans 40 years of photography rooted in a deep love of the Karoo. This book transports readers into an ancient world where the touch of God is light and where the rocks are the curators of time. The intensity of blazing summers, icy winters, the pain of drought, the joy of rain, all become real to the reader through the intense imagery of this book. Tom Burgers’s love of photography shines through every page. This love was ignited many years ago by his mother who showed him a glittering dewdrop on a blade of grass. The magnificent contrast of captured colour, light and shadow fascinated him and the beauty of that moment never left him. Years later Tom worked through the American Professional Photographers’ Course, and in 1958 started a full time studio in the Karoo. In 1966 he moved to Cape Town and into the world of advertising and fashion photography, but the call of the Karoo was strong and he regularly found himself roaming this vast landscape of this ancient land to capture its mythical beauty on film. The result is this superb, full-colour Karoo Pastoral, independently published and available in limited quantities – in English or Afrikaans - at a cost of R750 per book from Michele Burgers mikada@telkomsa.net.

Left home with a heart full of hope

Henrich Bergmann, 18, came to the Cape from Bavaria in 1849. He was among the first Jews to arrive in South Africa, but the reason for his emigration has never become clear. Political turbulence coupled to a growing anti-Semitic atmosphere in his homeland may have decided him, perhaps his reasons were economic, or maybe he was simply an adventurous young man in search of his fortune, says one of his descendants, Adam Yamey, who researched his life and has now turned it into a novel. . Henry, as he became known, survived an arduous sea voyage lasting 108 days during which sailors mutinied and steerage passengers revolted over poor food and meagre rations. He left home full of hope and departed from London on May 12, 1849, but it was an inauspicious start - the ship was becalmed in the English Channel for two weeks. Then, when they finally made it out to sea, they were beset by storms. They caught birds “as big as swans” to supplement their diets, almost ran out of water and were blown off course before Table Mountain was at last sighted and they were able to land safely at Cape Town harbour. Then to Henry’s horror he found that the gentleman to whom he had a letter of introduction had gone to Port Elizabeth. Like most young travellers of the day he had little money and by the time he found lodgings - costing £4 a month - he was almost destitute. Yet, these rooms, with food, were the cheapest accommodation he could find, so he decided to move into the interior where living was cheaper and the likelihood of finding a job easier.

Henry’s path took him to Graaff-Reinet where he met Phoebus (Feibusch) Caro, a Polish Jew and manager of Mosenthal’s trading store. Caro had been a steerage passenger bound for Tasmania, when his ship ran aground near the Cape. He was one of 90 people who survived and he too had arrived in this country almost penniless. He identified with Henry’s plight and offered him a job. Henry did extremely well, rose to become a partner and in time was asked to open a new branch in Aliwal North. Once again he made a great success of this opportunity. He gained, recognition, wealth and respect, but he was lonely. So, he returned briefly to Europe to search for a bride. In this too he was successful. He fell in love with Charlotte Jenny Schuster, whose father was an ‘aristocratic’ banker in Frankfurt. They married and returned to Aliwal North, where an accident almost cost Jenny her life. She recovered, but by then Henry was on a roller-coaster ride into the exciting world of gold prospecting and mining. He believed he was on the road to riches, but sadly it cost him his life. He died by his own hand on July 15, 1866. The town was so horrified that no one wished to bury him, then two Afrikaner brothers, Koos and David De Wet, proved themselves his friends in life and death and he was laid to rest on their farm.

Adam’s poignant tale, entitled Aliwal, is set in Graaff-Reinet, Lady Grey and Aliwal North. It may be purchased as a paperback or downloadable file at: http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/aliwal/12558619.

An excellent read

It’s a small, privately published book, and it’s an excellent read. James Hugo’s A Town Called Elders - Reminiscences of a Country Doctor, is a series of short stories that reflect experiences of a newly-qualified doctor in a small Karoo town about 50 years ago. Names of people and places have been changed, even James Hugo is a pseudonym, nevertheless the fondness that this now happily retired doctor felt for Karoo and his patients, many of whom became friends, shines through. These stories, originally written to entertain the doctor’s family, reflect amusing, poignant and even tragic incidents. The writer includes anecdotal information on politics, the weather, rugby and simple home remedies, some still popularly used in many small Karoo towns. Copies, costing R65 each, including VAT and postage, are available from Wordsworth Books, P O Box 1687, Sun Valley, 7985.

Karoo cuisine is becoming more celebrated (these make beautiful gifts!)

Tales of life, love and food in the Karoo : Lynn Bedford Hall, Fig Jam and Foxtrot, Struik Publishers, 2003
The Karoo Cookbook : Rose Willis, Struik Publishers (2008)
Karoo Venison : - more - Lynne Minnaar, Annatjie Reynolds and Albe Neethling, Sunbird, 2007.
Family Favourites : Union Primary School, Graaff-Reinet, Karoo, 2007, obtainable from (049) 892 3848.

Several books describe and analyse Karoo flora, fauna, ecology, farm technology and pre-history

Bossieveld : Grazing plants of the Karoo and karoo-like areas : PM le Roux et al, CTP Boekdrukkers, Kaapstad, 1994
Global Deserts Outlook : Exequiel Ezcurra, United Nations Environmental Programme, 2006.
The Story of Earth and Life: A Southern African perspective on a 4.6-bilion-year journey : Terence McCarthy and Bruce Rubidge, Kumba Resources/Struik, 2005.
Windpumps in South Africa : James Walton, Human and Rousseau, Cape Town, 1998.
A Millimetre of Dust: Visiting Ancestral Sites : Julia Martin, Kwela Books, 2008
Namaqualand: Garden of the Gods : Freeman Patterson, Key Porter Books, Canada, 1984.
Karoo Rock Engravings: Follow the San … : John Parkington, David Morris and Neil Rusch, Creda Communications, 2008.
The Karoo: Ecological Patterns and Processes :W. Richard J. Dean, Suzanne Milton ,Cambridge University Press; 1 edition (June 28, 1999)

Some Karoo botanical books focus primarily on the healing aspects of Karoo herbs

Roer My: Die Antieke Helingskuns van die Karoo-veld : Antoinnette Pienaar, Kruidjie, Umuzi Publishers, Roggebaai, 2008
Muthi and Myths, from the African Bush : - more - Heather Dugmore and Ben-Erik van Wyk, Marula Books, 2008.
Koekemakranka: Khoi-Khoin Kultuurgoed en Kom Kuier Kos : Renata Coetzee en Volker Miros, Lapa Uitgewers, 2009.

Jewish histories of the Karoo

Several splendid volumes refer to the notable heritage of Jewish families in the Karoo, who were often the backbone of the local economy. The following books are of interest:

The Jews in South Africa: A History : Gustav Saron and Louis Hotz, Oxford University Press, 1955
A History of the Jews in South Africa, from the earliest times to 1895, South African Jewish Board of Deputies : Louis Herrman, Johannesburg, 1935
The Jews in South Africa: An illustrated history : Richard Mendelsohn and Milton Shain, Johanthan Ball Publishers, Cape Town, 2008
Jewish Life in the South African Country Communities : The South African Friends of Beth Hatefutsoth, 2007 (museum@beyachad.co.za)
Vol 2: Boland, Busahmanland, Central Karoo, Fairest Cape, Griqualand West, Kalahari, Koup, Namaqualand, Swartland, West Coast
Vol 3: Camdeboo, Cape Midlands, Garden Route, Griqualand East and Transkei, Lankloof, Little Karoo, Norht Eastern Cape, Overberg, Settler Country.

Karoo novels and Stories, recently and in the more distant past

The Little Karoo : Pauline Smith, AA Balkema Publishers, 1925
In die Middel van die Karoo : Eleanor Baker, Human and Rousseau, Kaapstad, 1991
Karoo Ramblings, short stories and tall tales : David Biggs, Struik Publishers, 2004
Secret Fire: The 1913-1914 South African Journal of Pauline Smith : Harold Scheub (ed), University of Natal Press, 1997.
Die Goue Kameelvoel en die verhaal van Klein Karoo : Sue van Waart, Klein Karoo Kooperasie, Oudtshoorn, 1995.
Karoo and other stories : Athol Fugard, David Philip, 2005.
Innie skylte vannie Jirre: Griewapsalms en ander gedigte (Griqua psalms) : Hans du Plessis, Lapa Uitgewers, 2001

Published works which offer beautiful photographs and evocative text about the Karoo

Karoo Moons: A Photographic Journey : Richard Mark Dobson and Ruben Mowszowski, Struik ublishers, 2004
Manna in the Desert: A Revelation of the Great Karoo : Alfred de Jager Jackson, originally published 1920, second edition 2006, Brevitas cc, Howick, KZN.
The Garden Route and Little Karoo: Between the Desert and the Dep Blue Sea : Leon Nell, Struik Publishers, 2003.
Step Zen: A Zen Life in South Afria : Antony Osler, Jacana Media, 2008
Karoo Keepsakes : Chris Marais and Julienne du Toit, MLM Publishers, 2009 (www.karoospace.co.za).
The Great Karoo : - more - Leon Nell, Struik 2008.
Timeless Karoo: Discover the Sunlit Interior : Jonathan Deal, Random House Struik, 2007
Circling the Great Karoo : Nicholas Yell.
Karoo Tales and Images : Nicholas Yell, Published by Springbok Press.

Specialised tour guides

Getaway Guide to Karoo, Namaqualand nad Kalahari: Out and About in the Northern Cape : Brent Naude-Moseley and Steve Moseley, Sunbird Publishers, 2008
Getaway Guide to Route 62 & Overberg; including Little Karoo & Langkloof : - more - Steve Moseley & Brent Naudé-Moseley, Sunbird publishers, 2009.
Getaway Guide to Garden Route : Steve Moseley & Brent Naudé-Moseley, Sunbird publishers, 2010.
On Route in South Africa : BPJ (Rassie) Erasmus, Jonathan Ball Publishers, 1995
Journey through the living deserts of South Africa: CM Dean, Dean and Associates, England, DeanAssocsLtd@aol.com
The Garden Route and Little Karoo: - more - Leon Nell, Struik, 2003.
Brakdak: Flatroofs in the Karoo : (architecture during the 1960s and 1970s), Gabriel Fagan, Breestraat Publikasies, Cape Town, 2008.

Karoo Town history

Klipplaat and Waterford : Westby Nunn, Jansenville, 2010, Westby Nunn Publishers, tonynunn@iafrica.com, in partnership with the Ikwezi Municipality
Graaff-Reinet: An illustrated Historical Guide to the town including Aberdeen and Nieu-Bethesda : Westby Nunn, 2004, Elephant Head Publishers
Footprints in the Karoo: A story of farming life : Joan Southey, Jonathan Ball Publishers,1990
Water in the Wilderness: A journey down the Great Fish River : Bartle Logie, 2006, Bluecliff Publishers, Port Elizabeth
From Sea to SALT (on Sutherland) : Wolfgang Lange, Lupus Press, 2007.
Traveller's Joy: A journey into the Eastern Karoo : Bartle Logie, 2001, Bluecliff Publishers
Aberdeen of the Cape: A retreat of the future : Wendy van Schalkwyk, Westby-Nunn Publishers, 2007
Karoo Morning: An Autobiography 1918-1935 (in Cradock) : Guy Butler, David Philip Publishers, 1977 and 1981
Koos Malgas, Sculptor of the Owl House (on New Bethesda) : Julia Magas and Jeni Couzyn: Firelizard, New Bethesda, 2008.
A Journey Through the Owl House : Anne Emslie, Penguin Books, 2003 and 2009.
Prince Albert : Landmark events, colourful characters and the lifestyle of an historic Karoo town, Formsxpress Publishers, Cape Town 2005
Knysna - A Visitor's Guide to South Africa's most popular Coastal Town : - more - Leon Nell, Struik, 2005.
Oudtshoorn - A Visitor's Guide to the Ostrich Capital of the World : - more - Leon Nell, Struik, 2005.

The Legacy of Socio-economic Research in the karoo

In the Karoo, the bulk of socio-economic research was done in the 1970s, when several key reports and theses on socio-economic issues were completed. Significantly, this research involved the University of the Free State and Rhodes University, and it is only apt that a new partnership is created on these foundations. These reports include the 5-volume Midlands-Karoo ("Mid-Kar") study, done by the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) at Rhodes University)

Gillian Cook, Towns of the Cape Midlands and Eastern Karoo (1971)
ML Truu, Human Resources in the Karoo (1971)
JB McI Daniel, A Geographic Analysis of Farming (1975)
JJ Badenhorst, A Geographical Study (1971)
Jesmond Blumenfeld, The Economic Structure of the Cape Midlands and Karroo Region: A sectoral and spatial survey (n.d.).

In addition, several theses were completed under the auspices of the University of the Free State:

W.A. Ferreira, Makro-ekonomiese Struktuurveranderings in die Sentraal-Karoo (1972, MSC Agric)
C.S. Blignaut, Die Plaasprobleem, met besondere verwysing na die Sentraal-Karoo (1972, PhD, Agriculture)
W.J.H. Vrey, 'n Demografiese Sosiologiese Studie van die Blanke Bevolking in die Sentraal-Karoo (Instituut vir Sosiale en Ekonomiese Navorsing, UFS, 1974).
C.F. Le Clus, Dienssentrums in die Sentraal-Karoo (Instituut vir Sosiale en Ekonomiese Navorsing, UFS, 1974).

A further study, under the auspices of the University of Stellenbosch, was done by P.J. Eloff, Sentraleplekverval in die Sentraal en Westelike Karoo (MAGeography, 1978).

These studies provide valuable baseline information to assist in longitudinal studies of changes in the Karoo. Given the strong role played by Rhodes University and the University of the Free State in the past, this programme proposal envisages a partnership between them in future. Other than these studies, the knowledge base on the Karoo and surrounding arid areas remains patchy.

There have been several studies of specific towns. The most recent is Saul Debow's study of 17th Century Graaff-Reinet ("Land, Labour and Merchant Capital", UCT, 1982). Another scholarly study of Graaff-Reinet was done by Kenneth Wyndham Smith (From Frontier to Midlands, ISER, Rhodes, 1976). Other town-based histories have been written on Philipstown (1963), Edenburg (1963), Jansenville (1956), Steytlerville (2003), Philippolis (2005), Victoria West (1959), Bethulie (1963), Cradock (1964), Griekwastad (1981), Koffiefontein (1991), and Sutherland (1986). These studies provide a valuable record of local history, but they tend to be anecdotal.

In addition, there have been numerous church histories. Examples are Bethulie (1963), Fraserburg (1951), Reddersburg (1985), Fauresmith (1998), Philippolis (1962), Steynsburg (1976), Laingsburg (1982), Douglas (1997), and Trompsburg (1998).

In addition to these historical studies, there are four other notable categories of historical works. Firstly, there was the 1932 Carnegie study on the "Poor White Question" (which also included some valuable information on rural black communities). Secondly, there have been several works about the Griqua community, including the NP Government's Presidential Council report on Griqua land claims (1983). Thirdly, there have been several early studies on Karoo agriculture, notably H.D. Leppan's The Agricultural Development of Arid and Semi-Arid Regions, with Special Reference to South Africa (1928). Fourth, there are numerous histories of notable Karoo farming families.

This progress on the ecological research front urgently calls for socio-economic, demographic and political research to be done, so that genuinely interdisciplinary research findings can be generated. Such research will be critically important for municipalities, provincial governments and other development bodies in the region.

The LOGOSUL reports (Local Government Support and Learning Network, funded by DFID)

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