OVERdeBERG

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© Jacques Louw (2021). Alle regte voorbehou.

Jaargang 2 Uitgawe 74

Vrydag 9 Julie 2021

In hierdie uitgawe...

Skolenuus uit ons streek

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The tail of two leopards

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CAM welcomes new councillor

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Lesersfoto...

0656862204 (WhatsApp) overdeberg2020@gmail.com (e-pos) Kontak ons gerus!

Die goue uur

by Kaap Agulhas Foto: D’Ulene Vermeulen/Havila Photography

“What a find!

Adrian and Jill have created something really special here.

The attention to detail is exceptional…”

- TripAdvisor

overdeberg2020@gmail.com

Email: blueskyarniston@gmail.com www.blueskyguesthousearniston.co.za Phone: +27 28 4459010 Cell: +27 71 4186209 See our Nightsbridge listing for availability and bookings.

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Vrydag 9 Julie 2021

Redaksioneel Vrydag 9 Julie 2021

Goeiedag en welkom by die 74ste uitgawe van OVERdeBERG. ‘n Groot dankie aan al ons medewerkers wat oral help om dié publikasie een van gehalte te maak met die positiewe beriggewing wat ons as mense nou meer nodig het as die negatiewe sensasiesoekende publikasies waarvan daar deesdae so baie is.

No.10, 5th Avenue, Arniston

Met die strenger vlak 4 inperkings wat tans geld is die positiewe nuus maar dun gesaai, maar tog kry ons die positiewe en opbouende nuus wat ons graag met julle deel in hiérdie publikasie.

In hiérdie week se uitgawe kuier ons weer lekker in die kombuis met drie heerlike resepte en gaan loer so vinnig in by ons skole in die streek. Alhoewel die skole tans gesluit is, is daar daarem nog skolenuus om met julle te deel.

Ons pragtige lesersfoto op die voorblad is geneem deur ‘n Bredasdorper, D’Ulene Vermeulen en ek wil graag vir haar dankie sê vir die gebruik van haar foto. Besoek gerus haar Facebookblad deur die QR-kode op die foto te kliek of te skandeer met ‘n slimfoon of tablet.

Daar is op bladsy 7 en 9 ‘n baie interessante bydrae oor twee unieke diere wat eie is aan die Overberg en Wes-Kaap. Die belangrikheid rondom die bewaring van hiérdie twee diere geniet so bietjie aandag. Ons het ook gaan inloer by Kaap Agulhas Munisipaliteit en gaan vind so bietjie uit waarmee hulle tans besig is.

Email: blueskyarniston@gmail.com www.blueskyguesthousearniston.co.za Phone: +27 28 445 9010 Cell: +27 71 418 6209 See our Nightsbridge listing for availability and bookings.

‘n Baie interessante berig oor die ‘Black Oystercatcher’ en die voëls se belangrikheid langs ons kus, is daar vir julle om te lees op bladsy 10.

Adoons-hulle maak weer aleerhande moeilikheid op bladsy 13 en Jimmy Herbert sluit weer ons uitgawe af met nog ‘n interessante deel uit ons skatkis van ons maritieme geskiedenis hiér aan die Overbergkus.

Geniet die uitgawe, bly veilig, bly gesond. Tot volgende week.

Special offer

Groetnis!

“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.”

Douglas Adams

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R995.00

per room per night for two people

Breakfast included.

Direct bookings only.

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Vrydag 9 Julie 2021

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Oraloor All over

The Lower Breede River Conservancy is very grateful for assisting Craig Foster, the filmmaker of the award winning documentary ‘My Octopus Teacher’. Craig is the founder of the Sea Change Project which connects people from all over the world to the Great African Seaforest and the fascinating creatures that live within it! In line with this project Craig wanted to get up close and personal with the beautiful landscape and wildlife of the Breede estuary. The conservation rangers took him and his family out and about by boat and on foot on Saturday 3 July.

Photo: Lower Breede River Conservancy/FB

380 000 L dam with Rubber Sealant

The original Liquid Rubber

Click below to view

Click below to view

At the Grootbos Private Nature Reserve, they aim to always innovate the way they do things by constantly pushing the boundaries and applying sustainable practices in their daily operations. They have been monitoring their carbon offset since 2018, and have put efforts in place to find more sustainable ways to use and manage their resources. After a recent on-site assessment and external audit, Grootbos has now officially been certified as carbon-negative.

Photo: Grootbos Private Nature Reserve/FB Stuur gerus nuusbrokkies en foto’s uit jou deel van die Overberg aan ons vir publikasie.

WhatsApp: 0656862204 E-pos: overdeberg2020@gmail.com overdeberg2020@gmail.com

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Vrydag 9 Julie 2021

Kombuiskuier Jacques Louw

Soutkaramel-rolletjies Bestanddele:

Heerlike hummus Bestanddele: 1 blikkie kekerertjies 2 knoffelhuisies, fyngekap ½ teelepel komyn ¼ teelepel paprika ½ teelepel sout ¼ koppie olyfolie sap van halwe suurlemoen 1 eetlepel tahini (opsioneel) Metode:

1 kg brooddeeg (beskikbaar by kruidenierswinkelgroepe) 250 ml vars room 1 koppie bruinsuiker druppel of twee vanieljegeursel growwe sout roosmaryn Metode: Maak bolletjies met die deeg, en pak dit met spasie tussen-in in ‘n oondbak. Meng die room, vanielje en suiker liggies. Giet die mengsel bo-oor die bolletjies. Maak seker alles is bedek. Plaas dit in ‘n koue oond – dit gee die deeg kans om te rys – en stel dit dan op 180 grade. Bak vir ongeveer 40 – 50 min, of tot goudbruin en gaar binne. Maal ‘n paar draaie growwe sout bo-oor die broodjies.

Meng al die bestanddele in ‘n menger tot ‘n gladde pasta. Bedien as ‘n smeer op brood of in ‘n wrap; ‘n doopsous vir aartappel- Bedien met roosmaryntakkies vir versiering. Dit is heerlik saam skyfies, groente of vrugte; ‘n sous in ‘n pastagereg. met braaivleis, sop of ‘n kaasbord.

Ontbyt in ’n koppie Bestanddele: 1 eier per persoon botter of olie, om die koppie mee te smeer gerasperde kaas ham of enige ander oorskietvleis tamatie in skywe gesny sout en peper

Metode: Smeer ‘n koppie met die botter of olie. Skep ‘n eetlepel gerasperde kaas in die koppie. Breek die eier oop bo-op die kaas.

Geur met sout en peper. Plaas n skyfie ham of ander oorskietvleis bo-op die eier. Plaas n skyfie tamatie bo-op die ham. Skep ‘n eetlepel kaas bo-op die tamatie. Bak vir een en ‘n half minuut op hoog in die mikrogolf. Keer dit om op ‘n bord en bedien dan saam met roosterbrood.

Resepte & foto’s: RSG Resepte 4

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Vrydag 9 Julie 2021

Gemeenskapsdagboek Kontak ons by 065 686 2204 (WhatsApp) om jou gebeurtenis gratis hiér te adverteer.

Contact us by email at overdeberg2020@gmail.com to advertise your event here for free.

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Community diary

As jy graag ‘n gebeurtenis in jou deel van die Overberg gratis wil plaas op ons gemeenskapsdagboek, kontak ons gerus!

Jy kan ons kontak per WhatsApp by 0656862204 of per e-pos by overdeberg2020@gmail.com OVERdeBERG… ...ons hou jou positief ingelig! overdeberg2020@gmail.com

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Skolenuus

Vrydag 9 Julie 2021

Personeel van Laerskool Kleinmond het ook gedurende die afgelope week die wind en weer na Grabouw trotseer om hulself te laat inent teen COVID-19.

Foto’s: Laerskool Kleinmond/FB

Melissa Saayman, graad 5-leerder van Laerskool Bredasdorp, het ook deelgeneem aan die gewilde en groot nasionale aanlyn DRAMAWEBSA-kunskompetisie wat saam met die KKNK aangebied is en ondersteun is deur die ATKV. Melissa het deelgeneem aan die graad 5-7 afdeling, en verwerf ‘n Goud + vir Ongedramatiseerde Prosa.

Foto: Laerskool Bredasdorp/FB

Met die winter wat sy tande goed inslaan hier in die Overberg, is dit Elim Morawies Primêre Skool wat ‘n hoeveelheid lekker warm komberse ontvang het van die ‘Timol Charity Foundation’. Die Ellis-egpaar het hierdie skenking georganiseer en die komberse op die 11de Junie oorhandig aan die dankbare ontvangers.

Foto: Elim Morawies Primêre Skool/FB

“More smiling, less worrying. More compassion, less judgment. More blessed, less stressed.

More love, less hate.”

Roy T. Bennett 6

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Vrydag 9 Julie 2021

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The tale of two leopards at the Tip of Africa

balance in the ecosystem. Similarly, the Western Leopard Toad (Sclerophrys pantherina), an endangered amphibian species that has existed for millions of years in the region, must navigate modified landscapes during its annual migrations between breeding and over-wintering sites.

Named for its striking resemblance to a leopard, the species exists only in a very small area of the Western Cape, with one population on the Cape Peninsula and another in the Overstrand towards the westernmost part of Agulhas National Park.

Continued on page 9

Photo: Cape Leopard Trust

In the Western Cape, and across South Africa, the challenges to conservation are complex. To effectively address these challenges, conservation efforts need to be multidimensional, involve diverse role players, and span landuse types. It is this holistic approach to conservation that inspired an exciting new collaboration between the Cape Leopard Trust (CLT) and Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT).

“The Tale of Two Leopards” is a multifaceted partnership project which will focus on two iconic species in the Overberg region – the leopard and the Western Leopard Toad.

Photo: Cape Leopard Trust

Photo: The Green Times

Leopards (Panthera pardus) have survived across the landscapes of the Cape where other large carnivores have not.

They continue to be simultaneously admired and persecuted.

Across their range in Africa, suitable habitats are shrinking and landscapes fragmenting. Leopards in the Cape are physically smaller than their savannah cousins, and research has revealed they have territories up to ten times larger. Because this need for space necessitates movement across human landscapes, it possibly makes this the most threatened leopard population in southern Africa.

A priority therefore is to keep critical landscapes protected and corridors open to them. As apex predators, leopards in the Cape play a crucial ‘top down’ role in maintaining a natural overdeberg2020@gmail.com

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Vrydag 9 Julie 2021

Cape Agulhas Municipality welcomes new Councillor Press Release by Cape Agulhas Municipality Councillor Karin Donald was sworn in as a Proportional Representation (PR) Councillor of the Cape Agulhas Municipality (CAM) during a virtual Council Meeting held on Wednesday, 30 June 2021. The virtual council meeting was held on MS Teams and broadcasted live on our Facebook page: Cape Agulhas Municipality and our YouTube page: Cape Agulhas Municipality Live.

Councillor Donald replaces Councillor Derick Burger who recently resigned. Councillor Burger served on the Mayoral Committee (Mayco), and was tasked with heading the Finance and Information Communication Technology Portfolio. Cape Agulhas Municipality will forever be grateful for the contributions made by Councillor Burger during his terms of office where he served almost two terms as Ward- and PR Councillor.

The Speaker Ald. Johan Nieuwoudt, Executive Mayor Cllr. Paul Swart, Deputy Mayor Cllr. Zukiswa Tonisi and Municipal Manager Eben Phillips welcomed Cllr. Donald and wished her well with the tasks at hand.

Above: Councillor Karin Donald signs the CAM Oath of Council with the Speaker Johan Nieuwoudt present. Below: : Councillor Karin Donald signs the CAM Oath of Council.

Photos: Gurswin Prins/CAM Communication/FB

Councillor Karin Donald being welcomed by the CAM Executive. From left to right: Executive Mayor Paul Swart, Deputy Mayor Zukiswa Tonisi, Councillor Karin Donald, Speaker Johan Nieuwoudt and Municipal Manager Eben Phillips.

Photo: Gurswin Prins/CAM Communication/FB Click here to watch the Council Meeting...

Maak Radio Overberg fm deel van jou besigheid se bemarkingstrategie!

Kontak ons vir ‘n pasgemaakte lugtydpakket!

028 424 2877 (T) admin@radiooverberg.co.za (E) 8

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The tale of two leopards at the Tip of Africa Continued from page 7 Like the leopard, they too represent a remnant population, that has adapted to surviving in an otherwise rapidly changing urban and agricultural landscape. The significance of frogs is their indispensable value as indicator species. Amphibians require healthy freshwater and connected landscapes to exist, so current population declines are a red flag in terms of the health of our ecosystems.

a) to improve knowledge on the ecology, presence, and threats for leopards and Western Leopard toads in the Overberg region. b) to identify actionable interventions to protect threatened and endangered species in the Overberg and improve landscape resilience. c) to educate and support local communities to become conservation stewards.

The study area incorporates a section of shared habitat for both species and extends along the Agulhas plain coastal belt, from the Bot River estuary in the west to the western boundary of the De Hoop Nature Reserve in the east.

The CLT and EWT are very excited about this partnership and the scope for future collaboration. We view this project as a synergistic platform where the eventual outcome will be more significant than what we can achieve individually. There is an established and respected network of environmental NGOs in the Overberg with whom we are already collaborating, and these partnerships will have great potential in terms of declaring a biodiversity corridor of national importance and improving climate change resilience within this landscape.

The presence of these two iconic ‘leopards’ in the Overberg gives us the opportunity to look at landscape resilience through an ecological lens. The leopard is an umbrella species and ‘top down’ indicator of ecosystem health, and the leopard toad is the foundation level or ‘bottom up’ counter measure of ecosystem health. Both species thus act as flagships for the viability of a large range of other species. As such, these key species can be used to support the integrity of the area’s biodiversity by acting as important indicators of climate change, habitat integri- The CLT research team is currently in the Overberg on a reconty and landscape connectivity. naissance mission, scouting locations and preparing sites for a large-scale leopard camera survey. The EWT Threatened AmThe Tale of Two Leopards project consists of research, conser- phibian Programme team has also already started fieldwork with vation, and community outreach components. Our main goals regular field visits to locate Western Leopard Toad presence are: points.

Source: The Cape Leopard Trust Click on their logo below or scan the QR code to visit their website.

Photo: Helderberg Nature Reserve

Photo: The Table Mountain Fund overdeberg2020@gmail.com

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Vrydag 9 Julie 2021

My Black Oystercatcher family Johann Pienaar Being no expert on birds or the Black Oystercatcher I base my findings on my observations during the past two seasons. I started studying the breeding behaviour of the Black Oystercatcher (Swarttobie, Haematopus moquini) quite by chance when, in December 2019, I found four breeding pairs on the coastline near the Agulhas National Park Rest camp.

Photo: eBird.org

All four nests had eggs, but because it was holiday season Source: Agulhas National Park E-Bulletin none of the eggs survived. Big was my surprise when, by midJanuary, there were eggs in all four nests again.

On February 3, I actually watched the first chick pecking its way out of its shell. Soon, five other chicks arrived, three single chicks and one twin pair. Because of the vulnerability of the small chicks I asked SANParks to make people aware of the existence of the chicks and asked them to put up signboards to inform the public to keep their dogs on leashes.

The chicks are precocial, which means they can move from birth and hide when the parents warn them of approaching danger. They are very well camouflaged when hiding among rocks and kelp. To find them, I sat in the dunes with binoculars, waiting for them to move and reveal their hiding places. I never stayed too long near the chicks so as to not upset them or the parents.

During the first week the twin pair of chicks disappeared. I kept checking on the other chicks almost on a daily basis. After about three weeks their bills started turning red and after about a month-and-a-half they started losing their grey feathers which turned black. At this stage, the only way to distinguish between the chicks and the parents are their legs that are grey, while in adulthood they are red.

The chicks start flying short distances at about two months. The Black Oystercatcher is very territorial and the breeding pair remains in the same area where they raised their chicks, until the next breeding season. In December 2020 there were again eggs in all the nests. They lay the eggs just above the highwater mark and always close to where they did the previous year. This year there were two pairs of twins by the middle of December. The two other breeding pairs had no chicks. The parents are very active when they have two chicks to feed. The two other breeding pairs again laid eggs in mid-January, but, again, no chicks hatched. Big was my surprise, again, when quite by chance I found another two small chicks in the first week of May, belonging to the breeding pair that already raised two chicks earlier in the season. If all goes well and these two survive a total of six chicks will have been raised this season.

Next season I will again be on the lookout for the new hatchlings.

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The Dyer Island Conservation Trust facilitated a joint beach clean-up which included the eager Grootbos Ecotourism Students, Earth Rangers and Shewana Surf Therapy young women. Together they collected four bags of trash which previously littered and strangled the life living along the rocky shore and underwater. The top litter 'culprits' were: Knots/ bundles of fishing line (229); Glass bottles (76); Plastic bottles (61); Bottle caps (47); Cigarette butts (43); Rope pieces (41) and Strapping bands/ cable ties (39).We can all contribute to our environment by making more sustainable choices by sticking to the 7 R’s. Let's Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Repair, Repurpose and Regift.

Photo: Grootbos Foundation/FB

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Vrydag 9 Julie 2021

What is nature-positive?

We are in a planetary emergency. Human activities are destabilising our climate and destroying the natural systems we depend on faster than they can replenish themselves.

Unless we make the next decade a decade of action, our future is at risk.

But we still have time - and what we do with that time matters now more than ever. The symptoms of our broken relationship with the natural world are impossible to miss: the COVID-19 pandemic; record global temperatures; one million species at risk of extinction. And that is just the beginning. World leaders are scheduled to make critical decisions on climate and the environment this year.

They can and must take ambitious and integrated action on our interconnected environmental challenges to reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 and deliver a just, nature-positive and net-zero world (the balance between the amount of greenhouse gas produced and the amount removed from the atmosphere).

For National Environment Month this year, the Genadendal Mission Museum partnered with the Genadendal Libary and the Department of Environmental Affairs to host an educational nature walk in Genadendal. This was a wonderful opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of protecting our environment and natural heritage, while also looking at how every person can play a role in environmental conservation. As David Attenborough once said, "We can now destroy or we can cherish, the choice is ours."

Photos: Genadendal Mission Museum/FB

Over 85 heads of state and government have endorsed the Leaders’ Pledge for Nature: We must protect our land, oceans and fresh water, for people and planet. They have put their name to reversing nature loss for the good of people and the planet, but now we need to ensure they turn those words into actions to make our world nature-positive. South Africa has not signed yet.

From nutritious food and fresh water to safe homes and sustainable livelihoods, nature is our life support system. But our support system is in critical danger. Reversing this catastrophic trend means stopping nature loss in the next decade, and only then nature can start to recover. By 2030, it is essential that there is more nature in the world than there is now. No one individual, business, or country can do this alone - it must be a global goal for nature and for each and every one of us.

To reverse nature loss by 2030 we must race for the top. Right now, governments, businesses, organisations and many more are getting behind this race for a nature-positive world - a race to tackle climate change, a race to secure a sustainable, just and healthy future for people and the planet. We must make this a global movement for nature.

Read more…

https://www.leaderspledgefornature.org/endorsers/page/4/ https://updates.panda.org/the-race-is-on-for-a-naturepositive-world Source: Agulhas National Park E-Bulletin

Photo: Western Cape Info 12

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Adoons-hulle

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...daar doer in die Bosveld

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Vrydag 9 Julie 2021

As julle graag gebruik wil maak van ons WhatsApp groep, kan julle net die QR-kode skandeer met julle slimfone.

Ons plaas slegs weekliks die koerant se skakels waar dit gelees kan word daarop. Julle kan ook nuus en foto’s aanstuur op hiérdie platvorm.

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Vrydag 9 Julie 2021

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“Strandroof” along the Overberg coast: SCHONENBERG (1722) Continued from page 16 The historical records also helped substantiate that Malan was the most unlikely character to be involved with anything illegal.

At the time, Malan was already well into his 50s and, some two years later in 1724, he was elected as a deacon of the Stellenbosch congregation. The historical records of 1733 show that Malan was still alive and well at Stellenbosch where he was residing as a well-known gentleman with no fewer than 32 slaves, 50 horses, 140 cattle and 900 sheep to his name. The Malan descendants can proudly say Jacob Malan passed away in 1742 as a pillar of society and was buried in grave #8 at Stellenbosch’s Dutch Reformed Church.

That some items had been stolen one can almost certainly accept as a fact – as it is almost always the case. The Schonenberg will thus still go down in history as another example of “strandroof”, but archival documents show us a much different picture to the one that so many have enjoyed over the last six decades – ‘stolen treasure’ lost to this day!

JIMMY HERBERT Retired lecturer: Stellenbosch University (1977-2013) Writer & Specialist in Maritime History and Archaeology “The victory over our inner self is a daily struggle. Be strong and do not give up.”

Lailah Gifty Akita

Sudoku

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Vrydag 9 Julie 2021

History of the Overberg Jimmy Herbert “Strandroof” along the Overberg coast: SCHONENBERG (1722) What makes the “strandroof” of this ship special is the fact that up to 290 years later a story of purposeful stranding and treasure plunder still did the rounds. This was stopped in 2012 when in-depth research revealed that this not the case.

The Schonenberg was a Dutch East Indiaman (VOC) of 800 tons built in 1717 for the Chamber of Amsterdam. She made two journeys out to the East of which the last one was fatal. On this last fatal voyage, she was armed with 28 guns for protection and 110 people on board with a valuable cargo consisting mostly of coffee, tea, sugar, pepper, sapan wood and porcelain, valued at 194,245 Guilders. She left Ceylon on Saturday the 26 th of September 1722 accompanied by the 600-ton Anna Maria.

Thus, over the last 290 years, the full and genuine story has been lying there for all to read. However, when going through the bulk of relevant historical documents, it soon became crystal clear that the publications by Eric Rosenthal (1951) and Lawrence Green (1958) – to mention but a few – are nothing more than a fictional outcome. More than likely, this originated from the possible combination of superficial research, an inability to read the original handwritten archival documents, incompetence in translating and understanding the old Dutch records, the indiscriminate and ruthless misuse of historical ‘facts’, a possible disregard for the truth and/or a highly imaginative mind.

The story that did the rounds for over 63 years was one of local Stellenbosch Farmers plotting with Captain Van Soest to plunder the ship of a vast treasure once the latter intentionally wrecked the ship in the sandy beach of Struisbaai. It is said that after drying himself, the Captain sat down to write a letter to Governor de Chavonnes at the Castle in Cape Town. Putting three of the mates in charge of the crew, he ordered them to make their way overland to the Cape. He remained behind.

With surprising promptitude, Klopper, Malan and Van der Heiden arrived from their look-out on Cape Agulhas. Gear was erected between the ship and the shore and all through the night and the following day they conveyed bales of silk, packages of pepper, precious oriental woods, boxes full of Eastern silver, ornaments of gold and precious stones, from ship-to-shore. The following day a heavy South-Easter set in and so knocked about the Schonenberg to the point that she began to break up. But by then, the Captain with the three farmers were on their way to the farm Vergelegen, accompanied by the heavily-laden waggons. Once there, the treasures were buried in the orchard.

Burning of the Schonenberg Almost two months later in the early hours of Friday the 20th of November and with a growing moon and a following light wind from the east-north-east, the ship unknowingly and erroneously sailed straight into Struisbaai. At around 03h30, Van Soest heard the call, “Land!” He immediately ran out on deck shouting and swearing while giving quick thinking orders to turn the ship to Port (south) and to cast the lead. The short period of time that followed was naturally not only chaotic but also terrifying. With land ahead and fast approaching and with waves seen on either side of the ship the anxious screamed calls from the lead casting sailor were “7 faam! (14m) ... 5 faam! (10m)”.

Van Soest reports that they had soon turned the ship to sail on a southeast course when anchors were cast. It was later narrated that, from dropping the steam anchor to the point where the ship was completely fixed on the reef, took about 30 minutes.

The ship was said to have ended on the reef facing the shore in a north-west direction. After no less than four trips from the Cape to and from the wreck, she was burned to water level on the last visit. During this time, the Captain had remained on the ship for some time.

There were also many trips to and from shore to the ship. As is always the case with the Dutch, this well-organised culture kept meticulous written records of virtually everything they did. Furthermore, their archival depositories in both The Hague (Netherlands) and Cape Town (South Africa) have been well preserved and looked after.

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Qing dynasty porcelain shards off the Schonenberg Later Van Soest, Malan and Van der Heiden were suspected of theft and brought to court. The end result of this was that Malan and Van der Heiden were banished to the East while Captain Van Soest was first broken on the wheel and then strangled. The treasure was frantically searched for over hundreds of years, but never found.

In 2012, Dr. Malan from Bredasdorp set out enthusiastically to put these, as he actually believed, fabricated lies to rest once and for all. Once the original records were consulted an almost entirely different story emerged. The cargo never consisted of quantities of gold, silver and jewels but rather of coffee, tea, sugar, pepper, sapan wood and some private goods (porcelain) all not worth salvaging as it was submerged under water and ruined.

Also, not only was the wrecking found to be an accident and blamed on poor navigation and leadership, but no plot to loot cargo was found to exist between the four characters already mentioned.

Continued on page 15 overdeberg2020@gmail.com