Vergelegen Wine Estate is situated in an exclusive upmarket Area of Somerset West, about 50 km East of Cape Town.
Stewart Colm (1991), Flora the slave’s reburial. Cape Times
Additional Date: April 6, 1991
On 6 April 1991, the reburial of a slave named Flora took place at Vergelegen Wine Estate, Somerset West. This came about after the discovery of her remains in October 1990, when University of Cape Town(UCT) archaeologists unearthed the site of the Slave Lodge at Vergelegen.The remains were unearthed from a wooden box possibly made from yellow wood, with thirty-six iron nails that were recovered ranged in length from 18 to 105 mm. The archaeologists had discovered fine pieces of bone in the box and through scientific testing were able to conclude that the remains found were that of a female aged between 50-59 years old. They were also able to decipher from her diet and dental records that she was from a tropical area therefore indicating that she came to Vergelegen as a slave.For the reburial, anew coffin was made, flower arrangements were delivered and food was prepared for the day.
A lay minister from the estate presided over the funeral. In attendance were around twenty to thirty members of the farmworker community who now had an opportunity to come together as a community again after a long time. This would be since the owners of the Vergelegen Wine Estate, Anglo-American Farms had arranged to put many of the elderly, retired farmworkers in old-age homes in Macassar. Other farmworkers were offered home-ownership outside the farm, in the Strand. During and after the ceremony everyone joined in the traditional funeral hymns as the men of the community gently lowered the coffin into the ground. Leaves and petals were strewn over the coffin before sand was gently shovelled into the grave. Flora would now be laid to rest, after a dignified and fitting reburial.
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The details of the life of Fanny Klenerman in the attached article were written by Veronica Belling.
Kakamas is a rather small town situated in the Northern Cape of South Africa. This interesting town was originally built by a church and named after the Khoi word for ‘poor pasture’. The name “Kakamas” poorly reflects on a fertile valley in the lower Orange River, graced with vineyards, cotton and Lucerne fields.
Legend has it that grazing in the vicinity was poor and, when cattle were driven through the river’s drifts, some consistently turned on their drivers.
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Pofadder is a small town situated in the Northern Cape of South Africa. While pofadder means: 'Puff Adder'-(a type of snake). This town was named not for a scaly reptile but after a certain Korana chief, Klaas Pofadder, who lived on Kanoneiland and died in the area when he was gunned down by local farmers. In 1918 the name was officially changed to Theronsville, but the original name stuck and was eventually re-employed.
Namaqualand's largest town, is Springbok. You can enjoy the wild flowers and dramatic landscapes of the Northern Cape, a South African destination that stands apart for its rugged beauty.
The small settlement of Lekkersing, established in 1926 by Ryk Jasper Cloete, lies 60 km east of Port Nolloth. It is said that its name (which means to sing joyfully or beautifully) originated from the fact that a small fountain in the area 'sang', so beautifully that an early resident promptly named the village. Incidentally the residents of Lekkersing are very good singers!
What today is essentially a fishing village, Port Nolloth lies on the bay known by the indigenous Namaqua people as: 'Aukwatowa'- (where the water took away the old man) - it was the last landfall the Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias sighted, before he and his ship were blown off course and out to sea for thirteen days.