Helen Robinson has excelled again in her unbelievable knowledge and research on Cape History. Her latest book “The Villages of the Liesbeeck – From the Sea to the Source” – documents the history of the inhabitants who lived along this once very fertile and countryside of the Liesbeeck River which was abundant with wild animals and exotic plant life. Helen’s digs into the daily lives of these early settlers and explains who took land from the local herders and also highlights the slaves who later married into prominent Dutch families, who created the “brown people” of South Africa today. Whilst the struggling communities lived in hope and despair the more affluent residents were buying and selling the land of today’s historic homesteads which once belonged to the indigenous people. Villages of the Liesbeeck include the intermarriages between local families that ensured property and wealth was kept within the same circles. The social life, parties, scandal, subdivision of property, domestic workers and the agricultural labourers are a few of the many aspects of the villagers who made their lives along the banks of this river. The Liesbeeck as we know it today is covered by highways in a almost a forgotten early history of the Southern Suburbs.
Buy the book from Select Books in Long Street.
