RARE FOSSIL EXCAVATED IN THE KAROO
The fossil found on Niël Rossouw’s farm België, near Prince Albert, last July, has turned out to be a rare one. Professor Bruce Rubidge of the Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research in Johannesburg, who was invited to assess the fossil, has identified it as a Nochelosaurus. These were huge reptiles that lived on the floodplain of an ancient Mississippi-like river that once flowed across this part of the Karoo. Only three other specimens of this species have ever been found worldwide. One is in the Smithsonian Institute. It was sold to this museum many years ago by Dr Robert Broom. “The Prince Albert specimen is special because it is the only example in which the pelvic girdle (the hips), much of the skull and teeth have been preserved,” said local palaeontologist, Dr Judy Maguire. Newly discovered volcanic ash, east of Prince Albert, has enabled researchers to determine that the fossil is least 260 million years old.” Its excavation, which was undertaken by Professor Rubidge, two assistants and several volunteers from Prince Albert, was funded by the Palaeontological Scientific Trust (PAST) and the National Research Foundation (NRF). This was a delicate operation because the Nochelosaurus, including its tail, was two-meters long. The entire fossil was first covered by a thick layer of Plaster of Paris (gypsum plaster), then its entire body was undercut, and a crowbar was used to lever it from the bed of a stone bed where it had lain for millions of years. It was turned upside down, and its underside was also thickly coated with plaster. “Preparing this fossil (cutting it out of its rock matrix), is expected to take 20-man years,” said Judy. “At today’s labour costs, a man-year in Johannesburg is worth about R100 000. This means that the fossil will cost about R2-m before it yields up its secrets to science and shares details of its role in the saga of life in the Karoo with researchers.” Prof Rubidge has undertaken to provide Prince Albert’s Fransie Pienaar Museum with a scientifically accurate cast of a complete Pareiasaur skull, because the Nochelosaurus belongs to the Pareiasauridae family of reptiles. The fossil, found by Hendrik Mans, consisted of a large jaw fragment with well-preserved teeth. It caused quite some excitement in palaeontological circles. It was sent to the Isiko Museum in Cape Town for assessment.
COMMUNITIES TO PLAY VITAL ROLE IN MUSEUM UPGRADE
Beaufort West museum is to be upgraded. A public meeting was recently held to explain the how the transformation and reconfiguration would benefit all peoples of the Karoo, Beverley Thomas of Iziko museums said: “The International Council describes a museum as a non-profit making, permanent institution serving society and its development: open to the public, it acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits items for enjoyment, education and study purposes as material evidence of people and their environment. Some consider museums as dusty repositories of old things, others see them as places of awe and wonder and yet others, of course, considered them to be organs of state propaganda,” said Beverley. “Over the years, museums may have been all these things, yet they are centuries-old institutions designed to fulfill the basic human need for discovery. For this reason, most are currently being revamped to meet the needs of the modern world.” Because research was ongoing, all members of all communities could be involved. The voices of ordinary people were vital in such projects and their participation in oral history research programmes was essential said Beverley.” Museums are places where contradictions are allowed to exist.” A research programme will now follow. It will delve into community origins and history. There will also be research programmes into the palaeontological, archaeological and geological heritage of the Karoo. The role of missionaries, the church and its pastors, will be investigated and interpreted. There will be a focus on the development of the town and its role in the region. Local heroes and icons of Beaufort West will be hightlighted. The project will begin on International Museum Day, May 18. It is expected to take three years to complete.
STONE AGE TO PRESENT DAY IN ONE EXHIBIT
A new Bushman and Khoekhoe exhibit is to be opened at the Fransie Pienaar Museum in Prince Albert. It includes artefacts from the Early Stone Age through to the present day. “An exceptionally long record of human occupation is preserved in landscape around Prince Albert,” says local palaeontologist Judy Maguire. “It extends from the Earlier Stone Age over 1,5 million years ago, when an early species known as Homo ergaster, roamed the Karoo, dropping stone hand axes here and there, through to the Middle and Later Stone Ages, and up to the present.” The family of Roy Oosthuizen, the man who had one of the largest private fossil collections in the Karoo, has loaned the Fransie Pienaar Museum many artefacts for display. Among these are some of the finest pieces from the Roy Oosthuizen Bushman Collection. They will add a great deal of interest to the display as they portray the archaeological riches of this area. Among them are rare bone tools, many of which come from Tierberg and Die Gang areas, just outside Prince Albert. They include sharp bone awls for piercing animal skins for stitching, decorated bone beads, bone and stone arrow points and finely crafted stone bead borers. “Also, on display will be two magnificent necklaces, one of which incorporates restio seeds gathered long ago on the mountains,” said Judy. Another interesting section of the display will include marine shells, collected along the coast and over the years brought to Prince Albert and used for decorative purposes. Ostrich eggshell artefacts that clearly demonstrate that this was a favourite material for creating artistic decorative items, will be exhibited and there will also be a selection of pottery – some of which is of Khoe origin. “On show also will be a polished stone axe head, recovered from the Remhoogte portion of the Oosthuizen farm. This is one of only a tiny handful of such artefacts ever to be found in South Africa,” said Judy. The exhibition also features local rock art and the various pigments – all locally obtained – from which the paintings were made. Enlargements of photographs of local rock art, mostly taken by local photographer Reinwald Dedekind, will decorate the walls and enhance the exhibition.
DISCOVER THE GREAT KAROO
Interested in discovering more about the Great Karoo? Then, Dr John Almond may have the answer. His great love for the natural history of the Karoo has led to the development of some special excursions. The next, a three-day, multi-disciplinary trip, The Great Karoo Experience, departs from Cape Town on August 18 and returns on August 20, (alternative dates are August 25 to 27). It concentrates on Karoo landscapes, natural history, geology, fossils and vegetation. The cost is R1 600 per person sharing and includes well-appointed chalet accommodation and first-class catering at Olive Grove Guest Farm near Beaufort West. John’s Geology for Beginners, outing is based at Rietfontein Private Nature Reserve near Matjiesfontein. This trip costs R2 103 per person sharing. John has shared his enthusiasm for the Karoo with professional scientists from South Africa and abroad, as well as with amateurs for many years. He has also been actively involved in educational projects specially designed for teachers, ecotourism promoters, owners of private reserves and SANparks personnel. He was recently involved in the upgrading the Fossil Trail at the Karoo National Park and the Park’s new Interpretive Centre.
WEE DRAM BRINGS BACK MEMORIES AND DOES ITS OWN MARKETING
The last tot in a bottle of South African liqueur in a cosy Scottish bar brought memories flooding back to Round-up reader Ingrid Paterson. She writes: “James and I recently took our daughter Jane out to dinner before she flew back to Jerusalem. After a delicious meal we went into a cosy little bar where I requested wee dram of South African liqueur, if possible. The barman quite literally blew the dust off a bottle of Bertram’s Van der Hum, which he said had been sitting on the shelf ever since he started working at the Glenn Mhor Hotel, 21years ago. There was one tot left in the bottle. He poured it into a glass and I bravely sipped it. It tasted just fine to me. In fact, the taste brought a whole lot of memories flooding back. My late father always kept a bottle of Van der Hum at home for festive occasions. Strange how just one sip can transport one back to another time and place. The barman then proceeded to read the very quaint label on the bottle to the amusement of others in the bar. It said ‘Early Dutch Settlers in the Cape of Good Hope made a liqueur in imitation of their famous Curacao. Being unable to recall the name of the original distiller, they referred to him as Van Der Hum – the Dutch equivalent of Mr-What’s-His-Name. And that, according to legend, is how this famous liqueur got its name’. On that note the barman disappeared down to the cellar, reappeared with another bottle of Van der Hum and as he wiped off its thick layer of dust, there were a few more who fancied a tot. He then put it back on the shelf, presumably to stay there for another 20 or 30 years!”
POIGNANCE OF THE PAST UNVEILLED
The idea for an exhibition of images depicting the Past and the Present came to Christine Thomas one sunny afternoon while on a walking tour with the Prince Albert Cultural Foundation. They visited what once was the vibrant neighbourhood of Rooikamp with Baba Lekay who showed them photos of her home – long ago demolished by bulldozers – and told them stories of her school, church and childhood. Through Baba’s eyes Christine began to see children playing games, people doing chores, visiting, going to church and school and generally having fun at parties and picnics A few months later Christine visited what once was Nuwerus, with Poem Mooney, Japhta and Katrien Pietersen. Nothing remained of the homes, gardens and streets, but somehow, they whispered to her from the past. She looked past the shards of pottery, piles of rubble and battered enamelware that lay strewn on the veld and the stories made the people who once lived there come to life. This inspired Christine to prepare an exhibition of images of Prince Albert’s own “District Six.” It includes words, poetry, and artefacts. There are powerful images of the “voortyd” when whites and descendants of the San and Khoi lived here amicably. Christine has used stark black, white and sepia to capture the past and bursts of full colour to portray the vibrance of “here and now”. “One painting shows old people sitting in the sun and you can almost hear them chatting,” said Denise Ohlsen. “Another captures the colourful market held on ‘All Pay’ Day when the Government subsidies are paid out. Others show workers at building sites, Katrien Pietersen in her well-appointed house and children at school.” According to Christine the process of developing ideas for this exhibition was most enriching. “I am most grateful to all who opened their hearts and homes to me. I admire their courage and the sense of humour which carried them through the troubled years,” she says Popular author, Chris van Wyk, will open the exhibition during the Olive Festival.
A MAN OF SANGUINE DISPOSITION
Hyman Morris, father of one of South Africa’s top criminal lawyers, was a popular man in old Beaufort West. A German Jew, born in Posen, Russia, Hyman travelled to England with his family. There he was trained as a teacher in the Jewish Free School. He taught at the school for a while before leaving for South Africa in 1874. Then, as a young man in search of adventure he came to South Africa, where he eventually settled in Beaufort West, in 1877. There his first job was as a teacher. He later married Maria Kramer, a gentile of German-Dutch extraction and took a job in the local bank, which failed as a result of problems beyond Hyman’s control, however, after gold was discovered Hyman moved to the Witwatersrand. Here he was destined to play a vital role in Jewish Affairs and to hold talks with President Paul Kruger. In the rapidly developing Johannesburg Hyman quickly made friends. Among them was a Christian clergyman who encouraged him to teach singing in Tonic Sol-Fa. Hyman joined the Cape Commercial Bank and swiftly percolated through the ranks to become manager. Johannesburg’s Rabbi Joel Rabinowitz once described Hyman as “a man of sanguine disposition, who undertook transactions where others would not dare and succeeded.” Indeed, Hyman triumphed where many failed. He was successful in life and in business. He served on many public bodies, such as the Johannesburg Sanitation Board, a forerunner of the municipality. He was a founder of the Witwatersrand Hebrew Congregation and according to the S A Jewish Times, June 6, 1947, was president from 1890 to 1903, and again in 1906. He was also a member of the Helping Hand and Burial Society, chairman of the Board of Deputies (1906–1908) and President of the Zionist Federation from 1908 to 1910, the year of his death. When dissention split the community, Hyman headed the group that formed the New Johannesburg Hebrew Congregation. He was joined by eight members of the executive committee. His daughter Ada was among the first girls to attend school in Johannesburg.
NOTHING BEATS GOOD SERVICE
Britstown once had one of the finest hotels “anywhere in South Africa.” The S A Jewish Times of May 23, 1947, states that this establishment was built up by the Klass family. They were pioneers, both of the Karoo and of the catering trade. The Klass family came to the Karoo in 1918, bought the local Britstown hotel, which at the time was “a little run down” and developed it into a venue known for tip top service and comfort. Its table was a drawcard and famous among the commercial traveller fraternity. By 1940 the Klass family had set such a standard that they needed a new hotel. They built one and it too flourished. The first Jew to move to Britstown was H Blumberg. He came to this far-flung spot with his wife and four children in 1903. They settled in the village and opened a much-needed store. Soon five other Jewish families joined them. These included a barber, two watchmakers and two butchers.
BOER WAR SEEMED A FAMILY AFFAIR
Victor Churchill, who called himself “Peter” hated school. He constantly invented ways of being sent back home. “Once there I used to pore over my grandmother’s great atlas and go on imaginary travels. It was a game that went on for years. I was everything from a great adventurer to a heroic soldier, but the first real war stories I heard were all about South Africa. The Boer War seemed a kind of family affair and South Africa seemed a land of family adventure. I heard of Sarah Wilson, a Churchill Cousin who had gone there as a newspaper correspondent, a spirited kind of thing for a woman to do in those days. She was captured by the Boers. ‘They will not hurt her,’ said Queen Victoria to Aunt Jenny, Winston’s mother.” The Queen’s remark was always the high point of the story wrote Viscount Churchill in his autobiography All my sins remembered. “We had a dashing photograph of Cousin Sarah, leather-belted, high-collared and wasp-waisted, in her African outfit. The family told many stories about Winston. And, when Winston himself, his red hair a shade or two lighter than my sister Ivy’s came to stay, the stories of his capture and escape came gloriously alive. My parents smiled with affectionate superiority when he told of his South African exploits and (when he was not there) they quoted the telegram. sent to him in Africa, by members of a famous London Club. It read: ‘Best friends here hope you will not make a further ass of yourself.’ Yet when I heard Winston calling loudly down the corridors for his valet Scribbens, and watched the bustle his presence created, life began to seem dull in a home where everyone could pronounce their s’s and no one had been captured by the Boers.”
HANOVER HIPPPOS DOING WELL
The Hanover hippos, resettled at New Holme Guest Farm, just outside this Karoo village, last December, are doing well. Farm owner PC Ferreira reports the cow appears to be pregnant. The calf has become independent and is grazing on his own. “In fact, all three are becoming quite aggressively territorial,” he says. The hippos arrived at New Holme where these animals last roamed free over 230 years ago. PC said research revealed that the last hippopotamus was shot in 1775 on the banks of the Zeekoei River, which runs through his farm. The hippos came from the Letsithele area in Mpumalanga, where they had been declared a nuisance after hunger forced them to raid citrus orchards, and they were causing extensive damage to the trees. PC who started working on a project to re-establish hippos in the Karoo about two years ago. He set up the Karoo Hippopotamus Re-settlement Forum and then with his father, Ian, declared The Karoo-Gariep Conservancy on a 12 000ha area of their farms. Now six neighbours are interested in joining them. “We plan to build up a significant conservancy over the next 15 years, eventually settling from 40 and 50 hippos along an 80km stretch of the Zeekoei River and introducing other animals, such as rhino and Cape Buffalo.” He recently obtained permits for two to three white rhinos and is now working on upgrading fencing in readiness for their arrival one day.
BEAUTIFUL, BUT POISONOUS
The Bushman Poison Bulb, commonly called “gifbol” by people of the Karoo, is a rather attractive plant. Leeu Gamka Indigenous Nursery is promoting this large bulbous plant, which some call “the sore-eye flower.” “It is easily recognizable by strap-like leaves that form in a distinctive fan-shape from an exposed bulb with papery scales around its fleshy part,” says promotional officer Charlotte Bothma. “The plant produces clusters of sweetly scented flowers that vary in shade from pale pinks to a beautiful red from July to October. Some people get sore eyes and even a headache when exposed to these flowers, hence the name. When dry, the inflorescence rolls about in the wind, distributing the seeds.” The Bushman Poison Bulb had many medicinal uses. Parts of the plant were used by certain African tribes to cure various ailments. The outer covering of the bulb was applied to boils and abscesses. Fresh leaves were used to stop bleeding. The plants are poisonous to cattle and sheep and the Bushman once used it to poison their arrows. “While some traditional healers use Boophane disticha to treat pain and wounds, it must be remembered that this is a very poisonous plant of which only the bulb scales can be used,” said Charlotte. This plant thrives in full sun, in well-drained, sandy soil and rocky areas. Boophane disticha is drought and frost resistant. Boophane disticha is available from the Leeu-Gamka Nursery and costs from R100 to R140 depending on the size of the bulb.
“Most truths are so naked that people feel sorry for them and cover them up a little.”
Edward R. Murrow, whose coverage of events taking place in Europe during WWII helped establish the field of radio journalism. A lover of language, he especially appreciated the great masters of oratory, such as Winston Churchill, of whom he said, “He mobilized the English language and sent it into battle.”
