History Webs
For the Drakenstein Valley
What is oral history?
Oral history is about collecting and
recording eyewitness accounts of events and experiences. It is also
sometimes referred to as personal narratives or memory archiving.
It is important to point out that it almost
impossible for anybody to recall an event with complete objectivity -
whether it was a social event, a political rally, the scene of an
accident or a crime.
Secondly, People
may recall only specific moments of an event, they may add their own
interpretations to what they saw, or may fuse two separate events into
a single event.
This does not make the information any less significant. By
adding oral histories to more traditional historic documentation, one
is able to build a more complex understanding of history, experience
and socio-political processes.
Local resources
The following museums and organisations collect oral histories: the Drakenstein Heemkring, Wellington Museum, Museum van de Caab and the Koinonia Community Centre. See the Resources page for contact information.
Further reading
For more information on oral history, have a look at the following organisations' websites: The Oral History Association of South Africa, and the Centre for Popular History.
Interviews
Abrahams, Julie President of the Bergrivier Krieketklub and founder member of the Wellington Cricket Club. He recalls a time when cricket pitches were made from soil collected off ant hills. Link
Blignaut, I de Villiers Blignaut worked as a railway clerk at Huguenot Station in Paarl. His stepfather was a wheelwright for the wagon builders JF Phillips in Paarl. Interviewed by Eben Louw and Fanie Maritz in the late 1970s or early 1980s, Tape 77, Drakenstein Heemkring. Afrikaans. Partial transciption. Link
Cupido nee Bushby, Charlotte Cupido was born in Wellington in 1921, and began her teaching career in Wellington's Bovlei. She taught for 50 years before retiring. She has written a book called "Vra na die Ou Paaie," about her memories of life in Wellington. Link
De Villiers, Manie Memories of Paarl during the early 1900s
Nortje, PH Recalls his stay in Wellington and some of the characters and events that found their way into his books more
Malherbe, Jeanne One of the pioneers of biodynamic farming in South Africa and farmed on Bloublommetjieskloof in Wellington more
Sabatino, Sibratti "Sabee" grew up in Tripoli and was captured during the North Africa Campaign (WWII). He was interned in Wellington and worked on the farm Slangrivier in Wellington more
Schneider, Tersius lives in Wellington and was one of the town's first vets more
Slamet, Henry lives in Wellington and repairs shoes in his shop in Fontein Street more
Smit, SCB gives a woman's perspective on farming and Wellington's vine nursery industry ... more
Stephenson, Edith recalls her childhood in the Northwestern Cape and Namibia, and her father's printing press in Wellington ... more
Willemse, Japie lives in Wellington and grows prize winning chrystanthemums more