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Contact Zone SA Contact Zone discovers, develops and shares Cape sites and routes for alternative public histories, places and tourism.

Bo-Kaap ExplorationTwo 18th century maps, the first from 1760 by Carel David Wentzel (c.1727-1776), and the next by C.F....
26/08/2019

Bo-Kaap Exploration
Two 18th century maps, the first from 1760 by Carel David Wentzel (c.1727-1776), and the next by C.F. Brink (1767), show us what a difference seven years can make in the history of the Bo-Kaap, Cape Town.

In 1760 we see the original 1707 Schotsche Kloof farm (Diagram 1, arrowed), including an L-shaped house on the edge of the property. By 1767 (Diagram 2, arrowed), it looks like a new settlement has been established on Signal Hill, up Wale Street extension and along (what would become) Buitengraght. The traditional history is that this area would be developed as small "huurhusjies" by Schotsche Kloof's owner, Jan de Waal, who lived in the large homestead, now seen (much altered) at 79 (blue house here) and 81 Dorp Street (Hislop, undated). These small, 18th century single-storey, flat-roofed lower-income homes, dubbed "Waalendorp" or "Wallendorp" would become the kernel for the later development of the largely Muslim community of Bo-Kaap. By 1778, the Panorama of Cape (attributed to Robert Jacob Gordon, seen in detail here) gives us a more detailed depiction of this area, and the Schotschekloof estate behind).

I explored this area recently with local community guides as part of CTGA tourist guide education, and am only just beginning to discover and learn about the rich cultural and architectural history of this fascinating area, currently faced with the threat of gentrification and over-tourism.

I had the pleasure yesterday of taking a tour to the Faure/Macassar Kramat near Zandvliet with noted historian Ebrahim R...
24/04/2019

I had the pleasure yesterday of taking a tour to the Faure/Macassar Kramat near Zandvliet with noted historian Ebrahim Rhoda. Of special interest was the history of the development of the shrine itself, and its various monuments, in the context of the social history of Cape Malay identity and status in the Cape in the 19th and 20th century.

The shrine here commemorates Shayk Yusuf, whom as one monument notes, was “the martyr and hero of Bantam, 1626-1699”. Shayk Yusuf is seen as the founder of Islam at the Cape and his kramat remains a major site of pilgrimage. (See for further information: http://www.muslim.co.za/tourism/placestovisit/kramat_shaykh_yusuf).

I am deeply grateful to Ebrahim Rhoda for sharing his research on the site, as well as the history of the moslem fishing community at Mosterd Bay, Strand.

EXIBITION Opening - David LurieDaylight Ghosts - History, Myths & MemoryIRMA STERN MUSEUM, 27 October 2018 (Cape Town)Pl...
18/10/2018

EXIBITION Opening - David Lurie

Daylight Ghosts - History, Myths & Memory
IRMA STERN MUSEUM, 27 October 2018 (Cape Town)

Please join us at the opening of photographer David Lurie's, new exhibition, Daylight Ghosts - History, Myths & Memory.

Opening addresss by Ashraf Jamal.

DAYLIGHT GHOSTS – HISTORY, MYTH, MEMORY
"The Cradle of Humankind - listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1999 - opens windows onto many pasts: onto the origins and evolution of humanity, but also, perhaps less well known and appreciated, marks and bears witness to many of the key phases of more recent South African history.

The Cradle region is the scene of numerous epic battles: ancient conflicts as well as those between the many African chiefdoms that settled or tried to settle in the interior, during the period sometimes called the difaqane; between African chiefdoms and Boer pioneers, and between Boers and Britons, as well as several Afrikaner rebellions. The Cradle provides a lens through which to view and comprehend a series of absolutely pivotal and formative moments of South African history. It offers a privileged vantage point to understand what it means to be human and what it meant and currently means to be South African.

But how to capture this perspective in landscape photographs in this achingly beautiful region? How to excavate below our conventional sight level to recover the veins of myth and memory that lie beneath a surface that conceals more than it reveals, given the extreme limitations of the medium?

It was an opportunity to explore and immerse myself in the region, its myths and its history, uncover the spirit of the place and even enquire into the nature and possibilities of landscape photography itself".
David Lurie, April 2018

IRMA STERN MUSEUM - 21 Cecil Rd, Rosebank, Cape Town
DATE Saturday 27 Oct at 11h00
[Exhibition closes 10 Nov 2018]
RSVP: [email protected]

Josephus Jones Panorama at Rupert Museum (cirr. 1807-1811)Hidden in plain sight at the entrance of the Rupert Museum, St...
29/06/2018

Josephus Jones Panorama at Rupert Museum (cirr. 1807-1811)

Hidden in plain sight at the entrance of the Rupert Museum, Stellenbosch, is perhaps its greatest treasure. A 3m long, pen, ink and water colour panorama of Cape Town executed by Josephus Jones (1768-1811), the assistant of Louis Thibault. Consisting of six panels, it was discovered in Scotland in 1973, and contains a wealth of fascinating historical and architectural detail. It provides a 360 degree view from the roof of a building at the corner of Strand and Adderley/Heerengracht street, largely depicting the Grand Parade/Parade Plaats.

Probably commissioned for the new British governor, the Earl of Caledon, it shows a romanticized image of life in the Cape in eighteenth century. It is sparsely populated by orderly British troops, elegant townsfolk and some compliant, busy slaves carrying water and parasols. Above is the familiar mountainous skyline, as well as its various manorial garden estates in what is now Gardens and Bo-Kaap.

Of particular interest here is the rare depiction of Thibault's "water huys" or fountain. This was itself a neo-classical vanity project of the new, more liberal and sophisticated Batavian rulers in 1805. Unfortunately its symbolism was short lived when its "Hollendsche Zuid-Africaanen" were reconquered by the British in 1806 (1). Jones clearly shows it's sugar-loaf reservoir and inner and outer colonnades, but also depicts the fountain as designed, rather than actually constructed. Budget constraints and perhaps political apathy lead to the abandonment of its embellishing statuary and reliefs, originally to be undertaken by Anton Anreith. Demolished in 1814, the fountain was also rather too decorative for its own good, and water systems changed under British rule. Thibault complained of its careless usage by heavy water carts, and the copper and lead thieves that stripped most of his fountains. He concluded, rather peevishly, that "[o]ne cannot construct for posterity edifices of either pure or an elegant architectural style in this Colony" (Puyfontaine, 1972, p. 47)

The panels also give one a very accurate, colour "photograph" of Cape multi-hued architecture at the time, and remains a template for heritage practitioners. I am grateful for the permission to photograph this image. See pics for further details.

Sources: Information board at Rupert Museum (from Gordon-Brown and Hans Frasen) and Roy de Puyfontaine, H. (1972), quote (1) part of Batavian governor Janssens's foundation laying speech, Feb 1805 (p. 47).

Sunset shots taken by talented calligrapher, Andrew van der Merwe, Beachscriber, at Misty Cliffs, Scarborough. Thank you...
18/05/2018

Sunset shots taken by talented calligrapher, Andrew van der Merwe, Beachscriber, at Misty Cliffs, Scarborough. Thank you Andrew for these wonderful images.

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