HERMANUS HISTORY INTEREST GROUP

Dr Con de Villiers Musiek Legende van die Overberg deur Dr Cornelia de Kock

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Next Members Meetings:

Life begins at 40! Lady Anne Barnard, a rare and Romantic spirit at the Cape.

Presentation in Catholic Church Hall
3 pm 25 Nov 2024 (R20 for non U3A members)

Lady Anne Barnard and the Drupkelder: Every time I return to reading Lady Anne Barnard’s writings, I find new and unexpected stories. In this case I have hung them on the hook of her visit to the Drupkelder. She wrote: "I descended the precipice which hangs over the sea under which is the cavern. No part of the ascent of Table Mountain was equal to the dangers or horrors of this. The first was merely fatiguing - this was hazardous". The context of my talk is the Barnards’ adventurous trip to the Overberg in particular and on the side trip to the coast, but the narrative is interrupted with many side-turnings into tales of personalities, politics and passions.

Our Speaker

Antonia Malan discovered historical archaeology in 1985, completing a PhD in 1993 while a Research Associate in the Department of Archaeology at UCT. She directed several seasons of excavations at Paradijs in Newlands Forest, a Dutch East India Company post and later temporary home to Lady Anne and Andrew Barnard. A focus on household inventories of deceased estates of the 18th and 19th century Cape Colony lead to a deep interest in vernacular architecture and the spatial development of Cape Town and its hinterland. As a free-lance professional archaeologist and heritage consultant, she worked closely with the Archaeology Contracts Office, taught part-time in inter-disciplinary programmes, and sits on statutory heritage committees. She is a co-founder of the Tracing History Trust which transcribes hand-written archival manuscripts and is responsible for the Publications Portfolio of the Vernacular Architecture Society of South Africa.