Stories Archive

May 17, 2017

Overstrand’s secret ‘SSS’ stations

PART 1: Radar in World War II Hangklip, Betty’s Bay and Kleinmond Historians love to play the game of “What really won the war?” and for World War II answers range from the Secret Service hoax of ‘the man who never was’; to the decoding of German military messages by Alan Turing and colleagues at Bletchley Park; to Robert Oppenheimer and […]

April 20, 2017

The blind knitter of Hermanus by Robin Lee

Early in the 1900s two of the three Luyt brothers, Henry and Alewyn, left the Cape to work in t gold mines in the Transvaal. In 1913, Alewyn (1887-1977) was involved in an explosion underground, and as a result lost his sight completely. After hospitalisation in the Transvaal, he spent […]

April 5, 2017

The Royal Hotel and The Allengensky Family

Hotels have always been an important part of life in Hermanus At one stage, in the 1930’s there were no fewer than 13 holiday hotels in the town as well as boarding houses(“losieshuisies”) and guesthouses. To the best of my knowledge bed-and-breakfast accommodation was not yet in use locally. History […]

March 27, 2017

Afrikaners, the Second World War and its aftermath: the case of ‘sailor’ Malan and the torch commando

We are pleased to welcome another guest speaker this month. He is Professor Bill Nasson from the University of Stellenbosch, who is an expert in South African history and author of many books and articles. He will be speaking on Afrikaners, the Second World War and its aftermath: the case […]