South Africa General

The Nedbank Historical Collective is a 20-entity-strong assemblage of archives and historical data, dating back to 1831. The previous article (click here to view) looked at the Cape of Good Hope Bank Savings Society, The Board of Executors, The South African Association for the Administration and Settlement of Estates and The Kimberley Permanent Mutual Building and Investment Society. This article will continue the journey through the entities in our archive.

Paarlsche Afrikaanse Trust Maatschappij / Boland Bank

In 1890 De Paarlsche Afrikaanse Trust Matschappij Beperkt was established in Paarl as a general regional bank and operated as such until 1954. Then, in partnership with local lawyers, the Paarlsche Trust established the Wes-Kaaplandse Afslaers as the Trust’s presence had begun to spread further afield. The Trust’s reach and growth was explosive and by 1960 De Paarlsche Afrikaanse Trust Maartschappij Beperkt changed its name to The Paarl Trust Limited. In 1963, The Paarl Trust Limited merged with African Mutual Trust and Assurance Company Limited, and changed its name to the Boland Board of Executors Limited. On 21 August 1969 the Boland Board of Executors listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) with total funds of R86,1 million. In the same year, the first branch opened its doors in Cape Town.

The year 1970 saw a merger with Stellenbosch Distriksbank and Vogdy Bank, and a 30% shareholding of Mercabank Limited. As a result, the bank began building a bigger head office in Paarl. On 5 August 1971, the Boland Board changed its name...

The postcard above was sent on 12 November 1914 and depicts what the card claims to be "Christian Natives". This is the part that requires some interpretation. The postcard was dated to 1914, but the photograph itself may have been taken ten, or even twenty years earlier. By the law of averages it can be dated to 1903-1914, when the use of privately produced postcards was first made legal by the Post Office. This is confirmed by the card's back which is divided down the centre, something that was made mandatory after 1907.

The back of the postcard

The man, seated on the far left, probably the pater familias of the group, is obviously a polygamist, and probably has four or five wives as well as about fourteen children. A second adult man and perhaps an adult woman are located on the left and far left of the picture respectively. The father's number of wives and his western-style clothes indicate that he was of high social standing, but was probably only a nominal "Christian" in his spiritual beliefs. The wall in the background has been decorated by a method of incribing the wet wall plaster commonly used by Pedi, South Ndebele and Tswana women to decorate their homestead walls. The walls are unusually high, but the seat upon...

The primary purpose of this article is to introduce the first known catalogue of Anglo-Boer war stereo photographs produced by the American based Keystone View Company (Version 1 – as at April 2022 - click here to view).

At this early stage it also needs to be pointed out that Keystone View Company published their stereoviews in the United Kingdom under the name “The Fine-Art Photographers’ Publishing Co”. The numbering convention and titles applied for these Anglo-Boer war images were the same as for the views published under the Keystone brand. Whilst the Keystone View Company (Keystone) is the main theme of this article, the catalogue attached would be inclusive of the British published views.

This article is the third in a series on South African Anglo-Boer war stereo photographs, or stereoviews, produced by American based entities.

The first in the series was on the Anglo-Boer war stereo photographs produced by Underwood & Underwood (click here to view), whilst the second in the series was on the Kilburn company (click here to view). All three these entities, Keystone included, were stiff competition to each other – also during the Anglo-Boer war period.

Underwood & Underwood was established during 1881 and ceased their activities 39 years later (during 1920), whilst Kilburn was established during 1865. They discontinued their activities 44 years later (during 1909).

After having made some crucial adaptations in order to survive the industry, Keystone became the longest survivor of the three American entities. Keystone was established during 1892, with...

Rev. Robert Forsyth (30th May 1954 – 27th April 2022), a passionate heritage man, passed away in a motor vehicle accident on 27th April 2022. A memorial event was held to celebrate his life at Misty Hills Country Hotel, Muldersdrift on 9th May.  We mourn his passing. His departure is a great loss to the heritage community.

Robert was the man who developed Kedar Heritage Lodge on the old Paul Kruger farm Boekenhoutfontein in the North West Province into the superb country lodge, fine restaurant, game farm, heritage centre and South African War museum that Kedar is today. He was also the proprietor of Misty Hills, an old country hotel with a long history. Robert has been the man who conserved, preserved and improved these resources in ways that made heritage a living part of modern lives.

Robert was an exceptional human being. He was a man of vision. He was a man of many talents – entrepreneur, visionary, businessman. He left this world a better place and the many people who interacted with him were enriched by the encounter. He was a bold man whose Christian faith underscored much of his life. He built a superb restaurant (Carnivore) and brought Misty Hills to top tourism status. 

Robert was born in Zimbabwe and grew up in Bulawayo. As a young man he trained as a pastor in the USA but returned to the African continent and settled in South Africa. He loved Africa and was keenly interested in history. His unique approach successfully combined a country...

Sometimes one longs for bygone days when one encounters a rare relic of a functioning and proud South African transport system that ran a complex railway and air network effectively as a business enterprise run by government.

I recently obtained a copy of this unusual 1954 railway map of South Africa showing each and every railway station throughout South Africa, South West Africa (now Namibia), Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and the Bechuanaland Protectorate (Botswana). The map also shows the principal air routes of Southern Africa. It was issued by the Publicity and Travel Department of the South African Railways and was printed by the Government Printer in 1954. The map was designed and drawn for the SA Railways by the Trigonometrical Survey Office in 1947 and revised in 1953 (I wonder if there were earlier versions of this map?). It folds out measuring 28.5 x 38 inches and folds up into 4 segments across five divisions. It is enclosed within grey paper covers.

The Map

It was meant to be a tourism promotion item with enquiries being directed to the London and New York commercial liaison officers of the South African Railways. At one time such maps must have been handed out as part of the travel planning advice for potential tourists who could have travelled entirely by rail throughout Southern Africa, or have been more...

On the 26th April 1900, the South African Cultural Historian, Dr Willem Henri Jacobus Punt was born in Elandsfontein (Germiston today). He was the son of Dutch immigrants, Jacob Punt and his wife Cecile Ruwers. They were both born in the Netherlands, Jacob in Amsterdam and Cecile in Hilversum. In 1893, Jacob came to South Africa and was employed by NZASM (Nederlandsche Zuid-Afrikaansche Spoorweg-Maatschappij). He became the Station Master at Elandsfontein before the outbreak of the Boer War in 1899. During the war he was imprisoned by the British and in May 1900 was deported back to Holland with his wife and son Willem of 6 weeks. The family returned to South Africa in 1904 with an added sibling for Willem, his sister Cecile Punt who was born in Holland.

Willem Punt (Bulletin)

At the age of 14, he had already decided to become an Historian and find where the Van Rensburg Trek had been massacred and where the graves of the Louis Trichardt Trek were in Delagoa Bay (Lourenço Marques). His research on the Voortrekkers, Louis Trichardt and the Van Rensburg Trek started in 1928 and was completed in 1945. From this date, more expeditions were taken to finalize certain aspects of his research. This research comprised of 14 expeditions through the bush, rivers and the wild to Delagoa Bay. It earned him his PhD at Stellenbosch University in...

Much has been written about the concept of discarded or “found” photographs. These photographs often contain the most surprising themes which continue making significant contributions to a broader visual and historical perspective.

Whilst the possible themes of found photographs vary broadly, the primary theme remains around our experiences of the world – our memory of something captured - including our own emotion around the commemoration of the dead.

Occasionally these discarded or “found” photographs also include the almost taboo category of mourning photographs or “In Memoriam” photographs.

The Latin “In Memoriam” translates into “In memory of” or “as a memorial to”.

Examples of front cover of antique “In Memoriam” cards. These cards have become of significant interest to researchers and should therefore be curated instead of being discarded or destroyed.

During the mid-1800’s to early 1900’s, photography played a vital role in capturing images of loved ones, not only whilst alive, but also at the time of their death.

Think about it – A photograph turns the past into an object of tender regard (Sontag, 2002), but also only where...

This small but dense guide book to South and East Africa was produced annually for the Union Castle Mail Steamship Company. It was a publishing success. Here was a happy marriage of publishing, tourism promotion and publicity for the sale of bookings for the sea voyage to Africa. For many it was an adventure of a lifetime; for others a ticket to immigration and taking up a new life in what was still seen as a British colony in Africa (South Africa, Rhodesia or Kenya). This was the Lonely Planet or Insight Guide of its day. I love the cover with the decorative palm trees – it is an immediate icon of exotic Africa – a hint of penetrating the 'dark continent' but by 1914 railways had made Africa accessible to the affluent touring class – the men and women of independent means.

Guide Cover

The title said it all - the readership were the tourists planning holidays of up to six months, the sportsmen going in search of hunting wild game, the invalids in search of sunshine and a dry climate to recover from consumption (tuberculosis) and the settlers who were likely to come to purchase a farm or take up a profession in a growing town. South Africa and the hinterland was seen...

For many heritage enthusiasts, archivists or historians, old photographs and photo albums are of considerable interest and do not turn up very often. Places to look for old photos are auctions, junk shops or car boot sales, or even online sales like Bidorbuy. The album that I discovered, with three sets of photographs representing two separate mystery occasions, was found at the Hospice Witwatersrand charity shop in Orange Grove, Johannesburg, about ten years ago. I photographed the individual photos for greater clarity in trying to determine what this event was and where it was held.

The photographs are rather vaguely dated and the two occasions, which are 40 years apart, are not described, nor the locations given.  The first two sets of photos are from 1950s and a third set has no date but from the clothing must be from around 1910. It looks like these two events were Salvation Army events or jamborees as some of the men wear The Salvation Army badges and one or two carry Bibles.  One thing that is notable from all the photographs is that these were very formal events and participants were well dressed in what looks like ‘Sunday best’, especially in the 1950s set of photographs. The 1950s event must have been an overnight event judging by the large tent settlement. This was also clearly a family event with lots of moms shepherding children along.

The photographs capture pre-war (1910) and post war (1950) gatherings of The Salvation Army at some place in...

Over the years, The Heritage Portal team has received dozens of questions from members of the public about heritage processes in South Africa. Below is a list of answers to a few common questions to help you navigate some of the complexity of the sector. When in doubt contact an expert.

Click here to find a professional.

What is the sixty-year rule?

The sixty-year rule is the informal name given to section 34 of the National Heritage Resources Act (NHRA) which states that ‘No person may alter or demolish any structure or part of a structure which is older than 60 years without a permit issued by the relevant provincial heritage resources authority’.

'Alter' is defined by the Act as ‘any action affecting the structure, appearance or physical properties of a place or object, whether by way of structural or other works, by painting, plastering or other decoration or any other means’.

What is a Provincial Heritage Resources Authority (PHRA)?

A PHRA is the body responsible for the management of the relevant heritage resources within a province. It runs the permit and appeal processes that are becoming increasingly familiar to homeowners. It is also responsible for declaring heritage sites.

Click here to find a list of PHRAs.

How can I tell if my property is older than sixty years?

Owners of properties older than sixty years need a permit from the relevant Provincial Heritage Resources Authority (PHRA) before they can alter or demolish any structures. Try your nearest municipal plans archive to...