Plett Arts Festival 2024
From Sedgefield to Keurboomstrand
In this conversation, Sonja and Mike Kantey of Watercourse Media present a broad history of the 14 pioneer families of the area between Sedgefield and Keurboomstrand, who were given title deeds to parcels of land between the Kaaymans- and the Grootrivier during the Dutch colonial occupation of the late 18th Century.
In 1802, two of these forester/farmers -- Guilliame Wolfaardt and Hendrik Heyns -- were killed during a skirmish with rebellious forces from the Eastern Cape, but others thrived and were granted leasehold with the final defeat of Napoleon and the advent of British Imperialism in the early 19th Century. Two of the most prominent families at this time in Plettenberg Bay were the Van Huyssteens of Wittedrift and the Van Rooyens of Piesangvallei. Early British immigrant families included James Read, Robert Harker, Barrington, and Newdigate. The period we will be discussing, therefore, will cover the area from Sedgefield and Knysna (Meeding, Barnard, Terblanche, Vosloo, and Barkhuizen) to Keurboomstrand (Van Rooyen, Van Huyssteen, Jerling, Read, and Van der Watt).
A 30 minute presentation and 15 minute Q&A.
Come early or stay after the talk to view The Alchemy of Art exhibition at the Harmony Centre. Why not book for lunch at the Kwendalo Green Cafe before the talk? 044 004 0366 or Whatsapp 063 669 8006
ABOUT MIKE KANTEY
Having graduated with majors in English and isiXhosa from the University of Cape Town in the early 1980s, Mike Kantey started out as an editor in the African languages for the schools’ market with what was then Longman Penguin (now Maskew Miller Learning), before joining David Philip Publishers in the late 1980s. During that time, he doubled up as an anti-nuclear activist, and was elected Chairman of the Tenants’ Committee at Community House. In the 1990s, Mike started his own media & development company, Watercourse, which acted as a consultant for book publishing, magazines, and newspapers.
At the same time, his work in the environmental sector brought him into research, strategic planning, evaluations, and fundraising for a range of sectors, including mining & energy; water & sanitation, solid waste management, safety & security; and food security. After facilitating a delegation of Western Cape activists to the 2002 World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg as part of the Environmental Justice Networking Forum, Mike was invited by the European Greens to attend the P7 Summit in Nairobi, hosted by the late Wangari Ma’athai’s Green Belt Movement. In 2009 he was a South African delegate to the founding conference of the African Anti-Uranium Mining Alliance in Tanzania, before being appointed National Chairperson of the South African Coalition Against Nuclear Energy (CANE).
In 2007, Mike moved to the coastal resort town of Plettenberg Bay, where he initiated the Watermark Press, a specialised service agency for self-publishing authors, limited to under 500 units at a time. He met and married Connoisseur Gents Hairstylist Sonja Barnard, who joined him as a book designer and layout artist. Since Sonja is in direct descent from many Garden Route pioneers families (Terblanche, Jerling, and Van Rooyen, to name a few) we remain passionate about research and publishing in this area.
