Settlement and forestry station on the karatara river which flows. A must do is a visit to one of our many local markets 8. Reports vary, but knysna resident, scott picken says that well over 400 formal and more than 200 informal homes were destroyed by the blaze. The story of the knysna forests from exploitation to conservation even before people started harvesting them, indigenous, evergreen forests were something of a rarity in south africa. This farm is set in the gouna highlands with won derful mountain views and nature bordering untouched indigenous forests. The old roads between george and knysna this book first describes the original challenging oxwagon track in use from the 1750s and recorded by numerous well known early travellers. The property, which was situated at 51 main street was sold to macdonalds in 1999. Fantastic 50ha vacant farm for sale in the gouna area near knysnathis vacant piece of land is situated 15km from knysna town centre. Philip caveney is chairperson of the knysna historical society. In 1971 he started his career in the kruger national park as a graduate assistant biologist.
The knysna elephant park was founded in 1994 by husband and wife team ian and lisette withers. Knysna heads talk, a slide show and talk by david wightman, author of the book heads and tales, 50 years. June 2017 will be remembered by south africans for decades to come. Eager prospectors followed the gold trail into the millwood forest and by january 1887 the millwood forest had been proclaimed as a goldfield the first goldfield to be proclaimed in south africa. Knysna man shares story of families bravery during. Settlement and forestry station on the karatara river which flows southwards into swartvlei.
A brief history of knysna from 1770 to 1890 the heritage. The woodcutter settlements of knysna philip caveney karatara philip. The relationship between the timber merchants and the woodcutters who lived and worked in the knysna forests is described in a. Once the cape town area had been settled it was not long before exploration of the hinterland started. Rotary club of knysna making informed study choices some. Mynhardt explained that during drought periods, or even during low rainfall periods the swartvlei estuary mouth closes, due to low flows in the rivers feeding the. Find out the municipal valuation, last sale date, last sale price, price comparable sales of any property in karatara. Tuiniqua honoured for karatara project knysnaplett herald. There are a number of restaurants within 5 minutes drive of the accommodations. Knysna municipality integrated strategic development framework sustainable human settlement plan page 11 of 151 knysna human settlement plan. Jun 15, 2017 the knysna literary festival has decided to create a book drive to help rebuild the collection of books in the area. Like so many south africans, ive been watching what has been happening in knysna over the past week with utter dismay. Knysna holidays town history of knysna south africa. Interestingly, history shows that local interest in oyster cultivation dates as far back as 1673, with limited success.
Over the years knysna continued to grow and if george rex were alive today he would be so proud as knysna has become one of the southern cape coasts best known holiday destinations. Friends from the western side of town arrived at our house in old. Stephanus terblans, the first european farmer to settle in the area, was given a loan permit to farm here in 1770. Photos of knysna attractions, restaurants, art, shops. I had heard about south africas first free rural ecobusiness school for entrepreneurs was based in the karatara settlement, and the journalist in me sensed a good story. I have been looking for this book for years it has a lot of my maternal grand mothers history and my mothers copy was lost. It is situated 5 km west of barrington and some 40 km northwest of knysna. There were no meadows near our house, only thorns and steekgras. She confirmed that there were several fires raging in the area including karatara, belvedere, brentononsea and the western head in knysna.
If youve ever travelled along the historical seven passes road, built by the famous roadbuilder thomas bain in the late 19th century a road that links knysna. The faithful are quick to blame natural disasters on the sins of man. One of the first places i visited when i arrived in knysna was karatara, a small settlement about thirty kilometres from sedgefield, the closest town to knysna. A second visit just as good as the first tripadvisor. Karatara is a town in knysna local municipality in the western cape province of south africa settlement and forestry station on the karatara river which flows southwards into swartvlei. Knysna and wilderness south africas national lake areas trevor dearlove, angela whittingham on. Fire death toll rises while blazes contained in knysna. Spend a day on the beach and discover our beautiful coastline.
South african geological history and stratigraphy and lend understanding to what the. I say some because the colonial record far surpasses that of the original settlers, the khoi and the san tribes. Next time you visit cape town and the garden route take some time out of your journey and discover the jewel that is knysna. Background on the origin and causes of the knysna fires dr guy preston, phd environmental science deputy directorgeneral. Bruce bryden was born in johannesburg and was awarded a bachelor of science degree from the university of the witwatersrand, followed by honours in wildlife management at pretoria university. Each one of the three areas within karatara has different histories and services. Guadeloupe self catering offers a range of bright, spacious accommodations, each with a kitchen with stove and refrigerator. The history of knysna the khoikhoi people people or real people or khoi, are a historical division of the khoisan ethnic group, the native people of southwestern africa, closely related to the bushmen or san, as the khoikhoi called them. The farm stretched from the indian ocean to todays long street in the town of. Play a round of golf at one of magnificent 18hole courses 6. Legend has it that the san or bushmen were the earliest inhabitants of the island. Knysna and wilderness south africas national lake areas. It is based on interviews and documents as outlined in the. The name is of khoekhoen origin and probably means horse hill, after a hillock to the north.
Apartment guadeloupe self catering, knysna, south africa. The first reports show settlement taking place in the late 1760s 1770. Property prices, trends, statistics, valuations for all houses in karatara. You may need to ask someone to print a form for you. Jun 19, 2017 the faithful are quick to blame natural disasters on the sins of man. Stephanus jesaias ter blans, eldest son of heemraad pieter ter blans terblanche of the reeboksfontein farm near little brak river, was the first colonist farmer to settle in the knysna area. Find the best results for books and book stores in knysna. The pass is the fifth pass on the 7 passes road and closer to the knysna end, just before the homtini pass and phantom pass.
The karatara pass is situated between the towns of george and knysna in the western cape, south africa. The story of the knysna oyster a complicated journey to the plate oysters in kynsna the knysna oyster farms have been shut for years, yet the town still retains its title of oyster capital of south africa. Municipal manager lauren waring said that voting in knysna were peaceful. Like so many south africans, ive been watching what has been happening in. Consider applying to tsiba eden campus, in karatara, especially if you are not yet wellenough prepared to be able to cope with the first year of a university course. Enjoy the knysna estuary by boat, ferry, yacht, kayak or sup. The next knysna historical society activity will be an illustrated talk by philip caveney about the history of the village of karatara in knysna the talk will cover the development of the village during the period 1923 to 1965, from its initial intended role as a settlement for forestry plantation labourers to a comprehensive settlement built by the department of social welfare to address. The dutch settlement was founded at cape town under commander jan van riebeeck and a fort was built for the dutch east india company. This is the revised draft of the report that w as submitted to the department of planning, local government and housing in august 2001. The knysnaplett herald is a weekly bilingual community newspaper in the greater knysna area, south africa. It was, of necessity, replaced by the properly engineered present day seven passes road constructed by the famous engineer thomas bain between 1867 and 1882.
Eager prospectors followed the gold trail into the millwood forest and by january 1887 the millwood forest had been proclaimed as a goldfield the first goldfield to be. Today, the knysna forests the countrys largest forest complex cover only about 568 square kilometres. Museums and history in knysna, garden route, south africa. It offers many activities and attractions, the most well known being the knysna heads which guard the mouth of the lagoon which connects the estuary with the sea. He named his loan farm melkhoutkraal, which he established in 1770, on the east bank of the knysna river. Sep 28, 2011 wicked mike takes a trip to karatara, the beautiful, rural farming area of knysna on the garden route of south africa. George rex eventually owned all the farms encircling the knysna estuary, and. All the passes along the route have been declared national monuments. Knysna tourism official website for knysna, sedgefield. Oda was appointed to investigate the current situation in karatara. Rotary club of knysna making informed study choices. This victorian cottage, at 44 rawson street, was the home of john benn, first of a long line of benn family members who served as pilots, prior to his moving to the pilots house at the knysna heads on his appointment as coxswain and pilot in 1868 the house stands on land originally part of the admiralty erven which was ceded by george rex to the british navy who, in turn, exchanged. Read the form carefully to see what you first need to get in order to submit your. It is still smoldering on all sides, but the immediate threat is past.
History of the overberg and southern cape forests 17952011 history of the southern cape forests premodern to 1795 colonial history of knysna 17701890 part 4 colonial. A brief history of knysna from 1770 to 1890 the heritage portal. Wicked mike takes a trip to karatara, the beautiful, rural farming area of knysna on the garden route of south africa. Towards a history of the poor white woodcutters in the southern cape forest area c. Voting stations within the knysna municipal area opened promptly at 07h00 and closed at 21h00, and there were no reports of violence or any. A brief history of knysna from 1770 to 1890 heritage portal. Background on the origin and causes of the knysna fires.
Follow the 6km dirt road down into the meandering forest edge and experience river and forest coming together. Knysna in south africa plots of land for sale gumtree. History of thesen islands, knysna, garden route, south africa. All of these have free wifi, and some have views of the knysna lagoon. The best hotels in karatara of 2020 from r 673 tripadvisor. Mountain bike, walk or run in our magnificent indigenous forests and nature reserves 2. Environmental programmes, department of environmental affairs. This report, commissioned by santam, synthesises technical. Knysna s rich and colourful history spans the days of sailing ships, timber extraction and even a brief period of gold discovery. They had lived in southern africa since the 5th century ad.
Karatara is a town in knysna local municipality in the western cape province of south africa. The vast, indigenous forests just outside knysna became an invaluable source of timber for buildings, ships and wagons. An eightyearold girl has drowned in the knysna lagoon. We set off from knysna, winding our way along the edge of the lagoon and crossing the. Nevertheless, the first europeans arrived in the area in 1760, and the farm melkhoutkraal literally translating from afrikaans as milk wood kraal was established on the eastern shore of the knysna lagoon. This story describes the interesting history of the many settlements at karatara and of the early inhabitants, during the period 1874 to 1961, and includes the early discovery of gold, the exploitation of the indigenous forests and the plantation forestry developments during the interwar period of the last century. In those days there was no shop in sedgefield only jan saks cafe at the karatara tjunction.
Id perked up a bit after the weekends illness so i was able to go try to sort the problem out. The books will go to schools, libraries and people in need. Karatara river project summary the project is located on the karatara river approximately 5km from sedgefield and lies in the highly ecological sensitive wilderness lakes area. The old woodcutters, now settled at the village of karatara. It is situated in the midst of the tranquil waters of one of the richest ecological estuaries in south africa home to the rare and endangered knysna sea horse, hippocampus capensis. Jun 14, 2017 someone in knysna phoned to ask for help. Our story the knysna elephant park was founded in 1994 by husband and wife team ian and lisette withers. Yellowwood sleepers awaiting despatch from knysna station photo from the knysna story by arthur nimmo the 2 foot rails of the swr co. The great knysna fire was not caused by climate change. The karatara pass is situated between the towns of george and knysna in the western cape, south africa the pass is the fifth pass on the 7 passes road and closer to the knysna end, just before the homtini pass and phantom pass. While its difficult to gauge the value of the affected informal dwellings, the monetary loss of homes in the formal sector calculated on an average price of between r1million and r1. Sedgefield history indicates that even when the 7 passes dirt road was built and people could come by car, many times a team of oxen was called upon to pull out a vehicle stuck in deep sand.
Knysna cars took over the bp service station and, in addition to the sale of petroleum products, started the sale of used cars on a consignment basis. In the evenings, gathered around the kitchen fire, ian. Pdf the knysna fires in june 2017 were the most destructive fires recorded in south africa. The knysna literary festival have created a book drive to. Garden route national park state of knowledge sanparks. History thesen islands is steeped in the history of the southern cape. He progressed through the ranks as ranger, district. A historical moment when mother nature showed her true power and the only option was to. Knysna is easily accessible by air or road with the closest airports in george 70 km, port elizabeth 260 km and cape town 500km away. Publications history cape knysna historical society. Fiona ayerst has 318 books on goodreads, and is currently reading diary of steve the noob 16 an unofficial minecraft book by steve the noob, conquerors. It lies 34 degrees south of the equator, and is 55 kilometres east from the city of george on the n2 highway, and 33 kilometres west of the town of plettenberg bay on. We crossed the river and continued up the valley, the glistening water reflecting the deep blue sky and the contrasting shadows of the huge weeping willows growing along the banks. Ians family had lived and worked in the knysna area for several generations and ian himself grew up surrounded by the legends of the forest and the famous knysna forest elephants.
From 1973 onwards, the oyster boom really hit, and farms were set up, a great source of job creation for many families in what was then still a small forestry and fishing town. Karatara is located north of sedgefield about 30 km from the town of knysna. The town took on a new importance with the discovery of gold in 1878, when a gold nugget was found by jack hooper in the karatara river near ruigtevlei, west of knysna. Jun 09, 2017 the knysna high school hostel was on fire, and the knysna provincial hospital was evacuated to the knysna life private hospital.
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