Nuwe lewe

'n Huis op Teslaarsdal.

Jammer dat ek so lanklaas gepost het.
Eerste interessante nuus (waarna ek voorheen verwys het), is die groot verandering in my lewe. Ek het besluit om 'n pos by Die Burger te aanvaar as nagnuusredakteur, wat beteken ek sal in die aand werk (twee tot tien) en vir 'n jaar of wat bietjie meer vas wees as waaraan ek gewoond is of wil wees.
Maar dis met 'n doel, ek gaan hierdie tyd gebruik om my huis in Strydenburg, wat eindelik volgende week op my naam gaan kom, en my grond in Tesselaarsdal ontwikkel. Die plan met die grond is olywe en dalk een of ander eenvoudige huisie, die plan met Strydenburg is bloot om die huis se ou karakter te herstel, dis 'n ou huis, maar binne gemoderniseer. Alles in 'n baie goeie toestand, maar ek sal dit graag wil herstel na hoe dit was. Dus, vir my eie gemoedsrus het ek besluit 'n vaste werk vir 'n tyd sal dalk goed wees, net terwyl ek werk aan my lewensideaal om ekonomies onafhanklik te wees!
Vir interessantheid, hier is iets oor die geskiedenis van Tesselaarsdal, dis ongelukkig baie lank, maar baie interessant.

History of Tesselaarsdal: From 1663 the Dutch entered the Overberg using Gantouw Pass over the Hottentotts Holland Mountains. As farming activities in the Peninsula expanded cattle posts were established in the Overberg. One of the famous settlers in the Overberg was Johannes Jacobus Tesselaar.
Born 24th April 1748 and was a Lieutenant in the Cape Cavalry, as payment he received two farms in the Overberg. Hartebeestrivier and Steenboksrivier. Hartebeestrivier was a loan farm received during 1781 followed by 5 further farms. Tesselaar can be regarded as the first major land baron in the Overberg. It is a mystery how he obtained his wealth and by 1797 he possessed 14 male slaves 4 female slaves 125 horses 60 cattle and 505 sheep.
He married Alida van der Heyde on March 1775 the couple were childless and their will of 6th March 1809 stipulates that the farms and sums of money be left to relatives and the farm Hartebeestrivier and movables be left to slaves: Joachim Coert, Gert Gertse, Jan Gertse, Barend and Jan Frederick Bredenkamp, Alida Heizenberg, Christina Heizenberg, Elizabeth Heizenberg, Aletta Heizenberg and their descendants.
Tesselaar died at the end of 1801 and his wife Aaltjie continued farming until her death in 1832. In her will she stipulated that the slaves be freed and all those under the age of 15 be educated. The widow Tesselaar had employed an exceptionally large amount of Khoi servants in total 27 on her farm. In 1813 she owned 38 slaves, 148 horses, 10 wagons, 38 oxen, 32 cattle, 300 sheep and 100 goats. Apart from producing wheat and barley she also had 15,000 vines.
Of the 9 people who had inherited shares in the farm, only the Bredenkamps were to legally transfer their share to their descendants. The other members married and farmed with little records and informal boundaries. Land was used for sowing, gardening and grazing and was informally exchanged or transferred amongst the families and their descendants. Joggom Coert and Alida Heizenberg had married and had the largest family on the farm. Their daughter Helena married Hendrick Julies from Swellendam and from their daughter Louisa descends the Carelse family who still own part of the farm.
Many families came to occupy the land through marriage and some of them are: Groenewald, Fourie, Tier, Carelse, Stewart, Julies, Gardner, Conradie, Williamse, Abrahams, Swart, Geldenhuys, Matthee, Olwagen, Tobias, Avontuur, Smal, du Toit, Wyngaard and Nigrini. A section of the farm became known as Solitaire where a number of the above families resided. During the 20th century the D R C Mission Church, Anglican Church and a Primary School were established on the farm.
As was the custom people provided for their own daily needs and peddlers in the district supplying tea, coffee, sugar, spices and fabric. Card playing and dancing was popular. Regular trips were taken to Caledon by horse and cart an out span half way on the farm Dunhaye Park. Holidays were taken at Stanford and Hawston.
In 1971 the authorities tried to determine in court the rightful owners of the farm. The Overberg Divisional Council who had collected farm tax requested the Supreme Court to deal with the case. Two years later the court gave a verdict that the Council had no right to make such a case. It was decided to maintain the status quo that the farm would remain a mixed area and those who assumed inherited rights would pay tax.
A total of 128 people, 87 Coloured, and 41 Whites claimed rights to the land. In 1982 the Land Organising Committee was formed to settle the rights of ownership and the dispute between the Coloureds and Whites of Hartebeestrivier. Attempts by the Divisional Council to build a housing scheme were stopped by the Coloured community with fears that the 29 White families who were using a third of the farm would result that the area be proclaimed a White area. Land rights had been purchased from the struggling Coloured families who were unable to produce crops on their land because they did not qualify for State Agricultural subsidies.
It took the Land Organising Committee 10 years to sort out the ownership issue. After 1992 piped water and electricity was laid on and assistance rendered to owners who could not afford to pay transfer duties. Having legal ownership had enabled families to sell land to buyers from the city.