Our Talks

Admiral Theo Honiball: “That Sinking Feeling”

Admiral Theo Honiball: “That Sinking Feeling”

“That Sinking Feeling” The Van Plettenberg Historical Society is privileged to kick-start their new programme in 2019 with a visit from Rear Admiral Theo Honiball, who will talk about his days as a commander of a French-built flotilla of Daphne-Class submarines....

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Leigh Dunn: The Coloured folk of Plett

Leigh Dunn: The Coloured folk of Plett

The Dunn and Harker families of Plett having a picnic at Robberg in 1948. https://youtu.be/q4xPOIQX4YA?si=6fUYqY_tniJOX89U “The Coloured folk of Plett, how they were moved from the CBD by the Group Areas Act No. 41 of 27 April 1950, and a few related anecdotes” –...

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A History of the Nuclear Struggle in South Africa

A History of the Nuclear Struggle in South Africa

18 January 2018, Mike Kantey, National Chairperson Coalition Against Nuclear Energy (CANE) Download the presentation Atoms for Peace Address by Mr Dwight D. Eisenhower, President of the United States of America, to the 470th Plenary Meeting of the United Nations...

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“A failed experiment” The Silkworm Industry of Gouna

“A failed experiment” The Silkworm Industry of Gouna

Speaker: Rayno Sciocattis  In 1881 Rayno Sciocatti’s Italian ancestors were brought out by the Cape Government to start a silk industry in Gouna – about 14 miles northwest of Knysna and over 900 meters above sea level. The immigrants were farming people of substance...

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Paul Scheepers: Rosalind Ballingall

Speaker: Paul Scheepers In 1969 When I was a student at UCT there were other students who shared our cafeteria.  There was one striking girl. Six foot tall, slim very pretty with red hair and wore a hippy dress down to the ground This was Rosalind ...

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Sophy Gray

Sophy Gray

SPEAKER: NATIE DE SWART Sophy or Sophia Gray was a multi-faceted person who happened to be a woman. It would be easy to talk about her and her achievements for a long time.   What I would like to do is to talk about the person and to put  her in...

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The glory and demise of the Kingdom of the two Sicilies.

Speaker: Dr Giovanni Coci I was born in Naples, Southern Italy and I am quite passionate about the culture and the history of this beautiful part of the world. The purpose of my talk is to share with you some facts about the history of Southern Italy which may not be...

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The De Poort Murders of 1802

The De Poort Murders of 1802

A United Front of Khoikhoin Gounaqua & Amagqunukhwebe SPEAKER: Mike Kantey Events leading up to the 19th Century The first major driver behind the dispossession and fateful resistance of the indigenous and migrant African tribes of what became South Africa...

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The Battle of Omdurman

SPEAKER: David Hall-Green The country which we know today as Sudan is the biggest on the African continent. It would virtually swallow up most of Western Europe without so much as a hearty belch. The ancient Egyptians called it Nubia, and it was the source of slaves...

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