• Thursday 16 February 2023 – Tragic fate of the São Gonçalo.

    Our first talk will be held on Thursday, 16th February, at Formosa Garden Village, Ferdinand Street, Plettenberg Bay Well known Plett thespian, raconteur and committee member of The Van Plettenberg Historical Society, David Hall-Green, will tell us about the ill-fated Portuguese ship, known to us as the “San Gonzales”, which ran into serious trouble in […]

  • Thursday 17th August – THE JAMESON RAID

    Please join us on THURSDAY 17th August at Formosa Garden Village where Rodney Grosskopff will be telling us about the ill-judged and ill-fated Jameson Raid which took place in Krugersdorp on the 29th December 1895. This event remains one of the great mysteries and controversies of British imperial history. It certainly raised tensions between Cecil […]

  • Thursday 19 October – THE ZONDAGHS OF THE LANGKLOOF

    Join us on Thursday, October 19th, at the Formosa Garden Village for the final event for the year which will include a brief Annual General Meeting. Our guest speaker will be Jimmy Zondagh, a member of the Zondagh family, who have been deeply rooted in Avontuur for nine generations. Doors open at 5:30 pm, for […]

  • Friday 8th March – ADRIFT ON THE OPEN VELD

    We start our programme on Friday 8th March with a talk by Trevor Emslie on the life and times of Deneys Reitz as described by Deneys himself in his trilogy “Adrift on the Open Veld”. The Reitz family of Plettenberg Bay are direct descendants and this talk will, most appropriately, be held at Ouland Royale […]

  • Thursday 16th May – DAVID HALL-GREEN – from acting to trawling

    We invite you to join us on Thursday 16th May, at Formosa Garden Village to hear DAVID HALL-GREEN tell us about his experiences 60 years ago as a trawler-man working out of the English fishing port of Brixham. Click here to book tickets via Quicket here As a young man in his twenties David Hall-Green […]

  • Friday 26 July – FRANÇOIS RENIER DUMINY- A DREAM WHICH BECAME PLETTENBERG BAY

    Our next talk will be held at The Old Rectory, opposite The Timbershed in the very heart of historical Plettenberg Bay. FRANÇOIS RENIER DUMINY A DREAM WHICH BECAME PLETTENBERG BAY FRIDAY 26TH JULY, 6pm AT THE OLD RECTORY, PLETTENBERG BAY   Bookings can be made online via QUICKET or in person at Barneys Kiosk, Market […]

  • 19th September – The history of the Griqua people

    Mike Kantey - local historian, researcher, book editor and producer of limited edition works in the Watermark Press series, will tell us about the Griqua people. Emily Moon, set on the banks of the Bitou River in Plettenberg Bay, is a luxury hotel plus restaurant & pizzeria with a quirky attitude and a distinctly African […]

  • 15 November 2024 – WINSTON CHURCHILL – WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE – REWARD £25

    Please join us on 15th November in The Gazebo at the Beacon Island Resort when well-known Plett raconteur Rodney Grosskopff will take us back to The Boer War and tell us the story behind this dramatic poster and the events which followed. Click here to Livestream the event BOOKINGS CLOSE ON MONDAY 11th NOVEMBER This […]

  • 20 March 2025 – Memories of Keurbooms

    Please join us at Formosa Garden Village at 18:00 on Thursday 20th March when local resident Dave Sykes will tell us about Matjesfontein 304 – and his association with the Read family of Keurbooms. Doors open at 17:30. Dave’s first visit to Keurboomstrand was back in 1952 when he first visited the Arch Rock campsite […]

  • 16th May 2025 “Preserving the Past, Designing the Future: The Old Rectory’s Elegant Evolution”

    We look forward to welcoming you to The Old Rectory on Friday 16th May when Dael Fairbairn, principal of award-winning Erasmus Fairbairn Architects, will tell us how she came to be entrusted with the restoration and transformation of The Old Rectory into a luxury boutique hotel. Known for their meticulous attention to detail, Fairbairn's firm specializes in […]

  • Passes, Poorts and Switchbacks. The Bain Legacy

    Lagoon Room, Beacon Island Resort Plettenberg Bay, Western Cape, South Africa

    We have all enjoyed the breathtaking views from the passes which enable us to travel over our spectacular mountains and into the beautiful valleys beyond . But do we ever stop to think of the extraordinarily difficult journeys which faced our ancestors  before these incredible gateways were built ? Do we  pause to acknowledge the […]