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My Hope

Written by Taya Maddock

my hope.org.za There are an estimated 37 000 000 orphans in South Africa. Almost 57 per cent of the population are living in poverty and an estimated 50 000 children die each year from malnutrition or other diseases that would be curable with adequate medical care. Our main goal is to provide homes, food, clothing and education to the "Street Kids" in South Africa. There are many children who choose to live on the streets, rather than at home with their families because of the unbearable abuse and violence they have to endure at home.

MyHope.org.za is a non-profit organisation which has started in Hermanus, South Africa.

Please visit our website to see how you can make a difference in these children's lives.

Web: www.myhope.org.za

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The Arniston Shipwreck

Written by Taya Maddock

Courtesy of Cape Agulhas Tourism

The Arniston, a 53.8 meters long, 13.2 meters wide, 3 decked and 3 masted English East Indiaman of 1498 tons was built by Barnard in the bottom of the Neptune, on the River hames, in 1794. When she sank she was carrying 22 iron cannon, two 12 –pounder cannons and twenty 18 pounder carronades.

Napier

Written by SJ du Toit
Most towns in South Africa developed around a church. Towards the end of 1837 Pieter van der Byl bought the farm Klippedrift for £1,000 from Pieter de Bruyn, with the intention of establishing a town. A group of people in the community, led by Michiel van Breda, were not happy with the location of the proposed town development and bought the nearby farm Langefontein for development, with the result that two churches were built and thus two adjacent towns developed. On 12 April 1838 the first plots were sold at Klippedrift. This was also the first name given to the town. The Governor, Sir George Napier, was approached for permission to name the town after him, and, having obtained permission, the town was officially renamed Napier in 1840. Langefontein, 16 km farther east, was named Bredasdorp in 1838. Heavy competition arose because of the close proximity of the two towns, but both survived.
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The Republic of Swellendam (by SJ du Toit)

Written by Taya Maddock
The first republic in the country’s history, was declared at Swellendam during 1795. In those days, the Overberg was very thinly populated. The Dutch East India Company (DEIC) ruled the Cape and had outposts, commandos, and magistrates in various places. They agreed to buy the farmers’ grain at a fixed price for fifteen years. When the DEIC introduced toll gates and taxes, farmers struggled, and to increase their distress, the DEIC grain stores were closed to farmers. The unsafe situation for farmers on the eastern border with the Xhosa tribes, as well as mismanagement and economic suppression by the DEIC, caused the pot to boil over.
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Swellendam (by SJ du Toit)

Written by Taya Maddock
Swellendam, named after Governor Swellengrebel and his wife (whose maiden name was Ten Damme), was proclaimed a magisterial district in 1743. This remote settlement soon became the gateway to the interior and was visited by many explorers. The Drostdy, official residence and offices of the magistrate, was built in 1747. The town only began to grow after the first Dutch Reformed church had been built in 1798.
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Spookdraai at Agulhas and the Radar Base (By SJ du Toit)

Written by Taya Maddock
Prof C Lohann has written about Spookdraai (a ghostly spot on the road). Apparently visitors to the Agulhas Guest House, just above Spookdraai, refused to stay in a certain room. They were frightened by a woman in old-fashioned dress who entered the room. No one really knows the origin of the appearances of this ghost. There are many opinions. The char of Lettie Myburgh, a L’Agulhas resident, told of a gruesome car accident. The head of one passenger was severed in the crash and it rolled over the road. Some people maintain that the road is haunted.
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Saving the Agulhas Lighthouse (By SJ du Toit)

Written by Taya Maddock
Cape Agulhas Lighthouse is situated at the most southerly tip on the continent of Africa. It was named by the Portuguese as the “Cape of the Needle”, the reference to needle being the compass needle which behaved strangely when their ships rounded this cape. The light at Cape Agulhas was first lit on the evening of 1 March 1849. The power initially came from the fat tails of sheep which were rendered down at the lighthouse. For the next 100 years the light never failed and in 1949, at the centenary celebrations, the light was relit for the next 100 years.
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Shark Gallery

Written by Natasha Jansen

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Ultimate predator

Written by Natasha Jansen

No other creature in the world captivates our imagination like the great white shark. Its unmistakable power, both awesome and terrifying, plays on humankind’s most primitive fears. It is the master of the oceans, a perfectly designed killing machine with one clear purpose: eat or perish.

Carcharadon carcharias is found along the coastal waters of major oceans and is the world’s largest known fish, with some even reaching lengths of six metres and weighing close to two tons. In South Africa, the densest concentration of great whites in the world prowl in an area known as Shark Alley, between Dyer Island and Geyser Rock off the coast of Gansbaai. The sharks congregate here due to the massive Cape fur seal colony on Geyser Rock, a staple of their diet.

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