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• Bergrivier 1Swartland Swartland • Bergrivier
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27 September 2017
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27 September 2017
•VAN DER WERF'S TELLS TALE OF 50+ YEARS
By boat to NZ to settle down in SA
Upon entering the house of the Van der Werf’s, you are greeted with a welcoming smile from the couple, together with the smell of a cup of brewing coffee. “He just loves making coffee, it’s his speciality,” Dinah (79) says with a smile. This couple has been married for more than five decades and they still seem to be deeply in love. What is the success to their relationship? “A very good sense of humour,” they both agree. Dinah and Adrian’s (86) paths crossed in New Zealand. Dinah travelled from England and Adrian from Holland, both by sea, to meet in Kiwi-country and marry three months later. As they say, the rest is history. Dinah is an English lass who worked in her fathers corner shop in England. At the age of 24 she felt that life has more to offer than working in a butchery. “My mother had friends living in New Zealand and I decided to visit them and then see what the future holds for me.” At the same time in Holland Adrian was looking for new adventures after the Second World War and wanted to leave Holland for South Africa. The authorities however, did not want to let schooled men leave the country and took Adrian’s passport to keep him from leaving the country. After more than a year they agreed upon a destination - New Zealand. Adrian hopped on a boat and soon set foot in this part of the world. He was employed as an engineer and one of his first projects was the widening of the Auckland bridge. Dinah, who excelled in art and English poetry, worked as a window dresser.
Peter Michell, oftewel Pietman die Skot, 'n inwoner van Malmesbury, het Saterdag sy verskyning by die Malmesbury Skou gemaak, toe hy saam met Fred Potgieter van Mother City Skydiving 'n tandem-sprong uitgevoer het. Sien nog skoufoto's binne. Foto: Jean-Jacques Wallis
The two lived four apartments away from each other and one fateful day, their paths crossed. They were married three months later and travelled the country from north to south. “We had so much fun together. We danced and attended parties. We were best friends,” Dinah says lovingly while looking at Adrian. After a few years, Adrian and Dinah left for Durban where Adrian worked on the erecting the first sugar silos in the area while Dinah was still a window dresser. Here they once attended the premiere of the James Bond movie, Goldfinger, and dressed the part. Adrian was clothed in his evening tuxedo and Dinah wore a black and golden mini dress with a golden jacket. They made the local newspapers social pages with their attire, and Adrian brags that Dinah can still fit into this dress. After moving to Malmesbury, Dinah took her hobby of painting to a more serious level. She has painted almost all of the indigenous flowers of the Swartland, together with landscapes and many more. Her work is accompanied by her poems that features humour, memories of long ago and happiness. The two work as a team as Adrian frames all her work and also binded her first draught of a book
filled with her work that she is looking to publish. The one subject Dinah is still very keen on painting, is a cow and has now set herself a deadline to finish this painting that has always alluded her. “We love our garden and we’ve spotted 33 different species of birds over the past couple of years.” The two still only have eyes for each other and when complimenting Dinah on how she carries her years, she looks at Adrian and replies smiling: “Well, I’ve been very well looked after.” To which he replies: “I’m so glad to hear you say that.” The couple has two sons who lives in England and Germany. Even though they travelled the world and crossed oceans to meet each other, they now call the Swartland home. “The climate here is absolutely lovely. I don’t think we will ever leave the country. This is the perfect place for me to paint and live my passion and we are very happy here,” Dinah says. Adrian is an avid woodworker and loves to toil away in his garage, making frames for Dinah, furniture and all of the cabinets in the kitchen. After 53 years of marriage Dinah and Adrian is still painting the canvass of their life together. One that started in Europe, was helped on by a boat and met midway in New Zealand.
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