Trauma, loss and rebirth

Writer: Elaine Davie.

The sky broke open like an egg into full sunset and the water caught fire – Pamela Hansford Johnson An apt description indeed of the experiences of Betty’s Bay villagers when a fire storm engulfed their community at the beginning of January 2019. Afterwards, when its effects could be assessed, it was found that roughly 70 properties had been damaged and of these, 41 had been completely destroyed, including the Catholic Church. One home owner, Henry Hopkins lost his life, but not a single resident was unaffected by the trauma of this fire from hell. Each one had a unique story to tell.

One of the residents was Troula Goosen. She had personally experienced the earthquake of 1969 which caused widespread damage to the villages of Tulbagh, Ceres and Wolseley and was involved in producing a book commemorating the 50th anniversary of the event. She felt that the Betty’s Bay fire and its longer-term effects on the village should be chronicled for posterity. With like-minded fellow-residents, Gerard Scholtz and Lisel Krige, an editorial committee was established and a call was put out for written and photographic contributions from anyone in the community who had a story to tell.

Fire Storm / Vlammehel Gerard Scholtz, Troula Goosen, Lisel Krige (Editors)

Click below to read more. (The full article can be found on page 16)