FRIENDS OF IZIKO SOUTH AFRICAN
MUSEUM Non-Profit Organisation 052-511-NPO Postal address: P O Box 61 Cape Town 8000 South Africa Physical address: 25 Queen Victoria Street Cape Town SA Phone: 021 481 3913 Fax: 021 481 3993 Cell: 072 225 6893 E-mail: samfriends@iziko.org.za Website http://www.iziko.org.za/; http://www.iziko.org.za/ static/page/friends-of-the-south-african-museum
NEWSLETTER – AUGUST 2016 The Friends programme continues to offer interesting lecture topics and exciting activities before we close at the end of November. We hope you will participate and enjoy these.
LECTURE PROGRAMME 2016 Lectures are held in the TH Barry Lecture Theatre at 18:00, unless otherwise advertised. Entrance is free to members on presentation of a valid 2016 membership card. Visitors are asked for a donation of R30 per lecture.
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Tuesday 30 August Speaker: Dr Riashna Sithaldeen Title: Baboon variation, biogeographic history and its application for understanding evolution more broadly Baboons are large, primarily terrestrial, Old World monkeys. They are highly adaptable and are generally considered to be one of the most successful and versatile of non-human primates. These primates have been studied extensively for decades, and have contributed significantly to our understanding of a wide array of primate behavioural, physiological, developmental and evolutionary traits. The study of baboons can also help us understand mammal evolution more broadly and even certain aspects of our own pre-history. It is only recently that we have begun to appreciate the potential contribution of baboon studies in these fields. Our current understanding of baboon evolution in southern Africa is derived from fossils, modern morphology and a handful of genetic studies. This talk will summarise what is known about baboon evolution, the potential contribution of baboon models to research and how my own research into the southern African chacma baboon fits into this paradigm. Tuesday 29 September Speaker: Eric Harley Title: White rhinoceros – a problem in conservation Tuesday 25 October Speaker: Vivian Bickford-Smith Title: Inventing British cities in South Africa? Tuesday 6 December 30th anniversary celebration Please note this lecture and function replaces the lecture which was scheduled for 29 November.
OUTINGS 2016 Booking and advance payment to secure your booking is essential for all outings. Friday 26 August Kenilworth Racecourse Conservation Area Saturday 3 September Saldanha Oyster Company tour followed by a boat trip to view the oyster farm at sea. Lunch at Blue Bay Lodge. Thursday 8 September Irma Stern museum walkabout led by members of Botanical Artists’ Association of Southern Africa (BAASA) of ‘Flora Old and New’ exhibition. 12–16 October Fossil hunting in the Beaufort West area – Melton Wold Guest Farm
REPORT BACKS VIEWING EXAMPLES OF GREEK POTTERY IN THE IZIKO COLLECTION AT THE SOCIAL HISTORY CENTRE As a follow-up to the popular lecture by Dr Samantha Masters on pottery (and poetry) from the Ancient Greek Symposium, we arranged to view the pottery in the Iziko collection which she illustrated in her lecture. Esther Esmyol, the Curator of Collections at the Social History Centre, displayed some of pots which Samantha discussed, pointing out detail regarding the shapes, decorations and origins of the examples shown. This most interesting morning included some history and facts regarding the beautiful building which houses the pottery collection.
Photos (above and below) by Maxine Davies GWEN FAGAN TALK ON HISTORY OF THE ROUNDHOUSE AND CAMPS BAY We had an enthusiastic response to this outing. The crisp, clear autumn weather added to the beauty of the surroundings and tea, coffee and muffins awaited Friends as they arrived. Using beautiful photos and slides, Gwen gave us the history of Camps Bay, a suburb that was considered to be ‘too far away from the city centre’. The story of the Roundhouse was fascinating, over the years the building has been used as a hotel, a sanatorium and a restaurant. The veranda where her talk took place was added to the original building by Lord Charles Somerset. Even in those early years, hikers used the bridle path which still exists and picnicked at the Roundhouse. Gwen ended by giving us a very amusing account of how she, Gawie and their four children built the house in Camps Bay in which they still live. Charlotte Honiball
Charlotte Honiball
Photo by Dan de Langristin
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SLAVE LODGE
A fascinating morning was spent at the Slave Lodge. Nadjwa Damon led the tour by giving an overview of the museum which included interesting information and stories of bygone times, the origin of the slaves and details of the building layout. After exploring the slave history, the curators of Labels, Red in the Rainbow, Singing Freedom, Material Women? The Isischweshwe story and Ceramics exhibitions gave us insight into the detail of these exhibitions. It was a privilege having these experts share their passion and expertise with the Friends. The visit was merely a taste of what this interesting museum tells about the early history of Cape Town, a return visit is a must. Charlotte Honiball
CONSOL GLASS
The visit to the Consol glass factory in Bellville was a fascinating experience. We were introduced to the history of glass making worldwide and then to the Cape Town site, which is the largest of the four sites in South Africa. Their recycling programme is a NPO and it contributes 30 per cent to the materials required. The main building is about five storeys high. We went up to the third storey to watch the raw materials being fed into the furnace, which was extremely hot at 1 600 degrees. From there we followed the molten glass to the machines that dropped the glass into the first ‘die’ where it was then tipped over into the second ‘die’. At this point it was red hot and had to pass through a cooling tunnel to bring it down to 600 degrees. On the day we visited green wine bottles were being manufactured, which then went through sorting and checking of the neck size, thickness, size and shape after which they were packed onto pallets and then plastic wrapped. This is a 24 hour operation with the maintenance and ‘die’ changes every six hours making it possible for several different types of bottles to be manufactured daily. All in all it was an enlightening experience. Rosemary Smythe (and photo above)
Photos (above and right) by Nicola Pallitt
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While walking to our next point of interest, the shingle beach next to Alpha 1, the café used by bus tours, birders in the group were over the moon to see a number of chukar partridges, the only place in South Africa where they are found, having been introduced from India in the 1800s. There are penguins nesting all over. We were warned not to disturb them.
Above: Friends of SA Museum waiting for the Noon Gun. Photo by John Rogers. ROBBEN ISLAND After encountering – and crossing – many hurdles, including very inclement weather four days before our scheduled visit to Robben Island, thirty five Friends and non-members set sail on the 17:30 ferry, arriving half an hour later, at sunset. We stayed in the medium security prison, sleeping in dormitories – one for the boys, the other for the fairer sex. A few couples and those with children were allocated double cells, relative luxury under the circumstances. All the accommodation is more than adequate, clean sheets and duvets kept us all snug and warm. Lack of warm water was an inconvenience, but we all got by. A communal braai was enjoyed by all, under a clear starlit sky, the only sounds being the seagulls, who squawk continuously throughout the day and night, and the background sound of the sea. Of course, there is no traffic, nor noisy neighbours or loud music, giving the place a very peaceful, relaxed feeling. After dinner, most of us walked up to the lighthouse, on the highest point (30 metres above sea level) from where we could see all the lights of Cape Town. We set off bright and early on our tour on Saturday, starting at the beach next to Murray Harbour. After that we went to the lime quarry, where we found a number of Angulate tortoises, including a baby about the size of a five Rand coin. It is a unique privilege, venturing into the cave at the quarry where prisoners took refuge at lunchtime, and used it as a classroom, teaching literacy and no doubt planning their (political) futures.
Dr John Rogers, our very knowledgeable and excellent guide/teacher patiently pointed out and enlightened us on the various geological features at each point of interest, which included old raised beaches, both the lime quarry and van Riebeeck’s quarry (which supplied the stones for the Castle), and the dolerite dykes at Langbaai, where we stopped for a lunch break. After lunch, we cut across the island, past the lighthouse to our quarters, to await the bus back to the harbour for the 16:00 ferry. The highlight of the visit is the unique opportunity to walk this beautiful island, in picture-perfect weather with the most incredible views of Cape Town, learning from an expert in his field, sharing the experience in very congenial company. For those who haven’t been on this excursion, we can recommend it for next year. The fact that almost a quarter of the group had been on previous trips says it all. Munro Bloch
Above: Photo by Michelle Foulkes.
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PORCUPINE HILLS
After voting we arrived at the Porcupine Hills cottages where we were all comfortably accommodated. After meeting for a lovely dinner we retired early to prepare for the next day’s adventure. At breakfast the next morning we met up with our guide, Dominic, the ‘fynbosguy’ who told us what the plans for the day were. Well, we definitely were not prepared for the steep gradient up the side of the mountain through the different biomes of clay-based Renosterveld, some patches of fynbos and mixed fynbos/Renosterveld. Dominic’s knowledge of the veld, geology and social history made the experience very special, so much so that aching legs and backs were forgotten. We also saw several new plant species. The surrounding landscape was beautiful with views to the Hermanus coastline, the wind turbines on the N2 and the Hottentots Holland and Franschhoek mountains, Theewaters Kloof dam and Villiersdorp. A tired group sat down to another lovely dinner following a short historical account of the Porcupine/ Diepklowe conservancy by Tony Davidson. We will repeat this visit in September next year in order to see more of the bulbs. Rosemary Smythe
Photos by Dan de Langristin
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WELCOME NEW MEMBERS: Mike Bruton John Roberts Karen Higgs John Turner Cindy Stephen Charl Cilliers Sue Kramer Marie Viljoen
Charlotte Honiball Friends of Iziko South African Museum