In 1965 the residents of a section of the village of Riebeek Kasteel in the Western Cape, named Oukloof, were forcibly removed, and all the structures, including the church, demolished. A new location, across a dividing railway line, called Esterhof, was constructed.

 

View of the church in Oukloof, included in the demolition. (Pieter Franzen, local resident, pre 1965)

 

Esterhof under construction (Pieter Franzen, 1965)

 

In 2003, and subsequently in 2005 and 2006, Anna Bohlin, Associate Professor in Social Anthropology at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, visited the village and spoke to the affected parties, then published her research. This formed the initial basis for the later process which evolved.

In 2018 a meeting was held between the Oukloof survivors, who had formed a committee, and other interested parties, to discuss a way to commemorate what had occurred. This was the first of many over the following years.

 

The initial meeting between the Ouklowers and interested parties, 2018 (Chris Murphy)

 

Photograph of one of the survivors of the forced removals (Seth Zworestine)

 

In this time the Riebeek Valley Museum created a dedicated room, partially sponsored by a grant from STAND (Sustaining Theatre and Dance Foundation) which enabled the display to be improved. This centres around a model created by Oukloof survivor Andries Koopman representing the layout of Oukloof before demolition, with photographs taken pre 1965 by Pieter Franzen and contemporary images by Seth Zworestine, who subsequently won a WEX award for them in the category Photo Video Human Impact.

 

Model of Oukloof by Andries Koopman, on display in the Riebeek Valley Museum (Chris Murphy)

 

It was then decided that a public competition should be held for the design of a public memorial, with the premise of locating it in the centre of Riebeek Kasteel in a public open area, locally called ‘The Square’. Public meetings were held to reveal the entrants, then to announce the winner when one had been selected. It was well attended by locals, and overseen by Prof Jonathan Jansen and Dr Wilhelm Verwoerd of the University of Stellenbosch.

 

Public display of the submitted designs held at the Riebeek Valley Museum. (Chris Murphy)

 

The announcement of the design winner at the local community hall (Ad Goedhart)

 

The lead up and final meeting was filmed by Hazel Friedman for the SABC2 programme, Fokus, for which it won a Sikuvile Award in the category Community Service Reporting.

The process has been supported by the District Six Museum and the local authority, Swartland Municipality. It was discussed at ward committee meetings, by municipal management and finally by the MayCo.

 

The Swartland Mayor with a few of the Oukloof survivors (Chris Murphy)

 

The final step is for a public comment period, now underway, and which includes the local registered conservation body, then an application can be made to Heritage Western Cape to obtain a permit.

 

The proposed memorial superimposed on a photograph

 

Main image: The proposed memorial in situ on the Square, Riebeek Kasteel.

About the author: Chris was a member and subsequent chair of the Swartland Heritage Foundation for many years. He has also completed the Urban and Architectural Conservation course at UCT. At present he is the chair of the West Coast Museum Forum.