Calvin van Wijk will be examining the history and architecture of the mission settlements in and around Tulbagh. He will be looking at the disappeared mission of Steinthal, the well-preserved mission at Saron and then the mission buildings of Tulbagh itself.

The 1969 earthquake brought destruction to the area, with Steinthal falling victim to it. Calvin will look at its origins, land ownership and the buildings.

At Saron he will consider:

• Origins of Saron
• Historic layout
• Leeuwenklip homestead and the mission core now

And then on to Tulbagh where many of the mission-related buildings still stand:

• Oefeninghuis on the same site as mission house, facing Van der StelStreet - preserved as result of private initiative as well.

Losses:

• House of mission school principal, Waterkant Street, Tulbagh. Demolished in the 1950s to build new house for Steinthal Director

Finally he will reflect on the consequences of the actions and inactions in the area.

• SPEAKER: Calvin van Wijk
• DATE: Tuesday, 17th March 2020
• TIME: 19h45 for 20h00 
• VENUE: The Athenaeum, Boundary Terraces, Newlands, at the intersection of Mariendahl Lane and Campground Road
• ORGANISER: VASSA (info@vassa.org.za)

About Calvin van Wijk

“I have been involved in the preservation of heritage from a very young age. I am a post-graduate in History and Anthropology. My principal interest in the work of the Rhenish Mission Society has been ongoing for almost forty years. In the process I have collected a large mainly pictorial archive on the topic, which is currently housed in the African Section of the Stellenbosch University Library, known as the Van Wijk Rhenish Mission Collection, and is the most comprehensive of its kind in South Africa”.