An old Oranjemunder Binnie Fouche sent me this pic .
Martin le Roux Ian Buchanan Binnie Coetzer and Mary Laughlin 1955 -Oranjemund Swimming Pool ... I have asked her to send more ....
A message back from Binnie ,,, she says she has extensive on the power station and will be looking up many more from the old days ,,, so lets watch this space ....
Hi Sandy. Enjoyed your chats on ``What our parents got up to``. Vivid in my memory. I remember as a baby your mother would walk you daily in your pram. She was so proud of you. Always let your bare legs get exposed to the sun and you were so tanned. I think you were the only baby I every saw that was so nicely tanned. Another memory was ``New Years Eve`` dances. They were always ``FANCY DRESS``. The ``UK - Scots and Irish`` Crowd would arrive and approximately about 10 o`clock they would all just vanish. (It was noticable) They would all go home and ensure that their houses were clean. Empty all ash trays....wash the dishes and dust etc. (even though we all had servants those days). They believed ``never to enter the New Year with anything soiled in their homes``. They would return about 10.30pm and boy did the party and atmosphere take over. The dance band ``Paddy Kent`` would play untill 2 am. Hey ...that was not enough. They would enchore several times. Go home to someone`s home and continue partying into wee hours of the morning. Magic !!!
I have a tremendous series of the Power station. Will look further for personal stuff. Binn
Thanks Sandy!
The Dance Band Paddy Kent, never heard of this, who were they?
Looking forward to the Power Station stuff....
Mike .. Binnie is one of the older timers who will be able to give some more info ... I will be gently extracting stories and pictures from her ... says she will maybe join the site ..
Thanks Sandy, Looking forward to it....
Here some pics from Binnie and a comment ,,, her father Cecil John van den Bergh arrived in Om 1952 as a single man later to marry Auntie Freda , I recall a humerous story about him asked why he was so successful a fisherman he said he used "lewer " ( liver ) as bait ,, one or two of the english fishermen misunderstood it for leather ,, so dutifully cut some leather of their belts,, and proceeded to try this magic bait with no success .. upon asking if he did something special to the leather to make it work , he had great laughs at them explaining what "lewer" chatting to Binnie has opened up some more memory channels ,, the sundays in lambs park ,, his folks were friends with mine ,, auntie Freda was one of those nice earthy warm friendly extended family aunts that we as children liked ,, so back to lambs park .. sundays regular family gatherings in the lounge area ,, Lorraine and Binnie feature there in my memory bank , remember the day I got my thumb caught in a cooldrink bottle tried desperately to hide the fact that i had messed up ???
here Binnies comment below and some pics
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Im sorry for sending you so many emails. Still have to work out how to attach more than one photo. This is a series of Cecil John van den Berg who married my mother in 1964. He arrived in Oranjemund as a single man in 1948. His telegram of appointment is of great interest. If you look at the rate of pay it is in pounds shillings and pence cause the rand did not yet exist. The first part of his life in Oranjemund was working on the mine and later at the Local Power Station. They led quite a lonely life in the mens single quarters with only basics of a bed a bedside cabinet and a radio in a room. I can assure you that the reception on the radio was also not always good. I have many Power Station fotos but do not know the names of the motors - machines etc. An interesting range also was when the bridge into Oranjemund washed away in 1952. Binnn
More
More
Is that a TV in pic UARTERS.jpg.....?
Mike S maybe you were too young .. Radios ,, or wireless were huge in those days .. valves and all ..
Way to Go Sandy, awesome History Broer!
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bravo
Some more blasts from the past ,,
Comments from Binnie
Pic 1 --
TEENAGER DANCE 1956 - RECREATIONAL CLUB ORANJEMUND
Pic 2 This was the first Mule Derby. I think 1957 ....They only had 6 animals to run. Every race the animal would have a different number. You never knew which numbers to take cause the same horse won every time. The donkey was always last.
Pic 3 Chef - Affenrucken.
some more pics from Binnie ,, Stan Devlin one of the old Gm's in one ,, and anyone remember Betty Wallace ?? Took care of the school kids flying home from CT ...
hows the beehive hairdo and makeup in the wedding pic ??
Some more , these are early day stuff indeed ,,, mmm forgot a young Jonnie Rall ...
* ORANJEMUND MESS - FOR ARTISANS AND DAILY PAID.jpg
That mess then went on to become the Sun Room at the Rec Club, in the 70's there was a TV and Video machine in the place......