Yacht Club Eternal Light falls from Grace!

[Milo]

Michael,  when you going to claim on the roof again

[Michael Alexander]

hahahah! Milo! Until my dying day, I shall always remember the day a bakkie pulled up in the Yacht Club and this big Yugoslavian lumbered out of his company vehicle and chased myself and my beerdrinkers off the Yacht Club roof with the words, "GET OFF THE ROOF!"

In retrospect, I think you were just pissed off because it was a sunny wednesday afternoon and you were not allowed to join us for a few cold ones.....

[Bob Molloy]

Mike Thurtell's statement: " I recall Oranjemund as a social experiment that would have made Verwoed proud."
Hmmm, sounds as if political correctness is still alive and well even in these times when crime, corruption and inefficiency break all previous records.
Unlike Mike, I remember Oranjemund as a totally crime free model community in which indigenous values were not only protected but also enhanced. Mine workers were housed well, fed well and - in terms of their home economy - paid well. My artisan's helper told me he could afford to retire for life after seven years of work on the mine, not something any of the white expats could ever aspire to.
They were also given choices of work from pick and spade level to skilled use of the latest earthmoving machinery. IQ and dexterity tests were applied to select workers at each level, not too different from the written tests required from appentices who wanted to learn a trade.
There was also training in first aid to advanced levels, tuition in reading and writing their own language, free cinema shows and free air travel to and from the homelands. All this plus medical attention in a modern hospital second to none and dental treatment to first world standards.
On occasion medical treatment led first world standards, one highly advanced maxilla-facial operation on an Ovambo patient to correct a dentigerous cyst of the jaw - a possibly terminal condition - was the subject of a paper read to an international dental congress in Paris (see p393 of Brian la Trobe's book "Of Diamonds and Dentistry"). Incidentally, the Ovambo Hospital was staffed by the same top nurses and doctors who ran the main hospital plus Ovambos who had chosen to be trained to nursing level.
As for the other occupation - house servants - these as often as not became valued members of the family, some returning time after time to work for the same family. Mine was with us for 14 years but for short breaks. It was a sad farewell for us all when we left.
That was my Oranjemund. It must have chanced radically in Mike Thurtell's time. Posts to this thread indeed indicate how much the town deteriorated since then, and no thanks to the long dead Dr Verwoerd.

[Michael Alexander]

Also tend not to agree 100% there with Mike.

In the late 70's at the height of apartheid, DeBeers/CDM took the initiative to start integration at OPS, with black teachers and students.

The School to this day still has a high standard and the majority is black.

In a sense us that grew up amongst black Namibians as our neighbours were the lucky one's , our kids are today benefiting from this and do not see race as an issue.

I sit in my office and without mentioning names, watch how a black SWAPO veteran and a White Afrikaane who served on the border, laugh and joke with each whilst sharing a meal.

I digress.... back to the Yacht club, the Yacht Club was by no means an exclusive club, the majority just were not into certain disciplines, like Rugby and cricket.

As the expats left town, certain institutions battled (or are in stages of battling) to survive as the majority don't support them.

But clubs like the Golf Club, Squash, Badminton, Netball, Soccer still thrive.

The Hockey club was at death's door, but due to integrated High School at Oranjemund, Hockey is thriving....

Perhaps in the 50's and 60's race was an issue, but the cracks formed in the 70's and today the town's population is majority black, as it it should be I guess!

[Mike Thurtell]

Fascinating response from Bob.