The historic Apollo Theatre in Victoria West in the Northern Cape will soon shine its lights on “Ancestral Journeys” during The Forgotten Highway Route summit.
This summit takes place on Friday, 19 May, and Saturday, 20 May, with the Karoo Development Foundation (KDF) as host.
Crafters from across the Forgotten Highway Route and its region are invited to exhibit and sell their products during this event.
The summit follows the successful launch of the Forgotten Highway Route in October 2022, funded by the KDF.
This was the first route to connect the Cape in the south with the northern inland region, and is the longest heritage route in South Africa. It stretches over approximately 1 000 km from Tulbagh and Ceres in the south to Kuruman in the north, with numerous side-paths.
It follows the two-way traffic roads of ancient travelers and was used by the !Xam, KhoeKhoe, Tswana, missionaries, explorers and others to travel into Central Africa. This is from a period as early as the late 1700s.
The key themes include the origin of the route and the expanding frontier; the prehistory of the route: fossils and ancient civilisations; early explorations and encounters; the towns and their origin; expanding the Forgotten Highway Route; and building synergies and collaboration amongst route stakeholders.
Two movies, created by the non-governmental organisations Africa Meets Africa, will be showed in the Apollo Theatre.
These movies are Pathways to the Interior, and My Room at the Centre of the Universe.
The conference will be opened by Prof. Nigel Penn, author of The Forgotten Frontier. Penn will also give a lecture on the Koornlands Kloof massacre, which took place in the Roggeveld. This will show how case studies on historical events can provide fascinating detail about life on the frontier.
Presentations will be in English and Afrikaans, and Power Point presentations will assist in translations.
Attendance costs R300 per person, per day.
- Visit the website karoofoundation.co.za/summit for further information and to book online; or contact Atkinson on doreen@karoofoundation.co.za or via WhatsApp on 071-401-2583.
Summary of the summit programme
Friday, 19 May
08:30 – 09:00: Registration.
09:15 – 10:45: Session 1: keynote address, “Encounters with the unknown, 1760-1860”, delivered by Penn of the University of Cape Town (UCT);
Atkinson talks on ancestral journeys and key sites along the route.
11:15 – 12:30: Session 2: The prehistory of the route: fossils and early civilisations;
Jaco Groenewald: “The dinosaur legacy of the Roggeveld”;
Marinda Oberholzer: “Die dinosaurus-spore van Fraserburg”;
David Morris: “Wonderwerk cave: Human record from the dawn of time”.
13.30 – 15:00: Session 3: Early explorations and encounters along the route;
Claus Riding: “The travels of William Burchell”;
John Martiens: “The magic of Witsand”;
Denzil Kruger: “Strominge in Griekwaland, 1800-1840: Koranna, Griekwas, Bergenaars, Hartenaars, en die Oranje-rivierbendes”;
Mpho Molema: “Celebrating the Tlhaping heritage in the Kuruman region”.
15:30 – 17:00: Session 4: Our towns and their origins;
Rosette Jordaan: “Tulbagh en Ceres: Die beginpunt van die roete”;
Marné Marais: “Sutherland en die NP van Wyk Louw-projek”;
Cora Steenkamp: “Williston en die grafsteen-roete”;
Jan Julies: “Fraserburg se erfenis en die eggo’s van die gedwonge verskuiwing”;
Philippolis celebrates 200 years.
19:00: Movies shown in the Apollo Theatre.
Saturday, 20 May
09:00 – 10:30: Session 5: Our towns and their origins;
Jan Engelbrecht en Heidi Fivaz: “The built heritage of Daniëlskuil”;
William Jarvis/Amanda Scott: “Jenn-haven en die Khosis-erfenis”;
Gert Theart: “Die 1914-rebellie en die tog deur Griekwaland-Wes”;
Rev. Johannes Stuurman: “The Moffat Mission – climax of the route.”
11:00 – 12:30: Session 6: Building the Forgotten Highway Route;
Fanie Minnie: “Why and how regional development works”;
Simo Mdala: “Linking tourism to local economic development”;
Caroline Ungersbock: “What is required for an effective tourism route?”;
Thabiso Macheoane: “Communities of the route exploring their own back-yard.”
12:30 – 13:30: Session 7: The way forward: Reflections on route synergies and collaboration;
Ingrid Schofmann (KDF trustee);
Closuring remarks by Prof. Zachy Matebesi (KDF).
