THE KEARSNEY COLLEGE GRADE 10 HISTORY TOUR 2002
The
Adventure begins!
‘In a
technical world where everything is rushed from corner
to corner, no time is taken to consider the
ramifications and the environment into which one is
stepping. History, I feel, is one of those subjects
which gives a person insight, depth and feeling - very
important factors overlooked in modern day life.’
- Major Paul Naish, guide
‘It is
unfortunate that it is under siege from the commercial
subjects and those that parents think are important for
getting a job. History is and remains a pure cultural
subject - something that helps you with general
knowledge, the ability to write and to understand. And
it has come a long way in the last 20 years where it has
become far more skills based than the rote learning of
the past.’
- Mick Bissell, History teacher
‘If you
say History is dead, then we are dead. Because we are
all products of our History.’
- Scott Canny, scholar
.............Paul is at his happiest when wandering deep
within African bush or jungle - anywhere from the desert
sands of the Namib to the dripping rain forests of the
DRC or the shimmering waters of Lake Malawi. The man is
an inveterate adventurer .......
Mick Bissell ex Deputy Head, Kearsney College,
Durban
The
Parallels of the past with present day South Africa
The cliché that ‘History is the prophet of the Future’
appears to sum up the reality of life in Southern Africa
today.
When the
European races started to reach out in increasing
numbers to new and unknown territories in the 17th
century, they encountered indigenous tribes with whom
they were soon in conflict with regard to land and
grazing rights for their cattle. There were other side
issues which arose out of this, principally security for
the new ‘invaders’. The result WAR! and the pushing back
of the frontiers by both Dutch and latterly British
stock. Laws discrimintory to the indigenous population
and effecting their movement and dwellings were put into
place, as ‘despotic kings’ were forced to relinquish
power over their subjects and to tap their labour to
transform a pastoral country into an industrial nation.
Pondoland,The last region under black control was
annexed to the Cape in 1896 leaving only Basutholand and
Swaziland as independent kingdoms, albeit they were
under British protection.
What is now
transpiring in a post-colonial era of Southern Africa,
is that all these boundaries, social, cultural,
economical etc, have been torn down and are reverting to
the majority of the population. Land issues, housing,
farming and grazing rites are very much to the fore as
huge swathes of land are gobbled up to redress the
imbalance. ‘Frontier’ wars have returned as farmers
battle to keep their livestock and informal settlements
mushroom up, all leading to an increase in crime and
vagrancy.
Piet
Retief, renowned Boer leader, uttered these prophetic
words on 2 Feb 1837:‘We (the Boers and sympathisers)
despair of saving the Colony,' he wrote, 'from these
evils which threaten it by the turbulent and dishonest
conduct of vagrants who are allowed to infest this
country from every part ; nor do we see any prospect of
peace and happiness for our children in a country
distracted by internal emotions.'
The wheel has
turned fully. Had the pioneers learnt from these
utterances and sought a different path by providing
security to all of its inhabitants in Southern Africa,
(and indeed Africa), civil wars such as have been
experienced throughout the region on the demise of the
colonial powers, might never have taken place.
The second
trek has grown momentum. What lies ahead? - A continent
destined to flounder under a weight of warfare and
devastation of its natural resources as can be witnessed
in far flung places like the Democratic Republic of the
Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Sudan to name but a few.
History has
spoken. Hence the urgency today to address and help
overcome these problems. What better way than implanting
the concept in the minds of future generations?
