In die heart van die Pilanesberg

Maya Roon Ms. Maya Roon, 09 April 2022
Maya, who was born in the Netherlands, spoke comfortably in Afrikaans about her research on the farms in the Pilanesberg of ealier times.
She joined Friends of the Pilanesberg and helped clear up old walls and clean graves. On the map of the Pilanesberg one can see the crater well. The size of the farms depended on how far one could ride a horse in an hour.
She started looking for deeds at the Deeds Office and maps at the Government Printer - and with hard work persisted and continued to identify the farms, as well as the families who lived there. She had to decipher the writings of notaries, the deeds were in a cellar and could not be taken out or photocopied. That was before the time of cell phones with cameras.
It was great for her to see who owned the farms, such as Paul Kruger and Sammy Marks. She identified farm names such as Leeuwfontein, Nooitgedacht and Palmietfontein as well as the surnames of owners - about 35 surnames. Surnames are spelled differently and this has made research difficult e.g. Schoombee, Schoonbee, Scroombee. She contacted families to find out more. Some did not want to share information.
The talk was appropriate and well-illustrated with photos and maps.
She has written a book about her research and there are no more printed copies available. Work is currently underway to make it available digitally.