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The Historical Overberg: Traces of the Past in South Africa's Southernmost Region

ISBN 
9781776090723
Format 
Hardback
Recommended Price 
R330.00
Published 
March 2017
About the book: 
Situated between the Hottentots Holland Mountains and the Breede River, the Overberg is an important agricultural region and a popular holiday destination for tourists and nature lovers who delight in the beauty of its mountainous landscape, abundant plant species and long sandy beaches.
 
But this area also has a rich history going back thousands of years, when the indigenous Khoi people originally thrived there, before the first European settlers arrived to leave their own indelible imprint on the culture, architecture and character of the region. This book provides a detailed account of this past by pointing out the many places, buildings, events and personalities that have made the Overberg the diverse and unique place that it is today.
 
The Overberg has been a home or point of interest for explorers, innovators, artists and writers, for figures as varied as Bartholomew Diaz, Olof Bergh, Hendrik Verwoerd, Gregoire Boonzaier, Audrey Blignault and Breyten Breytenbach. Some of South Africa’s oldest towns, houses and missionary stations can be found here, and its treacherous coastline has been the cause of hundreds of shipwrecks for centuries.
 
Enlivened by historical and current photographs and informative side panels, this book is a collector’s item.
Other titles by this author 
About the Author
Chris Schoeman was born in Somerset East and has master’s degrees in history from the universities of Port Elizabeth and Colorado State. He has worked as a historian and journalist, and has authored and co-authored several books. These include District Six: The Spirit of Kanala, Boer Boy: Memoirs of an Anglo-Boer War Youth, Brothers in Arms: Hollanders in the Anglo-Boer War, Angels of Mercy: Foreign Women in the Anglo-Boer War, Churchill’s South Africa and The Historical Karoo.

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