The Simon van der Stel Festival: Constructing heritage and the politics of pageantry

Historia 58, 2, November 2013, pp 19-39 The Simon van der Stel Festival: Constructing heritage and the politics of pageantry Wouter Hanekom* This article will discuss the Simon van der Stel Festival, an annual event held in Stellenbosch from 1967 to 2000. The focus is on the reasons for initiating such a festival and why a faction within broader Stellenbosch embraced this part of its colonial-Dutch heritage. The progress of the festival will be traced until its climax in 1979, the Tercentenary Festival, in which 300 years since the founding of Stellenbosch was celebrated. Then the Van der Stel Festival will be compared to the Jan van Riebeeck Festival of 1952, which celebrated the arrival of Van Riebeeck in the Cape. It will be argued that while the Jan van Riebeeck Festival was carefully planned by the state to serve as a mass pageant of white domination, the Simon van der Stel Festival was a localised, community-based operation (albeit a narrowly defined sector which made claims to representing the wider community). The article attempts to contribute historiographically to the well-trodden path of South African heritage studies which has been widely discussed by authors such as Ciraj Rassool, and Sabine Marschall.1 However, this article has a decisively local character compared to previous work done on heritage festivals which have had a broader scope of study. Central to this study is the appeal of commemorative and celebratory heritage festivals, especially when historical milestones are reached after a decade, century or millennium. This article will therefore explore notions of heritage construction; pageantry; and “the cult of the centenary” to explain why the Simon van der Stel Festival came into being. Furthermore, the significance of hosting the festival in Stellenbosch will be discussed, as well as how it changed over time. In addition, and explanation will be given of the implications of hosting the festival and why it came to an end. First, this article will sketch a brief history of Simon van der Stel. The context of the festival requires an overview of the publicly accepted version of his character, achievements and legacy. It is widely accepted that Simon van der Stel was one of the most popular governors of the Cape of Good Hope. Naturally, he was not adored by all, but in comparison with other colonial governors or commanders he appears to have been fair in his rule and generally successful in his endeavours. It should, however, be borne in mind that biographies of Van der Stel, like those of other historical figures, have been contested and opinions of his achievements have changed over time. Little was done to commemorate South Africa’s history until the early * 1. Wouter Hanekom is currently completing his MA dissertation in history at Stellenbosch University with Prof Sandra Swart as supervisor. Email: For example, see C. Rassool, “The Rise of Heritage and Reconstitution of History in South Africa”, Kronos, 26, August 2000, pp 1–21; and S. Marschall, “Commodifying Heritage”, in C. Hall (ed.), Tourism and Postcolonialism: Contested Discourses, Identities and Representations (Routledge, London, 2004). 19 19 The Simon van der Stel Festival 1940s.2 The festivals held in Van der Stel’s honour were, in a sense, a reconstruction of Van der Stel’s life. For example, it appears that as far as his treatment of slaves was concerned, many biographers have suffered convenient amnesia. It is also significant that this re-making of Van der Stel’s story took place at a time of grand apartheid. Kommandeur Simon van der Stel and the founding of Stellenbosch Simon van der Stel was born in Mauritius in 1639 where his father was commander of the Dutch East India Company (DEIC) station on the island. Van der Stel’s mother was of so-called “mixed origin”, because her father was a white European and her mother was of Indian descent. Arguably, if Simon van der Stel was living in South Africa during the apartheid era, he would have been classified as a coloured person.3 Paradoxically, the festival held in his honour some 300 years later was perpetuated by the hegemonic white Afrikaner class, whose political supremacy was reinforced by the apartheid government’s policies of hierarchical racial separation. After 1652, a succession of relatively unimaginative and mediocre governors took office, under whom slow progress was made at the Cape. A noticeable change took place in 1679 following the appointment of Simon van der Stel. He arrived in Table Bay on 12 October 1679. Strangely, the wife of the new commander, Jacoba Six, elected to remain in Amsterdam and she never again saw her husband after his departure for the Cape of Good Hope. The precise reason for this remains unclear although Van der Stel continued to regard her with affection after his arrival at the Cape. He emigrated from Holland with his six children (including Willem Adriaan, his successor) and his wife’s sister, Cornelia, whose task was presumably to take care of his youngest daughter who was only two years old at the time.4 Simon van der Stel’s sense of adventure is evident in the fact that he made his first venture into the interior within three weeks of his arrival at the Cape of Good Hope. It is on this, one of many expeditions, that he came across the area which was to be named Stellenbosch. On the eve of 8 November 1679, his diary reflects his arrival there. He describes a little haven next to the Eerste River with beautiful high trees; he decided to name it Stellenbosch (Stel-and-Bush). Upon his return to Table Bay he announced that land would be land made available in Stellenbosch for all those who wished to settle next to the Eerste River on residential farms. It was these people who formed part of the founding community of the second oldest white settlement in what was to become South Africa.5 The granting of farms to private citizens encouraged the immigration of white women, 2. 3. 4. 5. C. Rassool and L. Witz, “The 1952 Jan van Riebeeck Tercentenary Festival: Constructing and Contesting Public National History in South Africa”, The Journal of African History, 34, 3, 1993, pp 450–451. J. Hunt, Dutch South Africa: Early Settlers at the Cape, 1652–1708 (Troubador/Matador Publishing, Leicester, 2005), p 106. Hunt, Dutch South Africa: Early Settlers at the Cape, pp 105–106. A.J. Böeseken, Simon van der Stel en sy Kinders (Nasionale Opvoedkundige Uitgewery, Kaapstad, 1964), pp 54–55. 20 20 The Simon van der Stel Festival although for several decades the proportion of men to women among the settlers remained very high.6 The immigration of white women ultimately led to an increase in the number of white settlers at the Cape. On 14 October 1686, Simon van der Stel celebrated his 47th birthday in what had by now become his favourite town – Stellenbosch. Apart from his birthday celebration the reason for his visit was threefold. First, he wanted to host a weapon show. Second, he wanted to award s (...truncated)