Carel Albrecht Haupt Kotzé

 ‘Langrietvlei’ and Hopefield

1881 – Carel Albrecht Haupt Kotze, the father of Dana Azile Kotze (Beckerling,) was born in Hopefield on the farm ‘Langerietvlei’.

“Hopefield is half way between Malmesbury and Vredenburg, 115 km from Cape Town. The town is well known for its annual fynbos show. In spring the area surrounding the town, particularly towards Berg River Station and Langebaan Road, becomes a multicoloured tapestry of flowers and heath. The fynbos in this area is unique and attracts large numbers of tourists each year.

Permission to establish a separate parish of the Dutch Reformed Church in the area was given in 1851, the parish to be known as Zoute Rivier. In the following year, permission was sought for the establishment of a town, which was granted in May 1853. The name 'Hopefield' was announced in the Government Gazette dated 11 May 1853, in honour of the incumbent Secretary of the Government and the "collecteur der Douane." As per “Die Kerkbode”: “Het nieuwe dorp dat aan die Zouterivier naby Saldanhabaai zal worden opgeright, zal da naam dragen van Hope-Field ter ere van den tegenwoordigen collecteur der Douane en den fungerenden Secretaris van het Gouvernement de Wel-Ed., Heeren Field en Hope”. (Hopefield Tourism Bureau) Map Hopefield/Berg River

“Mr PP Kotze was the spokesman for a number of local farmers who had bought a farm (apparently Matjiesfontein) at an auction and requested permission to exchange the farm for a portion of the farm Lange Kuil, which belonged to a Mr Dirk Visser because the latter farm was more suitable for the establishment of a town. The corner stone of the orginal church was laid on 8 January 1877 and the inauguration was on 3 September 1879.

Before the modern West Coast road was built, the road between Cape Town and Saldanha went through Hopefield. The rail link with Vredenburg passes through the town, and the first passenger train stopped here on 28 February 1903. The rail link with Cape Town contributed significantly to the development of the Sandveld. In 1945 a bridge was built across the Salt River and this significantly improved contact with the surrounding area, particularly during winter. In the same year the first road in the town was tarred.” (Information: Mr Tielman Klynsmith, chairman, Hopefield Tourism Bureau)

‘Langrietvlei’ has been declared a National Monument- and I made contact with Fiona Kotze who is part of the present Kotze family living on the farm.

According to Fiona, the farm was established in 1715 and the present farmhouse was built in 1789. By 1884, the whole local Kotze clan was living there and there were four separate homesteads under the ‘Langrietvlei’ umbrella – not all of which still exist.

The farm was one of two that supplied produce to ships passing by, along the Cape West Coast. Fiona told me that there is a family graveyard on the farm but that unfortunately much damage has been done to the stones by falling trees.The ‘Langrietvlei Chalets’ on the farm, cater for the fishermen, hikers and birdwatchers that the area attracts: (+ 27 (0)22 783 0856 for bookings) Jaja remembers visiting ‘Langerietvlei’ when she was young - and in particular she recalls a beautiful mirror in the farmhouse. She also still has a silver serving spoon that she was given on a visit there. Lynette has memories of a magnificent sideboard in the farmhouse.

The article below was written by Reuben Kotze, Fiona’s son:

“I will start off with a little bit of the history of our farm. Langrietvlei was established in 1715 by the Dutch. It was one of two farms responsible for supplying fresh meat and other farm products to the passing ships on the West Coast on their way to Capetown. The farmhouse, built in 1789, is a well-known national monument on the West Coast. This fact helped me with the marketing when I started to process our milk.

Our farm is known as the land of milk and honey. We only get 12 inches of rainfall a year and it is classified as a semi desert area. We run a mixed farming operation on 3500 hectares (7700 acres). My father is responsible for the 250 Hereford cattle we use for beef production and 1500 dorper sheep. My brother does all the sowing, silage making, and har- vesting of wheat, barley, rye, oats and lupins. He is also responsible for 115ha of potatoes. My mother runs a big honey operation and processes and delivers her products to big supermarkets in Cape Town. I am responsible for the dairy, milking 200 Guernsey cows” (www.docstoc.com/docs/.../Niche-Marketing-Guernsey-Products)

The article below was written by AR Swanepoel, a extract of 50 year year book of EHS:

Carel Albrecht Haupt Kotze was the first principal of Ermelo High School from 1914-04-13. He were supported by Mr. J Spruijt, Mss. E.S.Hollenbach, E.Steele, J.H. Grewer and Mss. Hubregtse. He was not long principal of the E.H.S; where he passed away on 1917-06-09. He had pneumonia after a short sickbed where he passed away. By him passing away, Ermelo and the E.H.S. had a big loss where his optimism left them in big hope.

Carel Albrecht Haupt Kotzé on WikiTree