10 March 2009

MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Use

Exhumation of family graves
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The Oudtshoorn Municipality and KLEIN KAROO International (KKI) are cooperating with an archeologist and an undertaker to excavate family graves on the ostrich leather tannery site. All contents recovered by the excavation will be reburied in one grave at the municipal cemetery. A memorial will be erected.

According to Mr. Gavin Juthe, head: special projects of the municipality, excavations at the tannery are done under supervision of Dr. Dave Hallket from the Archaeology Contracts Office at the University of Cape Town. This takes place in accordance with strict legal requirements of the South African Heritage Resources Agency, SAHRA. Representatives of the community affected by the process are present during the operation.

Mr. Juthe stated that the municipality was approached by members of the community three years ago. They suggested that the housing project in Dassie Road in Bridgton was developed on old graves. Dr. Hallket was contracted and four sites with visible and invisible graves at the Suikerbult community cemeteries, were identified by him and Mr. Philip Hine.

These sites are respectively situated at the south east corner of the Dassie Road housing project; at the leather tannery; the Kloof site on the eastern banks of the Olifants River and at the Old Shop/Playing Field site.

17 distinct burial mounds were identified at the Dassie Road site. At the leather tannery site a total of 109 graves were identified and approximately 31 burial mounds were found at the Kloof site on the floodplain. After test excavations the presence of at least 56 graves has been confirmed at the Old Shop/Playing Filed site. From visible tombstones it seems that the last burials in these areas were done around the end of the 1950’s.

As the owner of the land the municipality appointed Dr Hallket to take responsibility for excavation of the identified graves and to determine if any other graves may be present below Dassie Road and in the immediate vicinity of proximate service trenches. The undertaker is responsible for the exhumation, temporary storage and reburial of all contents found during this process.

“We are making a concerted effort to contact and consult the community and individuals who by tradition have an interest in these graves and historic burial grounds and we have reached an agreement on the future of the remains from these graves,” Mr. Juthe stated.

The general manger: leather of KKI, Mr. Wim van Rooyen confirmed the full co-operation of the tannery in the process to remove the contents of any graves on the tannery site. “We erected a new temporary gate for their equipment and the affected parties to have controlled access to this restricted industrial area.

KLEIN KAROO would like to see that this task is now completed comprehensively. We applied for a report to confirm that all graves and the contents have been moved successfully and to the satisfaction of the community,” he said.

Compiled and issued by KLEIN KAROO International and the Oudtshoorn Municipality
MEDIA ENQUIRIES: Jan Greyling on 082 556 8778 or Ntobeko Mangqwengqwe on 0788027724