An intriguing feature of historical research is how finding details of the subject being investigated leads one along another route – different but in ways which are allied. This sometimes happens particularly when early land grants are involved. In this instance the path diverged to another part of the Western Cape. It began when two early land grants on the Cape Peninsula were being examined. They were the late seventeenth century Swaneweide grant in Tokai and the Klaasenbosch grant in Constantia. It was the surname of the fourth owner of Klaasenbosch W F Versfeld that would lead to more information on a family connection, but this time in the very late twentieth century.
We enjoy the usually splendid displays of Spring wild flowers along various routes of the small towns in the vicinity of the west Coast of the Western Cape Province. One of the specific pieces of land we like to visit is the TINIE VERSFELD WILD FLOWER RESERVE. The two disciplined canine researchers wearing their leads are also able to walk along the board walk and take in many different scents. The variety of blooms growing on this reserve has cameras of visitors clicking and flashing.
A descendant of the above Versfeld family, Marthinus Versfeld also known as Tinie, donated, in 1958, twenty hectares of renosterveld which was originally part of Slangkop, a farm owned by the Versfled family in Darling. He made the donation to the National Botanical Institute to preserve the land for its conservation importance. It has been suggested that large numbers of species have been protected because the area was never ploughed and only grazed by the cattle of Slangkop.
Marthinus Versfeld was born in 1893 and died in 1979. He was a Western Province rugby player and took part in the Currie Cup competition in 1921. During World War 1 he served as a lieutenant and as a major in World War 2. The graves of both he and his wife Beatrice are on the land of the reserve. The reserve which allows people to enjoy nature’s flowering bounty, is a fitting tribute to his generosity.
Renosterveld (rhinoceros field) “is a small leaved evergreen shrub land that is found only in the south, south west and south east Cape of South Africa.”