A Frontier Town: Schoemansdal or Zoutpansbergdorp the forgotten Boer Town. 1848-1867.

The fascinating story of Schoemansdal or Zoutpansbergdorp the forgotten Boer Town that flourished in Northern Transvaal before Pretoria (Tshwane) existed. In memory off all the animals that were killed for gain and all the gin bottles that was broken in vain. Preface. This publication deals with another of those forgotten stories of the Transvaal. Schoemansdal, or Zoutpansbergdorp, existed between 1848 and 1867 as a base for one of the largest game hunts of the 19th Century in Africa. This being before the modern Pretoria (Tshwane) existed. It touches on the entrance into the Transvaal by the Voortrekkers, the issues of land occupation, the internal struggle of the Pioneers, settlement on farms and in towns, the actual case of Schoemansdal/Zoutpansbergdorp. It then deals with its demise and again with its emergence from obscurity through the Schoemansdal Museum project between 1984 and 2007, and now from support from Die Erfenisstigting in 2016. The author became involved with the Schoemansdal project in December 1984. This was owing to support that was given by the South African Military Services to the project undertaken by the then Transvaal Library and Museum Services. A number of archaeologists, including the author, were drafted to assist the fledgling museum through the provision of their experience and expertise. In June 1986, the author joined the Schoemansdal Museum personnel officially, as a technical assistant, both for assistance with the archaeological excavations, as well as for the technical aspects in developing of the museum and its infrastructure. In 1993 he left the museum services to work on the Thulamela site in the Kruger Park. In the nine years that the author was part of the work and research on the site, a lot of information was accumulated. Unfortunately, owing mainly to a high turnover in museum personnel, very little was published apart from what regularly appeared in the press. This then led to only bits and pieces being published in academic format on the research done at Schoemansdal Museum before 1993. Therefore in that year the author compiled a report, written in Afrikaans, of most of the research done at Schoemansdal between 1984 and 1993. During the years 2012 and 2016 this report, Lost Dreams of Ivory, grew to five volumes covering 800 pages and over a thousand drawings maps, and photographic images. Now in 2016 it is possible to revisit the Schoemansdal Experiment in greater clarity. The scientific character of the Lost Dreams of Ivory report was adapted and pruned to the bone, so as to avail the exiting story of Schoemansdal to a broader audience. Finally the author wishes to thank all the many people that was part of the project, either officially or those on the periphery that assisted in numerous ways to bring alive the forgotten story of Schoemansdal. Read more