Remembering Kommetjie’s heritage

Mikai Daniels, Malone Daniels and Michael Daniels – family of Jacob Daniels (c) Janet Heard

In anticipation of Heritage Day on 24 September, the KRRA’s Social Fabric team hosted a heritage gathering on 19 September, bringing residents together to reflect on Kommetjie’s history, people and natural environment.

A central theme was the history of the Daniels family, who lived in Kommetjie before being forcibly removed to Ocean View under the apartheid-era Group Areas Act in 1972.

Local artist Chip Snaddon spoke about the family’s connection to the Kommetjie water tower – particularly how Jacob Daniels and his family helped to supply water to Kommetjie for decades.

Jacob Daniels was involved in the laying of water pipes and other community work. He and his family lived in Kommetjie until they were forced to leave under apartheid.

Snaddon said the connection between the mural and the tower’s history had become “a lovely symbol of memory”, leading to the inscription commemorating Daniels and his family.

“It honours the natural environment and the people’s heritage of Kommetjie, because that was a terrible tearing of the social fabric that happened back then,” he said.

A quick word on the elephant mural we all now see on the water tower: if it wasn't for Snaddon, it could well have turned out bright pink. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your colour palette, we see the natural, earthy colours we expect of an elephant.

A rapt audience listens to Adam Welz about the urgent need to protect our unique biodiversity (c) Janet Heard

The gathering also included talks by:

• Toad Nuts founder Alison Faraday on the Western Leopard Toads

• Writer, nature conservationist and photographer Adam Welz on Kommetjie’s rich biodiversity, particularly Skilpadsvlei

• KRRA's environmental manager John Cuthill on the history and heritage of Kommetjie, along with the impressive biodiversity of our area

We will post coverage of the above presentations over the next few weeks.