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JAN HARMANSZ SCHAT
In 1674, east of the current town of
Bonnievale, on a farm nestled under the towering Langeberg Mountains, Johannes Harman Jansz Potgieter was born.
Johannes married in 1714, and the farm appears on the grant of 1723 as Jan Harmansz Schat (treasure)- from which it was apparently corrupted to
Jan Harmsgat.
In 1731 we find the grazing rights being granted to a famous hunter, Jacobus
Botha. His hunting career was brought to an end a couple of years later, when he shot a lion, and the lioness (which he had not seen) attacked and mauled him, leaving him for dead. Botha recovered but was never able to hunt again, and in 1734 Governor de la Fontaine made a freehold grant to
Botha, for services rendered, of the farm Jan Harmans Gat which he was then occupying. The farm was described as
"vier uur te perd van die dorp Swellendam"
Jacobus Botha lived to the age of 90, dying in 1782, and his 12 sons gave him 190
grandchildren.
The farm is situated along the slopes of the Langeberg, between the mountain and the Breede River. The modern road from Swellendam to Ashton runs along this beautiful valley.
In 1789 the farm passed into the hands of Hermanus Steyn de
Jonge. In 1765
he had married the widow Margaretha van Staden, and by the time the farm was occupied by him, he was already a man of some stature in the area. In addition to farming, he also did some Trustee work and sat on the District Council of
Swellendam.
In 1795 the farmers of the District rebelled against their Dutch masters, and declared themselves
independent of the Cape Government. Hermanus Steyn was chosen as the president of the new Republic, which lasted only a short while before the British assumed control of the Cape Colony, and Swellendam again reverted to their original status.
Hermanus Steyn lies buried on the farm Jan Harmsgat in a small plot marked by a granite gravestone, which can be seen a few hundred meters from the main house.
A grandson of the old President, Gideon van Zyl, changed the name of the farm to the gentler name of
Nooitgedacht.
The old building with its three gables under thatch, was again changed by
a cousin, one Piet van Eeden. He removed the upper floors and rebuilt the house with a corrugated iron roof.
The original wine cellar and old slave quarters were retained, but again the thatch was replaced by corrugated iron. This has subsequently been changed back to thatch and is the form in which the buildings now exist.
The wine cellar reminds us of the days when Jan Harmsgat was a large wine farm. The owner of the farm during that time, one F.J.van Eeden was a member of the Legislature, and inherited the farm from old Gideon van
Zyl.
One day, while sitting in a meeting of the legislature, he became so angry about a proposed excise duty, that he had all the vineyards cut down, and planted orange trees in their place.
Jan Harmsgat became famous for it's oranges, which thrived in this climate.
Four giant old orange trees which had been planted by Hermanus
Steyn, de Oue, produced wagon loads of oranges for 150 years, but were then cut down by van
Eeden, and 5 dozen orangewood chairs made from the timber.
Today the farm is still in the hands of a van Eeden, after a short time when ownership was not in the family. Judi Rebstein (nee' van
Eeden) and Brin
are the present owners, and have been responsible for the extensive renovations to both the buildings and orchards, as well as the remaining 680 ha. of farmland.
·
Extracts from: Geskiendkundige Swellendam. L.L.Tomlinson
· In the Footsteps Of Lady Anne Barnard. Jose Burman
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he 680 ha. farm is yours to explore and straddles the lush mountainous
belt with its orchards of fruit, nut and olive trees being the
source of its highly acclaimed preserves and produce. Indigenous
wildlife such as Black Wildebeest, Springbuck, Grey Rheebuck
and Ostriches are to be seen here, along with many smaller creatures
and birds.
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