Heritage meander and talk on the trot to conclude inaugural Plett History Festival
The final event in the exciting line-up of this weekend’s Plett History Festival offerings is scheduled for 2 pm sharp on Saturday, February 15.
Leigh Dunn – a third-generation Plett resident whose family history stretches back as far as 1891 – is an executive member of the Van Plettenberg Historical Society. Leigh will be doing a heritage stroll and a talk on Plett s original Coloured families this Saturday.
Living in the centre of town, along Piesang Valley, Rob-berg and the Bitou River, these families were forced to move by the Group Areas Act, which was implemented throughout South Africa in 1968.
This era will be discussed, along with related historical snippets. In his presentation, Leigh will also share anecdotes of a personal friend, Yu-suf Daniels, author of 2019’s South African bestseller Living Coloured – Because Black and White were already taken.
Leigh is a direct descendant of Captain Robert Charles Harker – Plett’s first postmaster and magistrate, whose family is buried at the Harker graves in Poortjies, which has been declared as a national heritage site.
His grandfather, Michael William Dunn was the first headmaster of the first multi-racial school in Plett since 1912.
Leigh has done similar presentations to Van Plettenberg Historical Society (July 2018) and Plett PROBUS (Professional Business) members (September 2019) and is often invited to present historical talks and tours.
He is an SSETA-accredited educator, tutor, life coach and motivational speaker, who has travelled extensively in pursuit of educational research in Belgium and the Netherlands.
The heritage talk and tour will take a maximum of one hour – an easy route with zero strain level. People joining in this special afternoon will receive sponsored souvenirs and memorabilia to celebrate Pletts inaugural History Festival, so do not miss out.
Meet Leigh at The Old Rectory Hotel near Hobie Beach on Saturday at 1:45 pm. Admission is free. Turn to page 9 of the January 29 edition at www. cxpress.co.za for the full History Fest programme.