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Note: N10 Our FAMILY So often children are not told of their forbears and I have thereforedecided to give each of you children a peep into the past of our family,and I trust you will put this away among your family documents forreference if the need arises in the future. First of all let me say this that your paternal Great grand father was aDutchman (Hollander) who married a Javanese lady in Java. One of hissons, Adrian Jan, settled in Simons Town towards the end of the 18thcentury where he acquired land and which he named "Paradise". From oldresidents of Stellenbosch I learnt that his lands extended from theSimons Town railway station as far as Glecairn. This was. sold on thedeath of my Grand-mother and the proceeds divided among the children ofher marriage. My Grand-father too married a woman of Javanese descent. My father Charles William Hendrickse was the youngest son. He was born inSimons Town on September 8, 1830 and died at Stellenbosch on 30 August,1898. He lies buried in the Wesleyan Cemetery on the Slopes of thePapagaaiberg in S/bosch. He was school principal of the Wes. Mission School at S/bosch for 48years and Catechist also for that period. He was a Christian Gentleman and this is what the Rev. Whiteside says ofhim in his "History of the Wesleyan Methodist Church in South Africa" "A name to be honored is that of Mr. G.W. HENDRICKSE who for forty-two years was a catechist at Stellenbosch and was a man of devoted piety andzeal" My mother was a Miss Lourens (Johanna Maria) and was born in Stellenboschon 10 January, 1848. She died at Plumstead in the Cape on 13 August 1925and lies buried by the side of my father whom she loved very dearlydespite the disparity in their ages. She taught for 34 years in my father's school as Infant Mistress. She wasa great beauty of her days and was eagerly sought after by rich farmersbut she chose the poorest and humblest of her suitors. Our home was oneof peace and joy and never did I ever hear one unkind word pass betweenmy parents. My mother was a woman of exceptional charm and ability and tome it has always been a wonder how she ever managed on their jointsalaries (under 100 pounds per annum) and give us each a good education,(At a future date (D,v) I hope to write a full history of the family) andto provide us with such a good home. My mother was of pure European descent, she being the "Natural" child ofvan Ryneveld, last Landdrost of Stellenbosch and Miss Lourons. She grewup in the old Drostdy, as the van Reynevelds had no children, until shewas about twelve years of age when she went to live with her mother'speople. On her death-bed she said that she never regretted marrying my father. My parents had ten children. Two of the elder children died in infancy,James Runciman and Rosa Clara (1874). James Runciman is named after Mr.Runciman who was Mayor of Simons Town for many years and who was anardent admirer of and suitor for, my mother's hand. My father was married twice. His first wife was a Miss Adriaanse andthere was one child of this marriage, Adrian J. who became a teacher andstarted his long and devoted career as Principal of a school at Blouvleiin the WELLINGTON district. Afterwards he took up a post as principal ina D.R. Church school in Paarls under the Rev. Dempers. Later he left for KIMBERLEY to take up the Principalship in a MethodistSchool, under the Rev. W. Pescod. He did not stay long there on accountof Mrs. Pescod who rather made things difficult. When he left Kimberley,he returned to Paarl where he and Mrs. Jan Weiss established theCongregational Church and school, in Semplar St of which he becamePrincipal. . He was also the church organist and Choir Master besides hisother church activities, such as preaching, holding of membershipclasses, Sunday School (in which by the way, he taught for over 50 years)visiting the sick and those in distress, burying the dead etc. After his retirement he entered the Ministry and was minister of theChurch at Cradock until his death in 9/12/28 He married Miss Lettie Cupido (a descendant of one of the De Villiersfamily of Paarl). She was a very fine woman and nobly stood by his sidethrough all his hard struggles. She died in 1925 on 13th July. (Of therest of that family you all know). ----------------------------------------- My eldest brother Charles Daniel grew up to be a very handsome andcharming young man - the darling of all the girls. He was a fine pianist, singer and raconteur. He never married. He was educated at the Bictoria College and was a member of the V.C.Cadet Corps. On leaving college he entered into the services of the firmof Fletchers as Cashier. He was of a roving disposition and cold notstand in-door work. He left Fletchers and began his roving all over thePacific. How he maintained himself during those years I do not know, butthis I do know, he never contributed a bean to the family budget. Sometime after 1905 he became an intimate friend of Dr. Roux of "BonEsperance" Three Anchor Bay and resided with the Roux family until hisdeath in 1933 (1 am not quite sure of the date) and was buried by them atWoltemade. My second eldest brother John J. Hendrickse, was one of the finestbrothers anyone could ever have had. He was a true child of God. Afterhis death in 1926, all the merchants with whom he did business paid him awonderful tribute for, his integrity. "He was too honest,for a businessman" was the consensus of opinion. He became a master tailor and at the time of his death he had hisestablishment in the old Metropolitan Buildings in Church Street, CapeTown. He married Miss Johanna Gilmore of Kimberley, who is at present(1956) in the Tafelberg Hostel in Canderbury St. C. Town. There was one child of the marriage,Winifred, who died in her early twenties. My brother was a born naturalist and I learnt many interesting thingsfrom him on plants, birds etc. on our early morning mountain rambles. Hewas a great lover of music and had a very pleasing tenor voice. My brother Frederick William was the most brilliant of the family. Aftercompleting his education at the Gymnasium (now the Paul Roos High School)at Stellenbosch, he became a proof reader at on of the printing houses inC.T. (I do not know whether it was the Cape Times or "The Argus". Afterleaving that job he entered the Cape of Good Hope Civil Service as aclerk, in the Defence Department, under Colonel Southey. It isinteresting to note that in the C.S. examination he headed the pass list. When that department was abolished he was put on pension. He next chose teaching as his profession and studied under the late Dr.Whitton, at the Normal College in C. Town and here too he came first inhis final exam. He became principal of a public school (European) at Isidenge inStutterheim and died shortly after his retirement and lies buried inStutterheim. He died a Batchelor in 1934. My brother Henry Wassung was born on February 15 1877 and died atObservatory on the 8th January 1938. He was the first baby to be baptizedin the new Methodist Church in Plein St. Stellenbosch. He was a boy of avery shy disposition and did not-love school and consequently he leftschool at an early age and was apprenticed to Mr. Marthinus Zerff (Cold.)the leading contractor at that time in S/blsch. After completing hisapprenticeship he entered the Naval Dockyard, Simons Town, as shipwright. During the depression after the Anglo-Boer War he was ....?. He had ahard struggle, like so many thousands during that time, and took up workwherever it could be found. He stayed with me at the time and I providedfor him while he was out of work. It was a grim struggle for all of us.My salary at the time was 9 pounds 6shillings and 8 pence. per month.Afterwards he worked for the Cape Divisional Council as a carpenterforeman and later again as porter at Newlands Station. He was a lovable, kindly, generous chap. My youngest brother Ernest Christian (11/2/1887 - 30/4/42) was educatedat the Boys' High School, Stellenbosch after I left it in October, 1900whilst preparing for my Matriculation. When he left school he became apprenticed to Gray's Carriage PaintingWorks in Woodstock. After serving his apprenticeship he joined the CityTranways Co. as carriage painter and he died while in their employ. Hemarried Miss Annie Walbrugh of the Strand. I was born in a little double-storeyed building adjoining the house ofLady Brand at the corner of Plein and Andringa Sts. I was born on the night of the 14th March 1884. In 1988 we moved to our new home further up Andringa St. and about 100yards from Cellege Square on which at the time only the Victoria Collegestood. In 1894 1 was enrolled in the Gymnasium which was situated at the cornerof Plein and van Reneveld Sts. Sometime between 1898 and 1899 we moved tothe new buildings on College Square, which were built by Mr. MarthinusZerff, then the foremost building contractor (Coloured) in S/bosch. Thenew school was named The Boys' First Class Public School. I left it in1900 whilst preparing for my Matriculation. This was due to economicreasons and to allow my brother, Ernest, to attend the school. My fatherhad then been dead for two years. On November 1 1900 1 commenced as Junior Clerk with Divine Gates & Co. inCastle St., C.T. the principal shipping agents at the time. My Salary was3 [pounds] per month but through rapid promotions my salary rose to 6[pounds] before a year had passed. Owing to rapid expansion the firmremoved to more commodious premises in St. Georges St. Owing to thedefalcations of their store man of their duty-paid and ...? stores I wasinstalled in his place. My salary was now 8 [pounds] per month. (Theposition of store man carried with it a salary of 12 [pounds] P.M. butbecause of my youth I was paid a lower salary). Some time in 1905 1 left the old firm and joined the firm of LensveldWisdom & Co. in Strand St. next to the Koopmans de Wet House, asstore-keeper and junior clerk. I was with them for only three months buteven in that short time I was promoted with higher pay. I left the firmat the end of October, 1905 to take up teaching and it came about in thisway. The Rev. Geo. Robson, Superintendent of the Cape Town and Mowbray Circuitof the Wesleyan Methodist Church of S.A. approached me at the beginningof October 1905 to ask me to consider taking over a school at Salt Riverwhich had lately been opened and whose principal, owing to age andill-health was retiring at the end of that month. The conditions on which I was to hold the post were these: I had toobtain my teachers' certificate at the end of the year. For this purposeI was entered in the European Vacation Course for teachers in December,1905 which was held in the old training school in Queen Victoria St. (MayI say here that what determined me to take this chance was the state ofbusiness at the time. Things were bad. Many businesses were on the brinkof bankruptcy and unemployment was rife due to the depression after theAnglo-Boer War). In due course I attended the Vacation Course and wassuccessful in obtaining my Teachers' Certificate. I commenced my teaching career on November 1, 1905 at a salary of 80[pounds] per annum. The school was housed in the church and vestry of theEuropean Methodist Church which had been bought by the coloured circuitwhen that congregation moved to their new church in Reedebloem. My duties consisted not only of teaching but also of church work. I wasorganist and choir master, Sunday-school Supt. Later I was installed asdeacon and local preacher. I used to do sick visiting and often conductedburial services in the absence of the Rev. Robson. In fact all the workat Salt River rested on my shoulders. The work expanded very rapidly and extra help was urgently needed. Isuggested to the Rev. Robson to approach Dr. Joseph Forbes of Heatherdatewhere he was doing some good work among the boys there as leader of theBoys' Brigade. As he appeared to be an earnest Christian worker I thoughthe would do well at Salt River. In due course he took up his residence inS. River later very much to my regret. Q will not enlarge on this exceptto say that, owing to my popularity with both congregation and scholars,he became very jealous of me and did much to hinder my work). The school increased so rapidly that I was obliged to make plans for thebetter accommodation of the scholars. I set about raising money for aschool building. In 1910/111 built a new school in the church grounds.Later I added two class-rooms. Children came from all parts of the peninsula to attend my school, whichI ran on public school lines. I had printed reports for my scholars. ManyEuropean scholars attended the school. During 1914/18 World War 1 things became very hard for me and my familybecause of my small wage, which was then 110 [pounds]per annum and sowhen I was offered a post in the Trafalgar Secondary School, Cape Town atjust over 240 [pounds] per annum I very regretfully left Salt Riverschool on June 30th 1918 ( I was very happy there). May I just add here that, besides my many other activities, I also ran anight school for which I received 5 [pounds] per quarter from theEducation Dept. and the fees from the scholars - 2/6 per month. (Beforepreceding with my career I shall give a short account of my two sistersof whom I have not made mention before). The elder of the two was Annie ...? (1878-1938). She was a girl of a verysweet and lovable disposition. She was educated at the Bloomhef Girls'High School, S/bosch, where she obtained her Teachers' Certificate. Shetaught in my father's school after her graduation until she got marriedto William Seager, an electrical engineer in the service of the Admiraltyin the S.T. Naval Dockyard. She was a good pianist and had a very sweetvoice and was very much in demand at concerts. She was, too, a very fineartist and many of her fine oils used to adorn our home. Her eldest sondied lately at Kalk Bay where he had a chemist shop. My sister Letitia Eliz. Maria was a girl of a different stamp. She was ofa very determined and ...? character. She, too, was educated at theBloomhef Girls' High School. She was a very fine pianist. She studiedunder Prof. Hans Endler of the Stellenbosch Conservatoire of Music. Afterleaving school she was apprenticed to Hilliards of Music. After leavingschool she was apprenticed to Hilliards. "Under the old fir tree" in C.T.as a milliner. She married R.J. Holmes, who came out during the Boer War,to assist in running the Cape Railways. It was a very unhappy marriage.He was a drunkard and was finally kicked out of the service. With thatindentable courage that she possessed, my sister carried on and educatedher two children, Vincent and Esme. I last saw her in 1925. Of herwhereabouts I do not know -- whether dead or alive! ------------------- The establishment of the Wesley Training School came directly as theresult of my good work in Durham Avenue Church School. At Trafalgar I was given charge of the Std. 6 class but also assistedwith the higher standards in English, Dutch (Nederlands), Mathematics andChemistry. In 1925 the school was promoted to a High School and the lowerstandards up to 6 were transferred to the De Villiers St. Primary School,under the principalship of Mr..... ? afterwards, Rev. H.G. Gordon, andwhich had been vacated by the Europeans. There I continued with the Std.6 class. In 1928 (July) I was appointed Principal of the Battswood PractisingSchool? Wynberg at a salary of 410 [pounds] per annum and with anenrollment of just under 600. 1 retired at the end of 1944 with sixmonths' furlough (up to June, 30 1955). THIS WAS A VERY DIFFICULT PERIOD FOR ME HAVING TO WORK with two otherprincipals, Mr. F. Hendrickse of the Training School and Mr. D. van derRoss of the Secondary Dept. in the same institute and with men ofdifferent temperaments and outlook, and who were often at loggerheads andon non-speaking terms for varying periods so that very often I had toplay the role of peacemaker. About three years before my retirement Inspector Puttick inspected myschool and on the completion of his inspection he said these words, "Your school is so well run. It works like a well-oiled machine and itstone and discipline are excellent just what can be expected from a schoolwith a tone like yours. I shall not inspect it again during your time ofoffice and before you retire as I feel there will be no need for it thework being carried out to my complete satisfaction." After the first inspection after my retirement, Inspectors Puttick andGardiner have this in their Annual Report of 29 April - 2 May, 1946, "At the end of 1944 the former principal retired on pension after nearlyforty years of service. The thanks of the Department are due to him forhis long and devoted service in the cause of Coloured Education." I also give here under the testimonial of the Rev. G. Robson on my workat Salt River. "Mr. W.G. Hendrickse was for thirteen years a teacher in the WesleyanMission School in Durham Avenue, Salt River, under my management, and Ihave the utmost pleasure in testifying to the faithfulness and remarkableefficiency of his work. His devotion to duty and his marked ability as aschool principal won for the school a high degree of popularity and gavethe greatest satisfaction to all. It is with much confidence that Irecommend him for any principalship often to a teacher of his grade andstanding. Signed. "Geo. Robson" 30/1/192 Church Activities STELLENBOSCH CIRCUIT 1. Sunday-school Teachers, 2. Member of Church Choir, 3. Secretary of theBank of Hope, 4. Deputized occasionally at the church organ for the lateMiss M. Tindall. October 1898 - October 1900. Cape Town and Mowbray Circuit Nov 1900 - Dec 1923 Buitenkant St. Church. Sunday-school teacher Nov 1900-Oct 1905, alsoorganist (Sunday evenings) and choir master Mowbray Church Salt River Principal of day school - Nov 1900-June 1918. 1. Sunday schoolsuperintendent, 2. Organist and Choirmaster, 3. Local Preacher, 4. Deacon. Diep River and Kenilworth Circuit 1934 to present time (1956) Kenilworth. Organist and Choir-master. Society Steward and for a shorttime Sunday School Supt. Wynberg, Ottery Road. Society Steward. Circuit Steward. Society of theQuarterly Meeting. Leader of the Catechumen Class. Organist occasionally.(All these offices I had to relinquish on account of ill-health - 1955). Member of the following Conference Committees 1. Heatherdate Children's Home. 2. Coloured Welfare. 3. Temperane WesleyTraining School appointed by Syned on the commission appointed to settle church dispute at the Strand (I am happy to say thiswas happily accomplished). St. George's Cathedral Read lesson on Scout and Wayfarers Day (1940) Other activities 1. Child Welfare. 2. Race Relations. 3. Victoria Hospital Sub-committee.4. Foundation of the first Coloured Amateur Musical Society (1908-1917)Mr. Walter Weeding, Conductor. This was disbanded owing to the war. Somemembers came together again shortly afterwards and formed the Spes BenaOrchestra (Still In existence 1956) of which I was Treasurer for over 16years. Instruments played by me:- violin, viola and piano. Founder of the Wynberg Branch of The League of the Blind and also of theWynberg Branch of F.O.S.A. (Friends of the Sick Association). Vice-President, Vice-chairman and Auditor of the Cape District CricketUnion. Life President of the W.P. Table Tennis Union. In charge of Junior Cricket League (Cape Dist. C. Union) Member of theCape Corps Disporsal Committee. Conducted elections of school committees. Foundation member of theTeachers' League of S. Africa: First Treasurer and President 1939/40 Foundation member of The Teachers' Professional Educational andprofessional Association (T.E.P.A.) and drawer up of its Constitution. W.G. Hendrickse Wynberg, Cape 1 March, 1956
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