Pearl of Richards Bay leaves for Paarl
LEAVING behind many cherished friendships and a wonderful example, but taking with her as many beautiful memories, doyenne of Richards Bay, Juliana Truter recently bade farewell after 54 noteworthy years.
One of the trailblazers in the modern history of the town, Juliana, wife of Richards Bay’s first town clerk, Trapies Truter, arrived from Bloemfoentein in 1969 with their sons Werner and Julius, and settled into a prefab house near Davidson Lane.
Richards Bay was at the time a tiny fishing village with sand roads, no schools, churches, doctors or telephones, and only one shop.
As a qualified teacher, Juliana started at the Empangeni school in 1970.
Juliana joined the staff, and joined Ilse Gillman and Hessie van der
Spek, as well as 20 pupils, on board the 6am school bus which travelled the treacherous 40km old road via Mtubatuba.
On 18 January 1971, the first Bay school - Richards Bay Primary - was opened, with 41 children, including the Truter boys, and seven teachers.
Most of the inception class were children of Alusaf employees and the RB6 consortium of companies building the harbour.
In fact, RB6 honoured Juliana Truter by naming a tug boat after her.
Her husband died tragically in a car crash soon after obtaining his Master’s Degree in Municipal Management, only the sixth candidate in the country to obtain this university degree.
In 1996, after an illustrious 25-year teaching career in Richards Bay, Juliana retired.
At 87 years old, Juliana remains healthy and active today.
Cheerful and outgoing, she will no doubt soon make many new friends at Huis Vergenoegd in Paarl.