New great trek throws lifeline to last white outpost
Orania town council envisages big growth in (pale) population
AFTER a decade in the Netherlands, Ludwig Everson told his wife that it was time to move back home — but only if they could find “progressive” South Africans to live among.
They chose Orania, a “private” Afrikaner community in the Northern Cape with its own currency and public holidays — and a bronze bust of apartheid prime minister Hendrik Verwoerd on prominent display.
“A town can be conservative in one way and progressive in another,” said Everson, who has spent the past three years building his house in Orania.
“People here in Orania do their own thing. There is no such thing as cheap labour here,” he said. “To me it looked interesting. Where else do you get a place like the Netherlands in South Africa?”
Everson and his wife, Retha, are part of a new wave of Afrikaner settlers streaming to Orania, long considered a racist enclave and a failed attempt to establish an independent Afrikaner volkstaat.
Although political independence is unlikely, the town appears to be in the midst of a revival, prompted partly by the new arrivals. New buildings are shooting up and the land bought for R1.6-million 23 years ago is now worth close to R500-million.
There are now just more than 1 000 residents in Orania and it has a population growth rate of 9.5% a year — much more than the national average of 1.3%. The average age is 36, compared with the national average of 26.
The influx of both rich and poor has prompted several developments, including a male and female hostel and rental accommodation in a freight container.
There is even a booming tourism industry. The town has 300 beds on offer and camping facilities, despite widespread recession across the platteland. There is a tourist bus, a tourism information centre and a mini- cinema at which documentaries about Orania are screened.
“We are battling to deal with all the people arriving,” said Jaco Kleynhans, CEO of the town’s marketing and development unit, the Orania Movement.
“We even get people walking here from Hopetown, 40km away. They arrive at the crossroads with their bags. We can’t turn them away.”
The town council envisages that Orania will eventually have between 200 000 and 250 000 inhabitants and wants the town to have its own university.
But recent growth has also created a conundrum for the council, which provides water, electricity and waste removal services. In order to expand and accommodate the newcomers, the town needs labour and ratepayers, but it still falls under the jurisdiction of the Thembelihle municipality.
Carel Boshoff IV, president of the Orania Movement and son of Orania’s late founder, also named Carel, said: “The more economic activity we can have, the more autonomous we can become.
“In our minds, we are not just this little town that wants to be a nice place to live in — we want to
We define ourselves as an intentional community, not as exclusionary
be an option for our people.”
The town has almost no unemployment and a 100% matric pass rate at its two private schools. But there is a severe housing shortage.
A lack of serious investors and the town’s remote location are two of the biggest obstacles to its growth.
Because it is private property, would-be townspeople must apply for residency. Successful applicants are given a two-week orientation course.
“At least half the population are blue-collar workers, poor Afrikaners, people from terrible conditions. We don’t have lots of jobs for professionals,” said Boshoff.
Several newcomers, including a youngster recently returned from South Korea, said the town should be seen as a model for other communities.
Inevitably, there are complaints. One elderly resident said there was no picnic place along the river.
“When it’s cold, it’s too cold. When it’s hot, it’s too hot. And it is far from everywhere,” she said. “Other than that, it’s fine.”
The town’s leaders insist they are not racists and do not want to recreate apartheid.
“We define ourselves as an intentional community, not an exclusionary community,” said Boshoff, adding that no blacks had applied for residency.
“There are many black communities that are doing the same thing, so in a sense we are both very ordinary and very exceptional.”