News Letter Editor: Biebie van der Merwe Huguenot Society of South Africa,  P.O. Box 293, Franschhoek 7690 South Africa April 1999

 
Surf from site to site on the new Huguenot Ring

The Huguenot Society of  South Africa, the Huguenot Memorial Museum and the Huguenot Monument in Franschhoek now all have their own web pages on  the Internet. The Internet address of the Huguenot Society of SA is: http://www.oocities.org/Heartland/Valley/8140/  and from there one can easily move the others.

The home page of  the  Huguenot Ring can be found at:
                       http://www.oocities.org/Heartland/Valley/8140/webring.htm

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Our 36th annual  Bulletin will be published towards the end of September this year. Please remember: we need your contributions. The kind of contributions we are looking for are:

• letters containing news items, enquiries and comments;
• new genealogical information on any Huguenot family, but particularly on the Cronjé family, the focus of  Bulletin 35;
•  Huguenot family anecdotes particularly from the Cronjé family;
•  stories, articles etc. on any Huguenot decedents  in the Anglo-Boer War;
•  historic articles on the Huguenots and their settlement in SA and  other countries, or on specific historic figures -  with proper references and bibliography-;
• historic articles on the history of the Huguenots in Europe before the diaspora - with proper references and bibliography.

News Flashes:

Huguenot Memorial complex

* The next time you go to Franschhoek, do visit the new tea room of the Huguenot Memorial Museum.  They serve lovely traditional Cape delicacies.

International Museum Day

*   18 May 1999 is  International Museum Day.  An exhibition on the role of the Huguenots and their descendants in the South African wine industry will be opened on that day at the Huguenot Memorial Monument, Franschhoek.

Mimi Coertze exhibition

*  An exhibition on Mimi Coertze (South Africa's famous soprano) is planned for later this year. The official opening will take place with a concert by Ms Coertze and Pieter de Villiers. Details will be given to the Press.
 
Rose bushes at Huguenot monument
 

The Board of the Huguenot Monument is planning to have all the old rose bushes in the gardens surrounding the Monument replaced by young healthy ones. Mr S.F. du Toit of  Johannesburg has already made a wonderful contribution of  R2000 towards this big and expensive project. Anyone else who wishes to contribute,  should contact the Monument Board (P.O. Box 37, Franschhoek).

  Edict of Nantes commemorated

During 1998 the Huguenot Society and the Huguenot Memorial Museum commemorated the Edict of Nantes of 1598. A representative of the French Government unveiled a plaque at the Memorial Museum and opened a special exhibition.

At the Annual General Meeting,  Prof Pieter Coertsen, theologian and church historian from the University of Stellenbosch, gave a lecture on the meaning of the Edict of Nantes and of freedom of religion, historically and in modern South Africa. He explained that the South African Constitution guarantees complete freedom of religion, and that it is a principle that should be cherished,  but he also warned that complete freedom of religion demands much more responsibility and commitment from Christians than when there is a restricted freedom of religion where all religions are free but some are given preference.

Huguenot Prize

In October 1998 the annual Huguenot Prize of R5 000 for  young instrumentalists funded by Nasionale Pers, was awarded to Zoë Beyers, violinist of Cape Town. Incidentally Zoë also turned out to be a Huguenot descendant - through the Cilliers family.

Fontainebleau

Among France's wealth of palaces and chateaux, the Palace of  Fontainebleau, called by some the place "where the chateaux meet", is really worth a visit. It served as dwelling for King and Emperor from the time of Louis the Holy, in the 13th century, till the time of Napoleon III.  Francois I, "Prince of the Renaissance",  left a lasting impression on the buildings as did Henry IV, the man to whom the  Huguenots owed so much.  It was also the site of Napoleon's abdication in 1814. Whoever makes a pilgrimage to Fontainebleau will be richly rewarded!

Our ordinary members often complain that they forget to renew their membership annually. In the past we have kept on sending Newsletters and Bulletins to everyone on our list of ordinary members. The rising costs of paper and postage, however, makes it impossible to continue this policy. In future we will not continue sending  information to ordinary members who do not react on renewal notices. Changing  your membership to that of a LIFE MEMBER, will ensure that you remain a member of the Society and that you receive all notices and publications.

Lost members
 

The Huguenot Society can't exist without its members, and therefore it is sad when we lose contact with a member. We sent copies of Bulletin to the following life members with notices of the Annual General Meeting in October 1998, but the envelops were all returned marked "unknown" or "address incomplete". If you know the full address of anyone of them, please let us know. And remember: Don't forget to let the Huguenot Society know when you move!

What is the right address?