"Discovering the Spirit of Makana: Dreamer or Hero?"

Talk given at the 2002 National Arts Festival Winter School 2 July 2002 by Dr Julia Wells, Senior Lecturer in History at Rhodes University, Grahamstown.

My talk today will explore some of the ideas that have existed about Makana in the past and also share some of the developments that have arisen in recent years from the work of a project with which I am involved.
I would like to start the story on 15 June 2000. On that day the people of Grahamstown reached for their newspapers and saw that the world had changed. How many of you from Grahamstown remember this banner headline 'MAKANA'?

The Eastern Cape Province can boast to be the cradle of human culture. Archeological sites have revealed evidence of cultural activity predating sites found in other parts of the world. Although these sites are not in the Frontier Country area, they are not far, and scores of other ancient sites including dwelling sites and rock art are found in the area. Qualified guides can be arranged to take one to selected sites (Please note that all archeological and paleontological sites are protected by the South African Heritage Resources Act and they may not he damaged or defaced in any way).
Frontier Country is also the meeting ground of the Xhosa, Khoi San, Afrikaner and English-speaking groups. A fascinating, unique cultural history has developed as a result.

In 1859, Henry Carter Galpin bought a simple double-storey establishment in Bathurst Street for £300. During the next 23 years he made extensive changes. The front was elegantly decorated, and a basement and three floors added to the back. Rooftop developments included an observatory, from which the building took its name, and the only Camera Obscura in the Southern Hemisphere.

Grahamstown is home to the oldest surviving independent newspaper in South Africa. Named the Grocott's Mail, it was founded in 1870 by the Grocott family, and bought out a pre-existing newspaper called the Grahamstown Journal, dating from 1831.