MALAN

  Deus Arx Mea

WHAT YOU SOW YOU WILL REAP

                                                                

Edmondo Malan, was one of the pioneers, specializing in heart surgery. The Heart Surgery Centre near Milan is named after him. The Malan’s all originated from the Valley of the Waldensians on the border between Italy and France at Torre Pellice and D’Angrogna & Mérindol villages, Saint Martin de la Brasque & Aigues Valley, France.

 During 1290 most of the Malan’s were killed as a result of the Roman Church prosecutions. By 1232 there were no Malan’s in the Valleys. However, by the 15^th Century there were several branches of the family in the southwestern France. As from 1685 the severe persecution of the Protestants and Waldensians began and resulted in the French Huguenot refugees

Jacques Malan de Mérindol was born between 24^th October 1668 and 23^rd October 1669 in the village Saint Martin de la Brasgue, in the Aigues Valley 29Km from Mérindol. After the Edict of Nantes had been revoked, Jacques fled to Lausanne in 1687. From France they travelled to the United Provinces of the Netherlands and reached Rotterdam in December 1687. Jacques departed Rotterdam on board the Berg China on the 20^th March 1688 and was about 23 years old when he landed in the Cape on the 4^th August 1688. Jacque was a wine-grower and the Dutch East India Company encouraged Huguenots to emigrate to the Cape because most of them were religious, highly trained experienced farmers. Jacques Malan had four sons. Jacobus born on the 2^nd July 1700, Daniel born on the 11^th September 1703, David born on the 19^th July 1708 and Jacob born on the 8^th November 1710. Daniel (1702) had a very small progeny in Kenhard, Kuruman, Karasburg and S.W.A. (now Namibia). The other son, Jacob was David’s ninth child.  Jacob was born on the 21^st November 1762.

On the 18^th October 1694, Simon van der Stel awarded the farm La Motte in Olifantshoek (now Franschoek) to Jacques Malan. There is a graveyard on this farm and a Malan who died in 1701 is buried in it. In 1709 he bought the farm Morgenster from Willem Adrian van der Stel. In 1698 Jacques Malan married his friend’s Jean Jourdan’s widow, Isabeau de Long in 1699 and through this marriage gained ownership of La Motte in Olifantshoek (the present Franchhoek) as well as the farm De Faisantekraal at Vissershoek as a result of this marriage to Isabeau. Jacques Malan assisted Adam Tas in a struggle against the corrupt government of Willem Adrian Van der Stel and was one of the thirty Frenchmen who’s signed the petition against Van der Stel. Jacques Malan was a shrewd politician and in 1706, the famous Adam Tas delivered a very good commentary on Jacques Malan. Jacques Malan was not only a very religious man and served on the church council of Stellenbosch for many years. In 1722 Jacques donated a sturdy Stinkwood beam for the bell of the new church. By 1734 Jacques Malan was a well-to-do farmer who possessed 32 slaves, 50 horses, 140 head of cattle and 900 sheep, fields of wheat and vineyards. Isabeau died in 1736 and and was buried in grave number 8 inside the Stellenbosch church. The grave was purchased by Jacques Malan in 1722 when the first 10 graves were sold by the church.  Jacques Malan gave the farm La Motte to his step son Pierre Jordaan on the 15^th April 1719. Jacques Malan died in 1742 on his farm Morgenster and was buried in the same grave as Isabeau as well as his two grand-daughters. A commemorative tablet in honor of Jacques and Isabeau was unveiled in the Stellenbosch church on 2nd October 1993.

One of Jacques Malan’s sons, David Malan was born on the 19^th July 1708 in de Cape de Goede Hoop and was married to Eleonora Melius. Eleonora died in 1750 and David married Elisabeth Marais. David Malan a farmer who farmed on the farms De Fortuijn near Gordans Bay and his son David (1751-1824) later bought the farm Vergelegen. David Malan (1708) was an excellent farmer with a lot of cattle, had 27 slaves and served as elder in the Swartland congregation for many years. He died at the age of 85 in 1792.

The Cape Argus on the 17^th August 2018, reported that David Malan’s 3^rd son, who was born in 1751, married his cousin Elizabeth Malan the daughter of his uncle Daniel who was born in 1741. In 1773 they owned 20 horses, 10 cattle and 200 sheep and farmed with wheat. Their farm was worked with six slaves of which two were women. During his marriage David took pleasure with a slave of a neighbour, Jurgen Radjin of the farm De Harmonie and she is believed to have borne his children. Elizabeth was very unhappy and considered applying for a legal separation. History therefore indicates that at least one of the Malan’s at the time, did not approve of the ideology of the “Apartheid” era approximately 200 years later, of which one of the architects, was Daniel Francois Malan Prime Minister of South Africa, a descendant from Jacques Malan the Huguenot’s son, David(1708-1793).

David Malan’s (1708-1792) son Jacob was born on 21^st November 1762 and married Cornelia Mostert.

Jacob Malan’s ninth child was Daniel Malan and he was born on the farm at Noordhoek on the 13^th June 1799 in the district Cape of Good hope in the vicinity of now, Hout Bay. Daniel Malan married Margeretha Johanna Sussana van Niekerk. Daniel was part of the third Great Trek with Hercules Phillips as the leader and this trek with it 30 ox wagons left the Colony in 1836 and reached the Transvaal in 1840, where he farmed on the farm Malanskraal South West of Heidelberg, where he farmed for nine years. He then moved to the farm Brandbach 18km from Cullinan. He developed the farm Brandbach were he farmed with cattle, grapes and fruit. He also had a transport business as well as a famous handmade ladies shoe business. The price of a pair of lady shoes at the time was a heifer calf. Jacob Malan (1829-1888) and and the other Malans were friends with Paledi the Captain of baNtuane tribe and Jacob Malan on one occasion saved Paledi’s life. Paledi built two rondawels close to his kraal for the Malans to occupy when they were in the area during the Winter months. Daniel Malan died at the age of 82 on the 5^th December 1881 in Cullinan and the farm Brandbach 10,073 morgen was divided between his nine children. (Brandbach, was first registered in 1859 and was 5861 morgen and Papkuil 4,212 morgen)

Daniel’s son Izak Andreas Andreas was born the 23^rd December 1844 on the farm Malanskraal near Heidelberg in the Transvaal. Izak Andreas married Cecilia Robinson on the 18^th December 1876. Izak Andreas and his younger brother Cornelius Johannes became the owners of the farm Elandsfontein in the district of Bethal when they bought it from Pieter Adrian Gouws in 1869 and on the 25^th November 1884. Izak Andreas, Cornelius Johannnes and their father-in-law William Robinson bought the adjacent farm Boschkrans from the estate of J J O’Neil and on the 10^th September 1885 the farm Schoonvlei also adjacent to Boschkrans from L T Fourie.

Izak Andreas also bought the farm De Wagendrift adjacent to his brothers David’s Kameeldoorn, his other brother’s Buffelsfontein and Stepahanus Petrus (1894-1923) Kalkfontein, near Groblersdal.

During the English war he was doing duty in the Bethal Commando up to his imprisonment when he and his son Izak Andreas were sent to Trichinopoly in India as prisoners of war.

Izak Andreas also had nine sons and five daughters and died on the 5^th September 1918 at the age of 74 of internal bleeding when a horse cart ran over his body.

Izak Andreas Malan’s 11^th child, Robert 1st was born the 7^th June 1883 and farmed on his father’s farm Boschkrans with his other brother Jacob Cornelius (1881). Robert died on the 19^th February 1919 at the early age of 26 years and his only son, Robert 2^nd was born on the 7^th May 1919, 3 months after his father’s death. Jacob Cornelis, Robert’s brother married his brother’s wife and raised his brother’s son on the farm Boschkrans in the Bethal district.

Robert 2^nd decided not to carry on with the farm but to study forestry at Saasveld College in George. After successfully completed his studies Robert 2^nd was stationed in Graskop as a forester and later met Martha Catharina van Wyk girl at the farm, now known as Mac- Mac. Their 2^nd child, Robert 3^rd was born in Sabie in the 16h April 1946.  Robert 2^nd died on the 5^th December 1960 at the age 41 not as a farmer but as a business man with his own sawmill near Nelshoogte between Barberton & the well- known Badplaas holiday resort.

When Robert 2^nd died his children did not inherit any farms or money. As a young boy, Robert 3rd at the age of 14 years showed interest in farming. A friend of the family, Francois Greeff de Jager a farmer in the Barberton area who knew his father, offered a helping hand and looked after him. At that early age Robert 3^rd promised himself that he will one day buy his own farm in the Barberton area which he loved so much. He then stared to work as a clerk for the Sun Alliance Assurance Company in Johannesburg and saved as much money as he could to study agriculture. After one year he had enough money for his first semester at Agricultural College and with the assistance of his life-long friend in Barberton and an English lady Bertha Tarling from Bloemfontein, as well as bursaries, completed his studies and obtained his Diploma in Agriculture. He then started work with the Landbank and kept on studying agriculture as well as law.

Robert 3^rd married Hester Petronella (Estelle) Jordaan a teacher and the only child Robert Malan 4^th was born at Vereeniging on the 15^th February 1974.

Robert 3rd joined C May & Co in 1970 who later became Mayford Seed Company as a junior clerk also carrying seed bags from time to time. Whilst working very hard at the seed company he kept on studying and within two years, were promoted to director of this company. A position he held for 3 years. During this time on the 15^th February 1974 his only son Robert 4^th was born at a small holding at Walkerville near Johannesburg.

Robert 3^rd left the employment of Mayford Seed to start pig farming in the Ermelo District. Within one year a disease broke out and all the pigs had to be shot. He then decided to move to Vryheid where he bought a small farm and Calvert general dealer store. He also produced vegetables which was sold on the Durban market. After experiencing matrimonial difficulties, he sold the property and accepted a position at Sentraoes in Ficksburg as Field Officer. He resigned within a year and took up the position as Branch Manager for Starke Ayres in Pretoria in 1978, the oldest seed company in South Africa. The position was granted to him on the clear understanding that he must bring the branch into profit within 6 months and if not, the company will close the branch and the staff will be retrenched. Robert Malan 3^rd divorced Estelle in 1979 and married Maria Elizabeth Bierman (Marie) on the 9^th October 1980 and their only child Marcia Malan was born on the 19^th February 1984 in Pretoria.

Robert 3rd started selling seeds, hired reps, one of which was Francois Greeff de Jager his life- long friend and expanded the business and within six months were asked by the board of the company to take it slow because most of the stocks were sold out. Three years after he joined Starke Ayres, he was appointed to the board of directors of Starke Ayres (Pty) Ltd and assumed his duties as the National Marketing Director, a position he held for six years.

Robert 3^rd then resigned in 1988 to start his own seedling nursery in Pretoria expanding rapidly and within two years in 1990 he bought the farm Sassenheim, which he promised himself to do, 30 years ago.

He developed the farm, producing tones of vegetables as well as a seedling nursery after the seedling nursey in Pretoria was sold for a very good profit. The seedling nursery in Barberton produced seedlings that were sold to nurseries in Gauteng and Mpumalanga. In 1997 the farm was sold to the Department of Land Affairs which is now a massive squatter camp as highlighted in our first blog.

Early one morning on the 6th January 1995, whilst working on his loaded ten ton truck, the truck moved forward and ran over his body. His son Robert 4th and stepson Mias Bierman took him to hospital. He was hospitalizes for 21 days in the ICU in Nelspruit. After he sold the farm Sassenheim in Barberton in 1997 he bought a small farm, Mountain Valley near Plettenberg Bay. It took nearly 10 years to recover from this accident. In 2006 he again wanted to farm and bought the farm Melkhoutbosch in the Humansdorp district, from Johan Zietsman.

Robert Malan 4^th the only son of Robert 3^rd, was brutally murdered by three black men on the 7^th February 2013 and the irony thereof is that nothing of any value was stolen. These men shot him in cold blood at the early age of just 39.

Robert Malan 3^rd (1946) second child, Marcia Malan was born on the 19^th February 1984. Marcia studied agriculture at Stellenbosch University and obtained her master’s degree in animal husbandry on the 10th March 2009. Marcia Malan proceeded with her PhD for two years but did not complete it. Marcia Malan was awarded the Koos van der Merwe prize for the most outstanding student in animal nutrition at a South African University. Marcia Malan obtained practical experience on her father’s farm Melkhoutbosch for a few years and then was appointed as Animal Nutritionist at the Humansdorp Cooperative. She married Gerhard du Preez also a farmer and Professional Hunter in 2017.

Robert Malan 4th (1974-2013) only son, Robert 5^th was born on the 23^rd May 1998 in Barberton. He matriculated at Nico Malan High School in Humansdorp and is now working on a very small game farm in the Timbavati near the Kruger National Park, and claims to obtain practical experience in this industry.

Since 1688 when Jacques Malan arrived in this country, the Malan family has been involved in Agriculture in South Africa.  As for a few exceptions, most of the Malan families were farmers at heart and now in 2019, 331 years later it seems that this centuries-long profession and their properties will be stripped from these farmers in South Africa to allow for the expropriation of their farms without compensation, to allow the disadvantaged black South Africans to receive these farms free of charge.

Must these farms the Malans developed during the centuries only be regarded as undesired inheritance? Or must they at least be thanked for the centuries contribution they made to agriculture in South Africa?

The 1^st question is:   Must black South Africans receive land without compensation as restitution for the atrocities of our great- great-great- great- grandfather, Jacques Malan who had 32 slaves and David Malan’s, son who had 27 slaves between 1694 and 1792?

If the answer is in the affirmative, then the 2^nd question is: Will our grand children’s children also be compensated for the atrocities of the three black men who killed Robert 3rd son in cold blood in 2013?

The only atrocity or acts of immorality our ancestors committed was the slaves they either employed or possessed. They were awarded some of the farms as they were promised by the Dutch East India Company who encouraged Huguenots to emigrate to the Cape because most of them were highly trained experienced farmers. David Malan (1751-1824) bought the farm Vergelegen. All the farms they possessed since 1836, when they left the Cape Colony was purchased. They did not kill anybody or stole any property to own the farms they developed.

The above story above indicates that one does not have to inherit, or steal a farm, to own a farm and be successful. One does not have to kill another person to receive a farm, or for that matter to receive anything at all! One does not have to rely on the government to own a farm through restitution, expropriation with or without compensation. The only attributes that will allow you to possess a farm and farm profitable are:

• The love for animals, plants and the soil.
• The qualifications and the experience even should it takes 30 years to obtain that knowledge.
• Hard work.
• Perseverance.
• Patience even if it takes 30 years.
• Good human relations with your staff and customers.
• Faith.

Food for thought for those black people and the government who will receive farms through the Expropriation Without Compensation Act and seeks access through this Act to a profitable future on our farms which we developed for centuries that will now be expropriated without compensation:

• Before the so called “British Colonialists” came to this country, large portions of the land, which now belong to either the government, companies and or private individuals belonged to our neighboring countries.

• If our government expropriate land in South Africa without compensation, the South African government must also accept that Lesotho will also have a valid claim to half of the Free State.

• Botswana might claim the North West Province,

• Swaziland might also claim most of Mpumalanga and Northern Kwa Zulu Natal.

• The purchase price of successful farms is much less than the money it took to develop those farms. Hopefully the government will undertake to provide the capital to develop the infrastructure and working capital on the thousands of farms that will be expropriated without compensation. If not, those farms will not be able to produce and our previous farm in Barberton is a living example of this fact.

• Hopefully private banks will finance the capital and working expenses on the expropriated farms without bonds as collateral security if the farms belong to the government.

• More than often banks back the jockey of the farm and look at his/her qualifications and experiences in the agricultural sector before bonds and or production loans are considered.

• WHAT YOU SOW YOU WILL REAP!!!