The nineteenth century Wesleyan mission station of Platberg on the Caledon was situated in the turbulent frontier zone of the Caledon River Valley where arrivals of Bastard groups in Transorangia became a regular occurrence from the 1820s and 1830s. They were well equipped with horses, guns and ammunition and wagons, an essential possession in the business of trade. The focus of my research falls on the Dutch speaking Bastards of Platberg, under the leadership of Captain Carolus Baatjes, during the time they resided at the Platberg on the Caledon Wesleyan mission station from 1833 to approximately 1865.

The Bastards had left the Cape colony seeking a life free from colonial restraint and are first mentioned in the 1833 accounts of the Wesleyan missionary station at Platberg on the Vaal which served the Rolong, Griqua and Korana people. All that we currently know about the Platberg Bastards reflects the views of the colonials recorded in missionary and official government documents, as well as traveller accounts, in other words, the views of outsiders of the Bastard society. By drawing on historical sources and from a careful archaeological investigation of this site, the changing settlement patterns, variable economic fortunes, and the sometimes precarious political history of the site will hopefully be uncovered giving us a richer and more rounded insight into the lives of the Platberg Bastards.


Plaatberg Wesleyan Missionary Station.
Image courtesy Shelona Klatzow.