Update
PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - It is time for history enthusiasts to delve into Plettenberg Bay's history again, this time going back almost 400 years.
The Van Plettenberg Historical Society will be hosting a talk on the ill-fated São Gonçalo, a Portuguese trading ship that went under in Plettenberg Bay in 1630, and the plucky sailors who survived the ordeal.
At the helm will be raconteur and Van Plettenberg Historical Society committee member David Hall-Green, who will share the stories of the sailors who became the first Europeans to settle in the area.
There were more than 200 sailors on board the São Gonçalo, which was carrying a cargo of pepper, on the return leg from India to Portugal. They stopped in Plettenberg Bay to make some repairs to the ship, when a massive storm rolled into the bay and claimed the ship as well as 150 of the crew.
Hall-Green says about 100 survivors managed to swim ashore where they made the Piesang Valley their home for about eight months and befriended the Khoisan. Despite the tragedy, the sailors built a church and spent their time building two boats from the remains of the São Gonçalo and timber harvested from the surrounding forest.
Before they left Plett, they planted a stone marker (padrão) on the shore. This was the first "Plett beacon" and was re-discovered in 1980. It bore the inscription "Here was lost the ship São Gonçalo in the year 1630".
The survivors were eventually picked up by other Portuguese ships, but this ended in more tragedy for some, as one of the ships sank just at it entered the Lisbon harbour. Everyone on board, including some of the survivors of the São Gonçalo, lost their lives.
To hear more about this remarkable piece of the area's history, those interested can attend the talk between 18:00 and 20:00 on 16 February at the Formosa Garden Village.
Tickets are available through Quicket or from Barney's Kiosk at the Market Square Shopping Centre.
For more information, contact Len Swimmer on 082 452 1799.
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