One of the interesting stories
told by Kobus Reichert, guest speaker at our meeting on 25 July, dealt with Dawid Stuurman. Kobus is the heritage co-ordinator of the Gamtkwa Khoisan Council.
Dawid Stuurman played a key role in the Khoi Rebellion, or Third Frontier War, which lasted from 1799 to 1803. He was born near the Gamtoos River in the Eastern Cape in 1773.
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| The Gamtoos Valley, birthplace of Dawid Stuurman |
The farm on which Dawid Stuurman was born belonged to Van Reenen;
however, when the land was given to Hilgert Mulder in 1778, Stuurman and his
family were kicked off the property. It has been reported that Stuurman went
on to labour on the Vermaak property in the Hankey area until he joined the
ranks to fight in the Khoi Rebellion, although this has not been confirmed.
The Khoi Rebellion was as a result of the terrible
injustices against Khoi farm workers at the hands of their bosses. These
workers were beaten and abused, sometimes to the point of death. The
Rebellion continued for four years, but the farmers eventually managed to
beat the Khoi people into compliance, at the cost of many lives.
In December 1803, Stuurman was appointed Captain of the
army. This position was superior to that of a Chief, and Stuurman was
responsible for several fighters in ranks beneath him. Many Khoi were
enlisted at this time and this caused much friction. Stuurman spent much time
in contact with Uitenhage’s landdrost, Colonel Jacob Cuyler, the Bethelsdorp
missionaries and the Xhosa people, but when Cuyler suggested that Stuurman
and his men fight for the British, Stuurman refused. Cuyler felt that Dawid
Stuurman spent too much time with the Xhosa people of the region, and, as
Cuyler increasingly set his heart upon the Gamtoos
River region, he eventually ousted
Stuurman to Cape Town.
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| Jacob Cuyler |
It was around this time that a Boer Commando tried to
seize two of Stuurman’s people after their refusing to work following the
expiration of their contract terms with a local farmer. Stuurman was
relentless in his refusal to hand the men over to the Boer Commando and this
proved to be one of the many occasions that people experienced the vicious
temper for which Stuurman became notorious. Eventually, the Commando gave up
his efforts. However, when Cuyler found out about Stuurman and his fellow
Khoi people’s brazen defiance in the face of a white man’s demands, he was
furious.
It was this final act of Khoi Khoi rebellion that drove
Cuyler to his next step. He conspired with one of the Boere that Stuurman
considered to be a friend to invite Stuurman and some fellow Khoi soldiers to
his house. Once they were all welcomed inside, the doors were shut behind
them, the hidden men jumped out and most of the Khoi Khoi were captured. From
here, Dawid Stuurman, as well as several members of his family (including his
brother, Bosman), was sent to Cape
Town.
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| Robben Island |
In the Cape, he was
charged with “suspicious conduct” and given a life sentence. Jail was no
match for this crafty freedom fighter and he and Bosman escaped. Bosman was
soon captured, but Dawid joined the Xhosa fighters in Zuurveld. He partook in
the Fifth Frontier War, which lasted from 1818 to 1819. It was during this
battle that he was again captured, this time to be sent to Robben Island
off the coast of Cape Town.
After only a year on Robben Island,
Stuurman, together with some thirty other Xhosa and Khoi Khoi prisoners,
escaped using three whaling boats. En route, the boat that Stuurman was on
tipped over. Only those who could swim had any hope of survival. Stuurman had
learned to swim and even helped one of the whalers to reach shore safely. It
was this act of courage that spared him from execution on his recapture.
Realising that Stuurman was, indeed, a force with which to be reckoned, he
was exiled to Sydney in New South Whales, Australia, in
1823. He remained in Australia
until his death in 1830, at only 57 years of age.
(Reproduced from the website of the South End Museum. Click here to access the article.)
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