26.Bee Jordaan and the Montagu Museum Archive
A creative lady who introduced a lasting legacy…
Updated 23/09/2024
In 2024 a plaque is erected outside the Montagu museum archive to remember Bee
Paul Fouche (2024): Hoe goed onthou ek nie die diep menslike, hoogs gekwalifiseerde en intelligente dr. Jordaan nie! Mev. Bee Jordaan se teenwoordigheid in die biblioteek was genoeg om stilte, orde en netheid onder ons woelige klomp skoolkinders te handhaaf. Ons was maar skrikkerig vir haar, want sy het Engels gepraat. In die vyftiger- en sestigerjare was Engels as skoolvak op Montagu al erg genoeg! Tydens ‘n sangdiens het ons eers, aangenaam verras, mev. Bee Jordaan as talentvolle violis beleef. Helaas die eerste en laaste keer waarvan ek weet. Na Dr. Jordaan se dood het ons ‘n roerende briefie van haar ontvang. So waarderend teenoor ons as pasiënte en mense. Pa het graag met die opbrengs van sy tuin gaan spog en dr. Jordaan het nie geskroom om my nader te trek vir herstelwerk nie. Wonderlik om twee besondere mense se nalatenskap met so ‘n verering te laat voortleef.
Johnny Verrynne (2024): Dr. Jordaan was versot op jag en het gereeld op Keurfontein ons Karoo plaas gejag, sy as is ook daar gestrooi. Mrs. Bee asked that the ashes be “spread on top of the world”. The ash spreading ceremony was done privately by Mrs. Bee and Dr. Jordaan’s two sons by his first marriage Paul and Robert.
MONTAGU MUSEUM ARCHIVE A LITTLE KNOW TREASURE
Introduction
The Montagu Museum complex currently occupies two properties, Joubert House and Die Ou Sendingkerk (The Old Mission Church) both in Long Street Montagu. These are both theme museums.
A shop selling a range of herbal products and other items is to be found in Die Ou Sendingkerk.
In addition and due to lack of space Museum Management has created two offsite campuses, the KWV centre stores artifacts for the museum and the Montagu High School acts as custodian for Montagu Springboks memorabilia. Unfortunately as a result of the space problems many donated/collected physical artifacts cannot be displayed.
Interestingly space constraints are an international problem for most museums and only between 5% and 10% of their collections are on display at any one time.
Behind the Old Mission Church stands a building which houses many treasures for both the professional and amateur researcher. The building was originally built as a mother’s nursing room for the church. Housed in this building today is the Montagu Museum Archive which contains books, documents and pictures/photographs collected/donated over many years by both dedicated museum staff and members of the public. Access to this treasure trove by interested persons is by appointment only and a small hourly rate is levied for its use. The office of the Montagu Museum Manager can be contacted to arrange an appointment. The archive is what one would expect to find in a small country town and prospective visitors should come fully equipped with their own personal resources.
ENTRANCE TO MONTAGU MUSEUM ARCHIVE
HISTORY
Over the years since its opening the archive has grown in terms of the material which has been collected or donated. However the main role players who can be credited with creating and maintaining this resource for the town are the many volunteer workers who have diligently looked after the resource over the years. Two of the key role players in the establishment of the Montagu Museum Archive was Mrs. Bee Jordaan with her co-worker Alta Sadie.
These two ladies started the concept of an archive in the Montagu Library. A “Plak Boek” system was introduced which became a storage area of newspaper clippings of events that could be linked to Montagu. This amazing resource was then handed over to the museum for safe keeping. Arguably this is today (2021) the most comprehensive collection of Montagu history.
A short background story on Mrs. Bee follows in this article.
THE ARCHIVE BUILDING IN THE BACKGROUND
THE “PLAK BOEK” COLLECTION IN THE ARCHIVE
MRS. B. JORDAAN
Article by Miss. P. Frost Regional Librarian of Robertson Region.
Mrs. B. Jordaan
1915 – 1990
In 1915 in the university town of Chang Cha in China, there was born a baby girl known to the Chinese as Kia Neng (“Added Grace”). Her parents were pioneer missionaries who, because they went into areas where no white face had ever been seen before, dressed as Chinese, pigtails and all. At the age of two, “Added Grace “was taken home on the Trans- Siberian railway, stored in a basket on the luggage rack, a journey which lasted six weeks. When they reached Bergen in Norway, her mother narrowly escaped imprisonment; the Germans thought that her knitting patterns were in code! Even when they did eventually leave, because of the submarine-infested waters it took a fortnight to cross the North Sea.
After this adventurous beginning, Mrs. Beryl (Bee) Jordaan led a comparatively settled existence in Bedford, England, attending school there till the age of eighteen. Thereafter, she studied at the Royal College of Music, London, for three years, under no less eminent a figure than Sir Malcolm Sargeant, at that time conductor of their orchestra. Since teaching had little appeal for her, and since, as she puts it, she was no Yehudi Menuhin, she took a year’s journalistic and secretarial course In London. In 1939 she married a Dane and sailed with him for Denmark two days before war broke out. In their first home in Aartus, in Jutland, they watched the German army walk in. The following year they moved to Copenhagen, where they joined the Danish Resistance movement.
I have sat entranced, listening to stories Mrs. Jordaan tells of her experiences of the years that followed; hair-raising stories of how they sheltered in their home four French prisoners of war who had jumped a train; of a Danish Saboteur who having just blown up a German train was running for his life and spent three nights with them; of a Royal Navy Commander who had somehow escaped from a concentration camp on an island. Having been hidden by them for six weeks, he met a tragic end when his dinghy was sunk by a German patrol boat within sight of the Swedish coast and freedom.
Mrs. Jordaan remained in Denmark till 1951, when she came on holiday to South Africa for four months. It was on her way back to England that she met her second husband, Dr. Jordaan. And it was at his suggestion that, having worked for some time in Essex in an electrical factory, she eventually returned to Cape Town,
It was at this point that she made her debut into the library world, By virtue of her music degree she was employed by the Cape Town City Library Service to compile the record catalogue for the first record library in Cape Town – perhaps in the whole of South Africa. When the Long Street Branch (now the Wale Street Branch) opened, she worked in the record library and behind the counter.
In 1956 Dr. and Mrs. Jordaan moved to Montagu, and she wrote to the old subscription library committee, telling them of the Provincial Library Service with which she had become acquainted through Mr. Hood, Chief City Librarian at that time, and Dr. Frits himself. Though she became a member of the library committee in 1958, it was not until 1961 that Montagu joined the Library Service. Mrs. Jordaan has always been regarded as one of the most colourful personalities in the Robertson Region, and there was general rejoicing when In December 1966, she relinquished the Chairmanship of the library committee to become librarian in charge. She had, in the meantime, become a South African citizen, the first ever to be “done” in Montagu.
Mrs. Jordaan is a woman of many talents. She is conversant in French, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian, and she is now learning Afrikaans. Besides her obvious musical abilities she is a newspaper correspondent and book reviewer . She has a wealth of historical knowledge and several of her articles about interesting figures of South African history have been published in magazines. Furthermore she has written a book which is waiting for possible South African publication. She is also busy condensing it for magazine publication.
Its subject is a Scottish Congregational missionary, James Cameron, who fled from Madagascar in the 19th century because of troubles there, came to the Cape and became Town Engineer of Cape Town.
Thanks to her efforts, Montagu’s history is all recorded in the archives that she has built up; any newspaper article or photograph pertaining to Montagu or district – it all goes in. Browsing through the Montagu Museum archives is a fascinating experience; one comes across all manner of interesting tit-bits of Montagu’s past, of how people lived and moved and had their being in the olden days, incidents that would probably have been lost to posterity had it not been for Mrs. Jordaan’s interest. An objective she did not manage to achieve was the compilation of the history of Montagu and district, based on these materials.
Mrs. Jordaan’s unflagging energy, vitality, liveliness and delightful sense of humour, made visits to the Montagu Library/Archive a real pleasure. With Mrs. Jordaan in the vicinity, no one can ever complain of life being dull – certainly not the regional staff which is kept on its toes coping with the results of the periodic “Operation spring-clean'”. Working with her, both while she was Chairman and since she has become librarian/archivist has been an enriching experience. Long may it continue?
Published in the Cape Librarian May 1967
Mrs Jordaan wrote The SPLINTERED CRUCIFIX which was published in 1969 and it described the unique history on the life and work of nineteenth-century Protestant missionaries of Madagascar and the Cape.
She also wrote and unsuccessfully tried to get published a book on the life and times of Prince Alfred “Affie”, the 2nd son of Queen Victoria. After her book was repeatedly rejected by publishers she teamed up with another writer from the U.K. and they were able to get the book published in England. Alas, no copy of this book is currently available.
Mrs Bee also became a South African citizen in 1966.
Mrs Bee as she was known around the village, soon became part of the community, despite being one of the few English speakers in a predominantly Afrikaans/Calvinistic society. Despite not being able to “praat the taal” she somehow communicated with the locals and was quickly accepted.
MRS. Bee. (2ND LEFT) ATTENDING A LOCAL FUNDRAISER IN MONTAGU
Bee (right) WITH THE LOCAL SHOOTING CLUB
Names on the back of the picture. Bee extreme right
Picture: F/B History of Montagu/Stefani Simons
Montagu author Yvonne Bussell had the following to say about Mrs Jordaan in her book “Vroue van Montagu 1900-2000”:
“Bee het daarna na Suid-Afrika toe gekom en in 1955 die eerste musiek-bibliotekaresse van die Langstraat-biblioteek in Kaapstad geword. In 1956 het sy met Dr. Japie Jordaan van Montagu getrou. Gou het sy die bibliotekaresse van die plaaslike biblioteek geword. Sy het hier ʼn onskatbare bydrae tot die bewaring van Montagu se geskiedenis gelewer deurdat sy die Montagu-argief by die Museum begin het. Die Engelssprekende “Mrs Bee” was alombekend en het gemaklik met die Afrikaanssprekende publiek gekommunikeer”.
During the middle of 1970 Mrs. Bee’s children convinced her to return to Denmark due to the political situation in South Africa. She continued with her diverse interests writing a book and co-authoring another. She also got involved with helping refugees from African countries who found themselves in Denmark.
She passed away in Denmark during 1990.
MRS. Bee. ENJOYING HER GARDEN IN DENMARK
On 19 June 2020 the email below was received from Piet Draiby (79), (Bee’s son from her first marriage) who is still living in Denmark together with his wife Kirsten. They have 3 “kids” all around 50 and he is now a 5-time grandfather and is a retired Psychiatrist.
To quote him he says “living the good life enjoying that Denmark has come through Covid-19 in full control, reopening magically with no 2. wave till now”.
A MESSAGE FROM PIET DRAIBY
Some thoughts after reading your short background story about my mother Bee Jordaan.
To you who have taken care to preserve and work for expanding the knowledge of the Archives, the Bee Jordaan Archive – and written about it!
I am deeply moved and proud – on behalf of my mother – to read your story about her, seeing, appreciating and even loving her many qualities and talents as they unfolded and bloomed in your caring society. I think that you all were allowing and acknowledging agents creating the ambience securing probably the longest and most fruitful period of Bee’s life. My deepest and most heartfelt thank you.
It must have been great fun as well as fruitful for you and your society – as your initiative now fully reflects.
Starting out from South China on the Trans-Siberian train – as a two-year old never to see her father again. Experiences perhaps formative to her destiny (she wouldn’t use that word though) of searching restlessness as well as giving her the guts (and intelligence and humour!!) to meet so many challenges that others created for her – and she created for herself.
In many ways also a very hard life, Bee’s, full of farewells, loss and uncertainty that some of you might know. But let’s not go down that lane at this time of joy. There is so much more to celebrate!
Bee’s multifaceted life would be worth a novel.
A BUTTONHOLE FLOWER FOR THE BIG OCCASION
THE ARCHIVIST – SPEECH OF THANKS WITH MAYOR EWIE BASSON
THE PRESENTATION BOUQUET
L/R MRS. B. JORDAAN, MISS BABSIE VAN ZYL, MISS K. BOTHA, MISS J. UYS
S.A.B.C. broadcast 17/03/1965 “Africana Magazine”
AMATEUR ARCHIVES, or How we did it at Montagu.
We first began to collect the Montagu Archives in 1963 when Montagu town was 122 years old. The land deed of the first farm, “Uitvlugt” was granted to one Pieter Swanepoel who came over the mountains from Wellington, by Sir George Napier, then Commander and Governor of the Settlement of the Cape of Good Hope. It is dated 1841 and comprised a piece of land – now Montagu town – containing one thousand four hundred and forty eight morgen and fifty square roods, for the price of three pounds sterling, later known as Erf number one and today worth about a million rand.
The obvious place to house any historical printed material was the local Public Library, which is practically an archive in itself, being a converted town house built about 1070. It is the cultural centre of the town and a place where everyone meets everyone.
So the hunt was up and we got hot on the trail. We put up notices. We went to 3aler. We called on old people and climbed up their rickety ladders into dusty lofts. We organized a floating trophy at the local High School for the pupil who collected the most material. It is a sad fact that the young are not in the least interested in history, and the one child who is,out of 277 pupils wins the Archive Cup year after year.
Very soon we had people leaving boxes of what they called ”junk” on our stoeps. How often we heard:”If only I had known you could have had my grandpappi’s albums and papers,but we burnt the lot last week”. In fact whenever we even smelt a bonfire we feared the worst, and were usually right. In the beginning the work was wrought with excitement and joy, exasperation and tears.
But now the material had to be selected, sorted, cleaned and in some case ironed flat, classified and above all identified and dated. Identification and dating are enough to drive anyone quite crazy. People can be remarkably inaccurate and remarkably annoyed if you put Oom Piet instead of Oom Paul and 1888 instead of 1889.
Photographers were certainly busy in the latter part of the last century. We have over 56O family groups, picnics, sports, funerals, ceremonies etc. We found a wonderful box of cartes-de-visites of unknown people, valuable from the point of view of Fashions from 1860 onwards, Amongst these attractive and neat size of prints we found many V.I.P.’s as well. There is one of the Crown Prince Imperial of France who was killed in the Zulu Wars in 1879,” and the crowning of Cetawayo the King of the Zulus by Sir Theophilus Shepstone in 1833; also Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh when he opened Table Bay Docks in 1360; Sir Bartle Frere, Governor of the Cape in 1877; Bishop Colenso the first Anglican Bishop of Natal; President Burgers in 1873; and that paragon of the British army,Field Marshal Viscount Garnet Wolseley,who captured Cetawayo in the 1870’s and whose name lives on in the expression ’’all Sir Garnet”.
Then came the problem of how to present these photographs, let alone make them presentable. The heavy cardboard mounts were cut off and gradually the waste-paper-basket weighed many pounds – pounds saved in more senses than one. We got sore hands trying to cut these mounts with scissors and in desperation borrowed a guillotine – then the work went like wildfire. We eventually decided on thick cardboard sheets as large as a single page of a newspaper, and the photos were stuck on with cold glue and pressed under six flat Irons which we bought for 10c at one of the sales. Typewritten legends were attached under each print and we designed a special cabinet to hold the lot. This cabinet is kept in the public part of the Library and although locked is available at all times.
Each sheet is in child-proof poylthene envelopes for safety. Each sheet is numbered and classified for easy reference under headings – The Very Beginning, Fashions, Church matters, Education, Sport, Recreation, Activities, Old and New Personalities, Doctors and the Hospital, Important Occasions, Old and New Montagu, the Elliott, Ravenscroft and Warner Collections which are mostly of houses and street scenes, Wine Festivals, the Montagu Nature Garden Overseas Botanists Visit in October 1963, and last but not least^Archive Day on September 11th 1963, when the official opening took place at the Library.
So much for the photographs. These could not be stuck down, so they are all at the moment in an alphabetical concertina file which works very well. Shirt and dress boxes filched from the local stores make splendid dust-proof containers and these are full of old newspapers and magazines, documents, maps, music, red plush albums, old Bibles, wine certificates etc. I should say here that Africans and Archives go firmly hand in hand. We unearthed a shiney set of the Boer War V. I. P.’s printed in Germany; and have our eye surreptitiously fixed on the Blood River prints still adorning a village wall here, so delightfully gruesome and popular in their day. We have a handsome leather album full of press-cuttings and photos and “rave” letters compiled by one of South Africa’s first Beauty Queens, Miss Mavis Alexander, in 1925. She was for a short time a schoolmistress here.
We have quite a few documents of interest, but not enough by any means. The Town papers are still housed in the Municipality; the DRC documents are in their central archives; The Divisional Council ones are in Pretoria. So it goes, and the eternal and vexing problem of how to stop this bleeding of a town’s soul taxes any enthusiastic archivist, however amateur.
Some of our more colourful material is permanently framed on the Library walls. Such as a photo of a bewhiskered Thomas Bain, son of Andrew Geddes, who constructed our Tunnel through solid rock at Cogmans Kloof at the western entrance to the town at the cost of £12,282.9s.4d., in 1877.
Then we have a sketch of the family Montagu crest with its explanation, highly technical and completely incomprehensible to the ordinary layman, written by the College of Arms, London, for which we were let off the usual fee of five guineas, as our request – and I quote – was ”in the nature of a public or antiquarian matter”. John Montagu, after whom the town was named, served at Waterloo and later became Colonial Secretary of the Cape of Good Hope in 1843. He was directly descended from the first Earl of Manchester who was created Baron Montagu of Kimbolton in the county of Huntington,England in 1620. This letter is signed by the Windsor Herald and is a unique archive.
We have also on show several contemporary photos of our own “white-walled beauty of the Cape” – our gabled town and farm houses dating from the Very Beginning. The real work is housed in seven ordinary Day-book ledgers which look the smallest part of the Collection to the uninitiated. These are classified as Montagu History now in its second volume; before 1963 which is full of titbits such as local stories, snaps, family trees etc.; Library History, District History and the all-important catalogues of photographs and general material.
In separate folders we have a copy of the Montagu St. Mildred’s Church of the Province Minute Book dated 1860, and the Building Committee Minutes dated 1869, all about the building of the present Anglican Church and the construction costs. Those were indeed the days – when bricks cost I7/- a thousand, a load of stones three shillings, and ’’putting on the roof” four pounds ten.
We have a history of Pietersfontein out in the district where they use the most curious Afrikaans words, written by one of the farmers Mr. J.F.D. Kriel. We have a short history of Montagu written by Mr. Andrew Hofmeyr one of the first lawyers here, and the son of Dr. Servaas Hofmeyr Montagu’s first Predikant in 1860.
Because of the acute lack of space in our present Library our old storeroom is now the Archives, and we recently bought an old glass-fronted kitchen cupboard at a sale for our 200-odd Africana books. These were rescued from the old Library which opened its doors in 1891. We have a full set of Theal and Cory, an early Churchill, and rare pamphlets and books on subjects as far apart as goldmining in the old days, and leprosy on Robben Island. We have too, an up-to-date Montagu Press Book, which is fondly looked after and fed by the two correspondents of the town.
This collection, after only two years is a continual source of entertainment, pleasure and interest to the whole town, and is fascinating work. The spate of material has now, rather thankfully, decreased, but weekly we get “new” old things. The public now knows where to bring their ’’junk”, and there are not so many bonfires. And always we remember that Today’s Montagu happenings will be Archives the Day
Contributions: Irma Jordaan
