Page 16 - Bulletin 9 2005

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Open hostility was not the rule for shipwreck survivors. In many cases those who survived
wrecks were assisted generously by local people and in many cases were readily accepted

and integrated into the resident populations. The stories of Bess and other Europeans who
integrated into African communities are well known.

In various instances the people living along the coast worked together with those stationed
at the outposts dotted along the shore. In the case of the Gouden Buys, a Dutch East

Indiaman wrecked near Saldanha Bay in 1693, survivors were assisted to the outposts by
Khoi in the employment of the Dutch. The fate of the Gouden Buys demonstrates a further

scourge faced by seafarers, that of disease. The ship left Holland on 4 May 1693, but by the
time the she had reached the Equator, only 30 of the crew of 190 were fit for duty By

Saldanha Bay, just a day’s sail from the Cape, not enough crewmen could be mustered to

sail the ship and it was necessary to drop anchor to seek assistance by land. Only two men
survived the voyage, one rescued by the Khoi-Khoi, the other forced to eat his travelling

companions when they died. For those on board ship, help arrived too late. The vessel

became a tomb. The ship remained at anchor for about two months before finally dragging
her anchors and running aground. It was not until a month later that she was finally pushed

far enough ashore by spring tides to be declared irretrievable.

Although Khoi-Khoi assistance came too late for those on board the Gouden Buys, the fact
that assistance was offered helps historians and researchers understand how various aspects

of South Africa’s history have been shaped by contemporary social norms and popular

attitudes, and there are countless examples of how this has taken place. The Dutch, for
example, seem to have integrated more readily with local communities than the British or

Portuguese. When the Haerlem was wrecked in Table Bay in 1647, the Dutch survivors and
local inhabitants established friendly relationships that were mutually beneficial. These

good relations, amongst other factors such as the availability of water and arable farming
land, resulted in the establishment of the refreshment station at the Cape five years later.

Although relations soured, the initial mind-set of the Dutch allowed a degree of acceptance