Danny Brink has panned his last nugget
Throughout his time in Barberton, Danny contributed tremendously to the tourist scene.
BARBERTON – Daniel Alexander Henry Brink, better known as Danny, has left an indelible imprint on the Barberton landscape. The septuagenarian lived a varied life, first making international headlines as a 20-year-old cyclist.
According to those who knew and worked closely with Brink, he had a number of pursuits which he was passionate about. His passing last Friday at age 72 leaves a void in the local tourism industry which will be hard to fill.
Danny was an avid cyclist in his twenties and competed in the 100-kilometre World Cycling Amateur Road Race Championships in Ghent, Belgium. He tackled the race with the same infectious enthusiasm he put into gold panning, which became his passion when he settled in Barberton.
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Once settled, he and Vic Nelson of the Bougainvillea Hotel organised gold-panning expeditions for tourists. As the years progressed, his interest in gold panning would lead to a win at the South African Gold Panning Championships at Pilgrim’s Rest in 2007. His prize for this feat was an all-expenses paid trip to Spain the following year, in which he pitted his skills against 75 gold panners.
He fared quite well and notched up a 15th place before scooping second place in the semi-finals and winning gold in the final. Danny participated in the proficient men’s division and won gold with a fiveperson team, which included Ivan Coetzee, Christine Rowe, Eugene Swanepoel and Anne-Marie Kihn.
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Throughout his stay in Barberton, Danny contributed immensely to local tourism and was not averse to imparting his knowledge of gold panning to novices eager to take a stab at it. According to Barberton Adventures’ Andréa Botha, his other, lesser known hobbies included darts, at which he was a formidable player.
Danny is survived by his mother, brother, sister and partner, Rika Styger. A memorial service for him will be held at the Methodist Church in Barberton at 10:00 for friends and family to bid him a last farewell.
