Family ties, friendships and decades of memories came flooding back as over 500 former residents of Bingo Farm, now known as Shaka’s Head, reunited on Sunday.

People who grew up in the neighbouring communities of Compensation, Taffeni, Salt Rock and Shakaskraal also joined to celebrate their shared heritage at the Scout Hall in Townsend Park.

Co-organiser Marcus Munien said the event was first proposed by Shakaskraal councillor Doeshiee Govender in 2020, but that the Covid-19 pandemic halted plans.

“This is the very first reunion that we’re having together. This year we decided it had to happen,” said Munien.

He described Bingo Farm as a close-knit rural community where neighbours supported one another and families shared what they had. Many residents worked for the Padayachee family, while others farmed their own land, growing vegetables, bananas, mangoes and nuts to support their households.

One of the Padayachee sons, Dr Deena Padayachee, a medical doctor and award-winning author, reflected on the community’s humble beginnings and the role his family played in developing the area.

He recalled how his father and uncles built a sawmill business that created jobs and helped establish the R.A. Padayachee State-Aided Primary School in 1952. It remains the only school in Shaka’s Head, which many of those at the Bingo Farm reunion attended.

“They built and maintained the school while the education department provided the teachers. It was a rural area and life was not always easy, but it was a wonderful community,” said Padayachee.

Councillor Govender, who also grew up in Bingo Farm, agreed.

“We suffered and lived in Bingo Farm, but we never forgot our roots. Bingo Farm people made it in life,” he said, while proposing the creation of a trust to support former residents in need.

Reunion attendees capped off the afternoon by exchanging stories, sharing photographs and remembering those who passed away.