‘Four!’… they are jolly good fellows

HISTORY is probably the subject school children in general hate the most.

The young are a more ‘now’ sort of people. Who cares what mistakes the ‘ballies’ made ‘yesterday’? They want to make their own mistakes ‘today’ (and hopefully learn from them, of course.)

Then, years down the track, one suddenly takes a natural interest in the History Channel on DStv and the ‘remember when’ type features and columns in newspapers. Go figure!

Unfortunately, the South Coast doesn’t feature prominently in the grand scheme of things and one has to dig to find worthwhile literature. A few books written are not exactly best sellers, but our museum historians do take their jobs seriously.

It takes a special event to wake everyone up to the fact that much of our past is buried with the many colourful characters who pioneered this stretch of paradise.

The Port Shepstone Country Club is currently wrestling with this dilemma: Everyone thinks that this is the club’s centenary year, but nobody is really sure. The club decided to go with the flow anyway and is standing by the majority view that it was born in 1915. If anyone can prove otherwise, so what?

At least they are commemorating a historic event and some of the older members are congregating at a special dinner this Saturday to recount their memories of yesteryear.

Some might not ‘let the facts get in the way of a good story’, but it promises to be a history-making occasion anyway.

‘Sheppy’, as the club is fondly known by many, has a ‘good story to tell’ (contrary to what one might hear in Parliament these days).

Inside the Herald this week is a special feature with a different slant on the club’s history.

Sweady Chetty was only allowed on the course as a caddie in the bad old days of apartheid. Today he is on the Executive Committee.

His old mate Peppy Govender actually caddied for Prime Minister John Vorster.

More recently, Peppy (now a top official with the Hibiscus Coast Municipality) graces the accolades boards as a club champion.

Sheppy has survived countless floods over the years yet it is still regarded as a ‘gem’ in golfing and bowling circles. It’s a true asset to the ‘Golf Coast’ and it’s up to the younger golfers to see the club through the next 100 years.

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