'Gone in the wink of an eye': fire leaves historic farmstead in World Heritage Site in ruins

The historic Ratelrivier farmstead in the Agulhas National Park, a Unesco World Heritage Site built in the early 1800s, was destroyed on Sunday by a fire fanned by gale-force winds. 

“Within a wink of an eye the fire went right through the place,” Salie Davids, one of the partners who was running the farm as a tourist concession granted by SANParks in 2016, told TimesLIVE on Monday. 

“It took about half an hour for the whole roof to burn down. The big house is completely down. It’s terrible, terrible, terrible, but what can you do. Thanks to the Almighty nobody was hurt,” said Davids, a Cape Town businessman. 

He said it was not known what had sparked the fire. “All of a sudden the roof started burning.” 

Asked if it was possibly a braai fire out of control, Davids said: “I don’t know my friend. Only God knows, hey.”

He said the building, which had a thatched roof, was too badly damaged to be repaired. “I don’t think they can restore it. They can’t fix the walls because the walls are so badly damaged. There’s nothing we can do now, we just have to wait for the insurance people to come out.” 

Davids and his concession partners — Greg Louw and Fikiswe Fesi — have been locked in a legal battle with SANParks since 2021, when their contract was terminated. The partners continued to operate their tourism business regardless, and late last year SANParks hired lawyers to obtain an eviction order. 

SANParks' head of communications, JP Louw, said in an email to TimesLIVE the fire destroyed three buildings. “Firefighters from Overstrand fire and rescue services, along with SANParks park rangers, assisted in fire suppression efforts and the protection of the remaining three structures on the property. Though the fire has been contained, the cause of the fire is still under investigation.” 

Asked about the status of the legal proceedings, Louw said: “SANParks is awaiting a court date regarding the litigation process.” 

Police spokesperson Capt FC van Wyk said “foul play” was not suspected as the cause of the fire. 

The tourism concession was originally granted to Yzerfontein lawyer Sakkie de Villiers and Fesi, a Cape Town entrepreneur, in 2016. De Villiers soon transferred his interest to Fesi, who formed a joint venture to operate it with Louw, a community activist from Hangberg in Hout Bay, and Davids. 

In the 1830s, a slave who was abused by the then owner is said to have placed a curse on the property, which was first settled by colonists in the mid-1700s. 

In 1871 the new owner shot his wife dead in a fit of jealousy after she had danced too closely with a guest at a party in the mansion. The murder features in novels by Dalene Matthee (Driftwood) and Chanette Paul (Murasie). 

Owners since then have included English gentry who imported foxhounds for hunting events. 

TimesLIVE