Migrating from Keimoes to Karlien Park: Stories from “Coloured” South Africa

During the 1970s and 1980s, many “Coloured” people migrated from Keimoes in the now Northern Cape Province to Rustenburg, which is situated in what is now the North West Province. Rustenburg was the nearest large “city” to Keimoes and the distance these people travelled is about 800 kilometres. They did not migrate en masse, but as individuals or families, or individuals later joined by their families. Initially, they resided amongst Blacks in what is now Phokeng. Through the assistance of the then deputy mayor of Rustenburg, Mr Johan Beukes, a white man who had established a Werkskring (Working Circle) for doing missionary work among “Coloureds,” they obtained land to build a church near the “white dorp” of Rustenburg. They built the church as a congregation of the then Dutch Reformed Mission Church, with their own hands, without spending money on contractors. The church was inaugurated in 1976. Around the church, the “township” of Karlien Park developed in what was set aside for “Coloured” inhabitation by the amendments to the Group Areas Act 41, which had already been proclaimed in 1950. Questions raised are: Why did the people migrate to Rustenburg? What was the impact of this migration on their mental health? Do they regret migrating? Do they want to go back? This article shares the findings of a study conducted to address those questions. Information was gathered through interviews with people who shared their stories of migrating from Keimoes to Karlien Park and still live in Karlien Park. The themes emanating from the information gathered are as follows: Families were torn apart by migration; those who migrated were skilled labourers; in Karlien Park, the migrants retained a strong “Coloured” identity; the relationship with non-migrants in Keimoes is complicated; and the Church took a central place in the migrated community.