Pioneers of the Dorsland

Translated by Margaretha Schafer, Pioneers of the Dorsland provides a journalistic account of PJ van der Merwe’s travels to the Northwest where he interviewed farmers, clergymen, teachers, businessmen, policemen, officials of the magistrate court, divisional council and school board. Van der Merwe introduces the narrative by explaining that it focuses on the peculiar migratory way of life of the region’s half-nomadic pioneers. He highlights his efforts as an exhaustive attempt that may prove useful to any future historian interested in the area.