Rocky Point. Skeleton Coast - Namibia

Title: Rocky Point
Subtitle: Skeleton Coast - Namibia
Author: Peter Bridgeford
Publisher: Namibia Scientific Society - Kuiseb Publishers
Windhoek, Namibia 2022
ISBN 9789994576807 / ISBN 978-99945-76-80-7
Softcover, 15 x 21 cm, 140 pages, numerous b/w and colour photos

About: Rocky Point. Skeleton Coast - Namibia

Rocky Point is a small, isolated rock outcrop on the sandy Skeleton Coast of Namibia and the most prominent landmark between Möwe Bay and the Kunene River 250 km further north. It is hard to reach from overland, via the sea or by plane, a fact that has added to its mystique over the years. And yet, explorers, hunters, traders, scientists, refugees, stranded ship passengers, soldiers and even politicians have passed or visited Rocky Point during the past centuries. The events chronicled in this book, illustrated with numerous fascinating photos, start in 1486 with the early explorations of the Portuguese. They tell us about the many adventures of hunger, thirst, despair, death, heroism, sacrifice and also joy and excitement on this wind-swept desert until today, among them the stranding of the Dunedin Star in 1942 near Rocky Point and the almost impossible rescue operation of 63 people, including 29 women and three babies; the rescue of Angolan refugees in 1975, who had fled from the civil war and crossed the Kunene River in a large convoy; and while the inaccessibility of Rocky Point often led to disaster or frustration, it was ideal for consultations, away from the prying eyes of journalists, for example, when in March 1984, Prime Minister P.W. Botha of South Africa secretly met Dr Jonas Savimbi, President of UNITA there.

Content: Rocky Point. Skeleton Coast - Namibia

Preface
Introduction
Early exploration
1486 Portuguese Explorers
1824 Royal Navy
1825 Captain William Owen
1878 Annexation of Walwich Bay (Walvis Bay)
1878 Gert Alberts
1879 William Coates Palgrave
Exploration during the German Colonial Period
1884 Deutsch-Südwestafrika
1896 Dr Georg Hartmann
1901 Dr Georg Hartmann
1909 Prince Reuss and Party: The Kaokoveld Expedition
Exploration after World War I
1917 Major Charles Nicolson Manning
1930 Major du Preez and Lance Sergeant Jaap Coetzee, Police
1931 Police Constable Fred Cogill
More Adventures on the Skeleton Coast
1933 Carl Nauer
1940 Major Matthys Uys
1942 Dunedin Star
1943 Captain Immins Naude
1943 Captain Naude, W/O C.H. Schlengeman, A/Cpl. C. Mead, A/M D.J. Else, A/M W.J. Jacobs, A/M B. Bloemhof and A/M A. Rudman
1943 Captain M.C.E. McDonald, D.F.C., and Majors John Slabbert and Herman Beyers
1944 Salvage Costs of the Dunedin Star
1951 Bernard Carp Expedition
1954 The van Zyl Expedition
1954 Bethlehem Exploration and Mining Corporation
1956 Skeleton Coast Claims Another Aeroplane
1957 Alfred Haretsmuller
1959 SWA Safaris
1960 Barend Johannes Ben van Zyl
1961 Jan Krige, Tommie Thomasse, Kristoff Membunga, Dirk Brand, P.C. Swanepoel
1963 Ernst Karlowa
1963 Administrator Daan Viljoen and Mrs Viljoen, Sam and Sey Davis and Party
1969 Sartorius von Bach, J.J. Klopper, P.H. Torlage, F. Greyvenstein, B.J.G. de la Bat, J. van der Watt, S.I. Els
1970 Dave Owen, Lieutenant Thinus du Toit, and Sergeant Jimmy Gass
1970 Doc Immelman, Mac Makkink, Ken Slough, Piet van Tonder, and Hubert Alridge
1970 Jürgen Klein
1971 Skeleton Coast Park Proclamation
1973 Islander
1973 Ernst Karlowa
1973 Removal of old shacks at Rocky Point
1975 Building the Police Station at Rocky Point
1975 Rescue of Angolan Refugees
1975 Military Aid to the Refugees
1976 Cecil Koorts
1978 Hamish Matheson
1978 John H. Marsh and Louw Schoeman
1979 Helmut zur Strassen and Louw Schoeman
1981 P.J. Slang Viljoen
1982 Mike Penrith and John Irish
1982 Rudi Loutit
1982 Administrator-General Danie Hough
1983 Peter and Conny Downing
1983 Steve Braine, John Pater son, John Knowles, Hannes Bartsch, and Frans Schuster
1984 Ranger Steve Braine and Pfadfinder
1984 Prime Minister P.W. Botha of South Africa and Dr Jonas Savimbi, President of UNITA in Angola
1985 Roy Miller, Brian Hoal, Chris Harris, Simon Milner, and Goonie Marsh
1986 Hannes Holtzhausen and Ben van Zyl
1987 Chris Eyre and Kim Kotze
1987 Prime Minister P.W. Botha of South Africa and Dr Jonas Savimbi, President of UNITA in Angola
1989 Demolition of Rocky Point buildings
1995 Duane Rudman: Castaways
2014 Grahame Gus Naude, Craig Naude, Stephen Naude, Geoffrey Naude and Dekker Smit: Pilgrimage
2018 Dr Rolf W. Becker, Alma Möller and Wessel Swanepoel, Hannelie Swanepoel and Dr Vera de Cauwer
Acknowledgements
Author's Biography
References
Index