1996 – 2021

A message from our Patron
and Founding Chairman, Keith Grenville

How time flies! 25 years since the foundation meeting on 4th November 1996. At that meeting we signed up 153 members.

On the 21st anniversary of TESSA in 2017 I wrote the following:
“An everlasting memory of mine concerning the formation of this society on 4th November 1996 was the crowd of enthusiastic people who packed the large function room on the top floor of the historic Josephine Mill in Newlands as a result of media releases announcing the foundation meeting of the first-ever Egyptian society in South Africa. I recall people even sitting on the floor, hemming me in to a restricted floor space where I could just about move my feet when addressing the audience.

Those who were unable to get access to the room sat on the staircase; others could not even get into the building. Such was the enthusiasm. I had calculated that if we were able to sign up 60 members that evening we would be able to organise and run a society. A remarkable total of 153 members paid their subscriptions that same evening. Thus was established The Cape Town Egyptian Society, as we were originally called.”

The name was changed swiftly to the Egyptian Society of South Africa caused by the swelling membership from all over this country and from abroad. The memory of that evening of 4th November 1996 has not gone away and, more importantly nor has The Egyptian Society of South Africa, despite the cessation of meetings for the best part of 2 years, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It has been kept alive by the diligence and hard efforts by the committee, led by Chairperson Ria Robinson, past Secretary Elmarie Reinke, current Secretary Jean Smith, Treasurer Pamela Smith, and Joseph Koetsier, and ably assisted by Jane Mulder, Colleen Cox, John Lombard and last but not least, Mireille Farah, who was on the original committee 25 years ago! Well done ladies and gentlemen, we are all depending on you.

Over the 25 years there has been a succession of loyal committee members and lecturers to whom we give our thanks and appreciation. The library has grown, and in keeping with the 21st century, the society has a Facebook group, enthusiastically managed by hard-working and ever loyal Jean Smith.

TESSA is ready and well equipped for the next 25 years. May it go from strength to strength until the 50th anniversary in 2046!

A message from our Chairperson Ria Robinson

It is with great pleasure that I and the TESSA committee join you in celebrating this momentous occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Society. A quarter of a century is a significant time for any society to continue in existence, and this is in no small way due to the hard work and dedication of past and present committees, those involved in the running of the various activities and functions that make up the Society, the many lecturers who have added to our knowledge over the years, and last but not least, you our members. Our sincere thanks to you all.

It’s hard to believe that 20 months have passed since the society last met; scheduled lectures and our annual Day School unfortunately had to be cancelled due to the onset of Covid-19. The virus has wreaked havoc worldwide, and sadly many businesses and societies have ceased to exist. TESSA is not one of those societies that have thrown in the towel, however, and we have every hope that in the not too distant future we can resume our activities. Right now the estate manager of St George’s Grammar School will not allow us to return to the school for lectures, but we shall keep members informed of developments. In the meantime SHEMU continues to be produced quarterly, and we hope that this helps to keep members interested in things ancient Egyptian. Jean Smith also keeps the interest going with articles and clips on Facebook and the TESSA website.

In addition to this special commemorative edition to mark our Silver Jubilee, Mireille Farah has been working on publicity. Wesley Ford, a reporter on the Southern Suburbs Tatler (Cape Community Newspapers), conducted interviews and compiled a report for publication in several local newspapers. It appeared in the Tatler on Thursday 28th October, and will soon appear in the Constantiaberg Bulletin, hopefully today – the exact day on which the Society had its first meeting in 1996, and the very day in 1922 when Howard Carter discovered the first step leading down to the tomb of Tutankhamun. There is also a possibility that Pippa Hudson, presenter of Cape Talk Radio’s Lunch with Pippa, might also be able to publicise the event – commentary on the local election results permitting!