Reunion nurtures long-time friendship
A group of women who attended university together recently enjoyed another reunion.
Since 2010, Brakpan has been the location of a reunion among a group of long-time friends.
The alumni from the University of Johannesburg, formerly Rand Afrikaans University, graduated in 1982 and now meet up every few years to reconnect.
Nicknamed the Amper Daar girls – the moniker stemming from the name of their university residence – the women are Marié Beukes, Ronelle van Rooyen, Charmaine Rousseau, Erica du Plessis, Lani Visser, Maggie de Bruin and Retha Venter.
Marié hosts the group at her Brakpan home.
“I studied journalism and made friends with wonderful people from all walks of life,” she said.
“While at university my love for music got the better of me and I joined a band as the lead singer. In our spare time, I also entertained my friends and developed a very tight friendship with all who were studying with me.
“Once we graduated in 1982, we all went our separate ways. I then moved to Pretoria where I became a music buyer for a corporate, and once again met many wonderful people in the entertainment business.
“In 1990, I was offered a share in a record company which had an office in Brakpan.
“I had never heard or ever visited Brakpan but showed interest and decided to leave Pretoria and my corporate position and relocate to Brakpan.
Then and now: Ronelle van Rooyen, Marié Beukes and Charmaine Rousseau.
“While in the entertainment business my path with my varsity friends never crossed until Facebook came along and we managed to connect.
“Years later we decided to have a reunion, and of all places in Brakpan. Most of my friends had never heard of Brakpan, but were very willing to take a chance. We set a date in 2010. The rest is history.”
Marié said they had so much catching up to do at their first reunion they decided to meet up every four years.
“We would have liked to do this more often but unfortunately with the distance between us it has been impossible,” she said.
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Their last reunion in 2020 was also a joint 60th birthday celebration.
Ronelle van Rooyen has each time travelled from Fiji to join the reunion in Brakpan, and Charmaine Rousseau recently relocated to Sudan with her husband on a business venture.
Erica du Plessis worked for the SABC as a journalist for a number of years. She is now retired and lives on the West Coast.
Lani Visser is also retired and lives in Lydenberg. Maggie de Bruin and Retha Venter live and practice law in Sandton and Pretoria respectively.
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