Family hopes to keep YWP gem alive

NESTLED in the ever-green heart of Yellowwood Park (YWP) is a historic gem where a natural haven of fauna and flora surrounds an awe-inspiring castle.

Here, one can find a herd of zebra or buck roaming the garden and gravel roads. Known to many as the Kenneth Stainbank Nature Reserve, is the family home of Jenny Keith, the great granddaughter of Dering Stainbank, a settler from England. Stainbank bought the 253 hectare area from a Welsh settler, previously known as Ntabankulu, before being recognised as Coedmore, to be used as a farm for agricultural purposes.

After experimenting with different kinds of crop, including coffee and tea, he decided to turn the area into a dairy farm right up until the 1950s. The buildings that now house the Wilderness Leadership School, were the original dairy where milk was produced.

Dering also built a gracious old stone homestead which housed his family, a wife and seven children in 1885, which is today surrounded by giant Yellowwood trees and cherished as Coedmore Castle. He died in 1907 and his wife, Ethel, was left with the challenge to take over the farm only to find that the cows had been wiped out due to East Coast fever, and with not enough money in the bank. “In those days the husband and wife didn’t really talk about business and so she wasn’t really aware of what was going on in the farm. She had to work very hard to keep things going,” said Jenny.

Their two eldest sons went to fight in the First World War where they both died in battle. Kenneth was the third son of Dering and Ethel, who inherited the farm after the passing of his mother. “He continued running the farm, but coming from a conservation-minded family, he had a vision to create a sanctuary for wildlife. In the 1940s he approached the then administrator of Natal to discuss the possibility of donating part of the farm as a protected area for wildlife as a nature reserve which would be administered and managed by the state. They agreed to this arrangement, but farming operation ceased soon after that.

“The homestead was also part of the donation with the hopes for protecting the building as a heritage site under the condition that the family still make use of it under a usufruct agreement (the right to enjoy the use and advantages of another’s property short of the destruction or waste of its substance),” said Jenny.

The last remaining usufructuary was Elizabeth Keith, Jenny’s mother, who passed away in May this year, meaning that on her death, the state then took complete ownership of the castle and protected part of the reserve. This has unfortunately put a hold on public functions, tours at the castle and fundraising initiatives by Jenny and her family as they have no legal rights to do so. The nature reserve is still, however, available to the public offering nature walks, a pleasant picnic site as well as wheelchair and cycling trails. There is also the Mary Stainbank Memorial Art Gallery filled with artistic gems created by her aunt, Mary Stainbank.

The suburb of Yellowwood Park was named after all the large yellowwood trees that were planted by her family. The roads are named after all the birds dominant in the area. Jenny said that a part of the reserve also housed King Shaka Zulu’s cattle kraal at some point in the past. One can find displayed, two large rocks used by Shaka Zulu and his warriors to sharpen their spears before going to loot their rival tribes in Pondoland.

With the vision to develop the area into a heritage hub that not only preserves the richness of the Stainbank legacy, but also shares it with whoever enter its gates, Jenny, together with other trustees, have formed a trust, Ntabankulu Heritage Hub, to apply for a 99-year lease. The lease was recently approved by the reserve’s custodian, Ezemvelo Wildlife Trust.

The next step is to motivate the department of public works to process and finalise the application and from there it will further be taken to the provincial MEC for approval in order for the vision to come to life.
“We feel there is a lot history that is unique to this area and we really want to protect it and share it with others.
From history, nature, wildlife, art and a tranquil escape, there is something to be appreciated by anyone here. After all, this was Kenneth’s gift to South Africa to be enjoyed,” said a hopeful Jenny.

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