BC
1039 COWLEY HOUSE PAPERS
Manuscripts & Archives
University of Cape Town Libraries
|
|
CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|
|
THE
COWLEY HOUSE STORY |
|
|
THE
COLLECTION |
|
A. |
COWLEY
HOUSE |
|
B. |
MINUTES |
|
C. |
CORRESPONDENCE |
|
D. |
BUILDING
PROJECT - MOIRA HENDERSON HOUSE |
|
E. |
ASSISTANCE
TO DETAINEES |
|
F. |
RELEASE
OF PRISONERS 1990 - |
|
G. |
FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS AND CORRESPONDENCE |
|
H. |
GENERAL
ADMINISTRATION |
|
J. |
MISCELLANEOUS |
|
K |
POSTERS |
THE
COWLEY HOUSE STORY
Number
126 Chapel Road in Woodstock, Cape Town, is the address of an old house called
Cowley House. It was at this
house that the families of political prisoners used to stay on their way to see
their loved ones.
The
house was built in 1898 as a home for some Anglican priests who had come out
from Britain to serve the people. They
were the Fathers of the Order of St John the Evangelist, but because they were
living in Cowley House, they soon came to be known as the Cowley Fathers.
When
the priests left South Africa in 1978, the Western Province Council of Churches
(WPCC) took over the house. The
WPCC opened the doors of Cowley House to the families of political prisoners.
David
Viti, who used to work for the WPCC, tells the story of how Cowley House came to
be. "From 1963, the government began sending thousands
of political prisoners to Robben Island.
The families of those in prison would come to Cape Town to visit their
loved ones in jail. They came
from all over the country. Some
even came from as far away as Namibia", he says.
Often
the visitors had no relatives in Cape Town and so they had no place to sleep.
They also had very little money.
They would get off the train at Cape Town station and sleep in the
waiting-rooms at the station. The
next day, they would walk five kilometres to the docks to catch the prisons boat
to the Island.
If
they arrived late and missed the boat, then they missed the visiting time and
the whole trip was a waste. This
is because prison visits are only at a certain time, in the morning or in the
afternoon.
This
all changed in 1974, when David joined the WPCC.
One
of the first things that David did was to offer his own home to relatives of
prisoners on Robben Island. "Every
weekend, about four or five people came to sleep at my house", he says. "It is a small house, with one bedroom, a kitchen
and a verandah which I turned into a dining room.
I had a car which I used for transporting them to and from the station
and the docks".
"In
1978 the late Mrs Moira Henderson was the chair-person of the Dependants'
Conference, an organisation that helps the families of political prisoners with
subsistence grants. She asked
the Anglican Church if they could let us use Cowley House.
By this time, the Cowley Fathers had already returned to England. The church gave us the house that same year".
Even
after they left South Africa, the Cowley Fathers continued to give support.
The house was funded by donors and some foreign embassies.
Relatives who could afford to give donations also contributed to the
running of the house.
From
1982 some political prisoners were sent to Pollsmoor, Victor Verster or
Helderstroom prisons. Some of
the relatives of these prisoners also passed through Cowley House.
After
February 1990, when political prisoners were being released, Cowley House took
on a new role. It became a
halfway house for prisoners as they were released from prisons in the Western
Cape and tried to provide the means for people to re-integrate themselves into
their families and communities.
At
the beginning of 1993 there are plans to establish Cowley House as a trauma and
rehabilitation centre for the victims of violence in South Africa.
THE
COLLECTION
The
collection consists of papers which tell the story of the running of Cowley
House in its various phases and roles. Minute
books, correspondence and some early background material tell the story of the
role of Cowley House as a haven for visitors to political prisoners in the
Western Cape. Letters from
prisoners requesting assistance, requests for permits to visit prisoners etc
paint a graphic picture of the problems of prisoners and their families.
The
records from 1990 onwards are a valuable source of information about the release
of prisoners.
|
A. |
COWLEY
HOUSE HISTORY |
|
A1.1 |
Brief
summary of history and role of Cowley House |
|
A1.2 |
Early
plans of Cowley House |
|
A2 |
Other
background information |
|
A3 |
Visitors'
Books |
|
|
5
October 1985 - January 1991 |
|
|
3
April 1989 - 5 October 1990 |
|
|
5
October 1990 - 16 October 1991 |
|
|
(in
O/S) |
|
A4 |
Constitution
and related documents |
|
A5 |
The
future of Dependants' Conference and Cowley House |
|
A6 |
Reports
1989 |
|
B. |
MINUTES |
|
B1 |
1982-1988 |
|
B2 |
1989-1991 |
|
B3 |
Other
minutes not inserted in Minute Books |
|
B4 |
Dependants'
Conference minutes - incomplete 1990-1991 |
|
C. |
CORRESPONDENCE |
|
C1.1 |
General
1981-1992 |
|
C1.2 |
re
Prison visits 1989-1990 |
|
C1.3 |
Detentions
- Reports and Correspondence |
|
C2 |
Robben
Island Correspondence : |
|
|
permit
requests 1983-1986 1990 |
|
|
letters
from prisoners requesting help 1990 |
|
C3 |
Letters
of thanks for donations 1986-1991 |
|
C3.1 |
Annual
Appeal 1990 |
|
C3.2 |
Other
donations 1986-1988 |
|
|
1988-1990 |
|
|
1991- |
|
D. |
BUILDING
PROJECT - MOIRA HENDERSON HOUSE |
|
D1 |
Building
Project 1989-1990 |
|
D2 |
Fund
raising 1989-1990 |
|
D3 |
Building
Fund Committee Minutes 1989-1990 |
|
E. |
ASSISTANCE
TO DETAINEES |
|
E1 |
Detainees'
pocket money |
|
|
1986-1987,
1988-1989 |
|
E2 |
Grants
to released prisoners after 1990 |
|
E2.1.1 |
Dependants'
Conference grants - applications |
|
E2.1.2 |
Dependants'
Conference grants - requisition forms |
|
E2.2 |
International
Defence and Aid Fund grants 1990-1991 |
|
E2.2.1 |
Correspondence
re IDAF grants 1990-1991 |
|
E2.2.2 |
IDAF
requests not granted |
|
E2.3 |
International
Committee of the Red Cross grants |
|
E3 |
Detainee
records |
|
E3.1 |
Record
cards of individual prisoners, arranged alphabetically (2 boxes in O/S) |
|
E3.2 |
Record
book and file of detainees 1986-1987 |
|
E4 |
Grants
- Record files of individual prisoners |
|
E4.1.1 |
Local
grants 1978-1987 |
|
E4.1.2 |
Local
grants - lists |
|
E4.2 |
Boland
Council of Churches - E, D, A grants 1985-1986 |
|
E4.2.1 |
Worcester |
|
E4.2.2 |
Ashton
and Montagu |
|
E4.2.3 |
Robertson |
|
E4.2.4 |
Paarl |
|
E4.2.5 |
Mbekweni |
|
E4.3 |
Southern
Cape 1986 |
|
E4.4 |
Transkei
1986 |
|
E4.5 |
Funerals
1986 |
|
E4.6 |
Requisition
forms and lists |
|
E4.7 |
Initial
grants and once only grants |
|
E4.8 |
Other |
|
E4.9 |
Unaided
Cases |
|
E4.10 |
Prisoner
Profiles |
|
E4.11 |
Family
Profiles |
|
E4.12 |
Reviews
of Families and their needs |
|
E5 |
Travel
and Legal Assistance Funds 1988-1989 |
|
E5.1.1 |
Legal
Assistance Funds |
|
E5.1.2 |
Ernest
Duma vs Minister of Law and Order - 1985. |
|
|
Documents
relating to the case. |
|
E5.2.1 |
Travel
Assistance Funds |
|
E5.2.2 |
New
World Travel Circle invoices 1988-1989 |
|
E5.2.3 |
New
World Travel Circle correspondence 21 July 1989 |
|
E6 |
Bail |
|
E6.1 |
Bail
applications |
|
E6.1.1 |
Bail
1985 |
|
E6.1.2 |
Bail
- Carnarvon |
|
|
Beaufort
West |
|
|
George |
|
|
Oudtshoorn |
|
|
Swellendam |
|
|
Robertson |
|
|
Worcester |
|
E6.2 |
Bail
bonds |
|
E6.3 |
Bail
completed |
|
E6.3.1 |
Cases
0-899 |
|
E6.3.2 |
Worcester |
|
|
Robertson |
|
|
Ashton |
|
|
Montague |
|
|
Victoria
West |
|
|
Bellville |
|
|
Kuils
River |
|
E6.4 |
Bail
estreated |
|
E6.5.1 |
Bail
queries |
|
E6.5.2 |
Bail
queries |
|
|
Paarl |
|
|
Worcester |
|
|
Others |
|
E6.6 |
Bail
correspondence 1987-1990 |
|
E6.7 |
Powers
of Attorney |
|
E6.8 |
Old
Bail Cases 1985 |
|
E6.9 |
Bail
- General Matters |
|
E7 |
Special
Relief Fund |
|
F. |
RELEASE
OF PRISONERS 1990- |
|
F1 |
Preparations
at Cowley House |
|
F1.1.1 |
Liaison
Committee Minutes |
|
F1.1.2 |
Political
Imprisonment, Release and Mental Health: The Case for Pre-Release
Counselling. January 1991 |
|
F1.2 |
Financial
Appeal - Released Prisoner Programme |
|
F1.3 |
The
"Sipho letter" |
|
F1.4 |
Prisoner
Profile forms |
|
F1.5 |
Release
Grant application forms |
|
F1.6 |
International
Defence and Aid Fund Personal Grants |
|
F1.6.1 |
Application
forms |
|
F1.6.2 |
Correspondence
- personal files (alphabetically) |
|
F1.7 |
Pre-release
information packages for prisoners |
|
F1.8 |
List
of telephone numbers that can be used by releasees |
|
F2 |
Communications
with prison authorities |
|
F2.1 |
Mechanics
of release (including protest letter to de Klerk and various statements by
prisoners) |
|
F2.2 |
Anticipation
of releases - correspondence with Prisons Department 1 September 1990 |
|
F3 |
Cowley
House Staff and Volunteers |
|
F3.1 |
Programme
schedules for staff |
|
F3.2 |
Staff
name tags |
|
F3.3 |
Volunteer
handbooks |
|
F3.4 |
Contact
lists of drivers, telephone numbers etc |
|
F3.5 |
Information
File |
|
F4 |
After
release |
|
F4.1 |
Thanksgiving
Services 19 August 1990 - 5 July 1991 |
|
F4.2 |
Names
of those released 1990 - |
|
F4.3 |
Prisoner
Profiles - Released Comrades 1990 |
|
|
Released
Comrades 1991 |
|
F4.4 |
Record
Cards of released prisoners, arranged alphabetically (1 box in O/S) |
|
F4.5 |
Photographs |
|
F4.6 |
Association
of ex-Political Prisoners (SA) |
|
F5 |
Miscellaneous |
|
G. |
FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS AND CORRESPONDENCE |
|
G1 |
Financial
Statements and Reports |
|
G2 |
Financial
correspondence 1989-1990 |
|
G3 |
Financial
Records |
|
G3.1 |
Grants
1986 |
|
|
1987
(o/s) |
|
G3.2 |
Bail
1987 |
|
G3.3 |
Detainees
1987 |
|
G3.4 |
Cash
books 1988 |
|
|
1989 |
|
H. |
GENERAL
ADMINISTRATION |
|
H1 |
Foreign
Africans Fund |
|
H2 |
South
African Prisoners' Education Trust - Bursary forms |
|
H3 |
Accommodation
and housekeeping |
|
H4 |
Computer
project |
|
H5 |
Booklets
and leaflets |
|
H5.1 |
Staying
strong in detention (DC/SACHED) |
|
H5.2 |
Coping
after crisis (OASSA/DACOM) |
|
H5.3 |
Now
we are free (ESG, Black Sash, OASSSA) |
|
H5.4 |
My
Home, my Jail: The case of restrictees in SA 1989 (Human Rights Commission
SR-5) |
|
H5.5 |
Miscellaneous |
|
H6 |
St
Anne's Home Constitution- refer to Section D |
|
H7 |
Cowley
House inventory |
|
H8 |
Cowley
House intake statistics |
|
H9 |
Information
about permits |
|
H10 |
Alternative
accommodation schemes |
|
J |
MISCELLANEOUS |
|
J1 |
List
of deaths in detention 1963-1988 |
|
|
Deaths
in Police custody in political circumstances 1974-1988 |
|
J2 |
Various
documents |
|
J3 |
Lists
etc |
|
J4 |
Examples
of forms used by Cowley House |
|
J5 |
Fieldworker
- General and correspondence |
|
J6 |
Protest
Action - Information sheets |
|
J7 |
Documents
relating to D.C. Policy and D.C. Staff |
|
K |
POSTERS |
|
|
Posters
and placards for pickets |
|
JG/yf |
|
|
21
July 1993 |