Final Settlement

Life during South Africa’s apartheid times had been idyllic for the white residents of a small village in the picturesque Nede Valley. Ken Chandler witnessed this when he moved there from England. However, he thought things would need to change following the abolition of apartheid and he saw that the nature and governance in the nearest towns and smaller townships had changed rapidly to suit the needs of the Zulu and Indian residents, but nothing had changed within the Nede valley.

How they were to maintain a “whites only” village was a major concern for its residents, but how were they to achieve this? Would it be amicably achieved or would they need to resort to violence? Eventually, change was brought about in the village, but not in a way that anyone would have envisaged.

Keith Miller was born in England but spent his childhood in Australia. On returning to England he gained a PhD and became a polytechnic lecturer, and later a senior civil servant in the department of education. Following his retirement he moved to South Africa at the end of the apartheid era to take up a university senior lectureship. During this time, he learned much about relationships between different racial groups which gave him the desire to write this book. He and his wife now share their time between living in their homes in South Africa and in England.