The land on which Pevensey Place resides, used to be part of a farm owned by Ralph Hardingham. Tucked away in the foothills of the Southern Drakensberg, Ralph Hardingham, a local to the Underberg district and who coincidentally was responsible for establishing numerous schools in the same district, found himself mulling over what to do with some 84 hectares. Having more than enough land to do his farming, he felt this section of his land could be put to better use and so placed an advert in the local papers calling for proposals.
Round Table South Africa and the Natal Cerebral Palsy Association heeded his call and so, in 1972 Pevensey Place was officially opened with Sani 152’s chairman – Ko Egbrink – cutting the ribbon.
To this day, all that were involved still believe the project’s success was due to Pevensey becoming a national project for Round Table at that time. Remarkably, a farmer’s goodwill to an urgent need for a settlement caring for cerebral palsied adults became a reality for the whole of South Africa.
Pevensey Place has now been running for 44 years. It is testament to the invaluable work done by Round Table South Africa and the value those young men and women can contribute to their communities when they pull together.
