09/09/2026
BETHULIE UNDER THE STARS
A little Free State town with an extraordinary collection of stars
There is something about Bethulie.
Maybe it is the silence. Maybe it is the old streets, the koppies catching the last golden light of the day, the Orange River nearby, or that enormous southern Free State landscape that seems to stretch forever.
And then night falls.
Away from the bright lights of the cities, the sky above Bethulie opens up and the stars seem impossibly close.
But Bethulie has another kind of connection with stars too.
For such a small town, it has produced, welcomed and inspired a remarkable collection of South Africans whose names have become part of our theatre, television, rugby, music and art.
Perhaps Bethulie’s most famous son is Patrick Mynhardt, born here in 1932. His father, Johannes Tobias Mynhardt, was the district surgeon and also served as mayor of Bethulie, and as a child Patrick would travel with him when he visited patients on farms around the district.
Those early years in Bethulie never really left him.
Patrick went on to become one of South Africa’s most respected stage and screen actors, working in South Africa and Britain alongside some of the great names of international theatre and film. Yet wherever his career took him, Bethulie remained part of his identity. His autobiographical one-man show, Boy from Bethulie, carried the town’s name onto stages far beyond the Free State. In 2007, he died in London while performing that very show.
Bethulie also has an impressive rugby history.
Frederick James “Uncle” Dobbin, born here in 1879, became one of South Africa’s early international rugby stars. He played nine Tests for South Africa and toured Britain and Europe with the national side, helping to write some of the earliest chapters of Springbok history.
Generations later came AJ Venter, whose childhood and rugby story are closely connected to Bethulie. Born in nearby Zastron, he went on to become Springbok number 695 and earned 25 Test caps for South Africa.
Another much-loved South African personality who chose Bethulie as his home was Jacques Loots.
Generations will remember him as Genis in Koöperasiestories and as the grandfather in Orkney Snork Nie. In his later years he settled in Bethulie and ran a coffee-and-book shop in town. He remains one of those wonderfully familiar South African characters whose memory still forms part of Bethulie’s story.
Music has its stars here too.
The late Theuns Jordaan, one of the most beloved voices in Afrikaans music, grew up in the nearby Venterstad district and spent part of his school years in Bethulie. Long before the packed theatres, hit albums and extraordinary career, Bethulie was part of his childhood world.
Coenie de Villiers gave the town another kind of musical legacy through his moving song Bethulie, inspired by the children who died in the concentration camp during the Anglo-Boer War. It is a powerful reminder that Bethulie’s history is not only found in museums and memorials, but has also lived on through South African music.
And then there is the art.
Acclaimed South African landscape painter Walter Meyer moved to Bethulie in 1994. The quiet roads, old buildings, open veld and extraordinary Free State light became part of a particularly prolific period in his career. His Bethulie landscapes remain admired and sought after, and the town is proud to have formed part of the artistic world of one of South Africa’s most distinctive painters.
Internationally respected artist-potter Hylton Nel moved to Bethulie in 1991 and spent eleven years living and creating here before moving to Calitzdorp in 2002.
It was here that another artistic story began.
A young Nico Masemola started watching Nel work with clay and eventually became his protégé. Masemola developed into a respected ceramic artist in his own right and became the first artist associated with what later became known as the informal “School of Nel”.
From one small Free State town came yet another remarkable creative connection.
And Bethulie’s relationship with South African entertainment continues today.
Snotkop has had a special connection with Bethulie for many years. He is a frequent visitor, has invested in hospitality establishments in the town and has spoken on television and in the media about his love for Bethulie and the peace and inspiration he finds here.
Huisgenoot first featured his Bethulie connection back in 2010, telling the story of how he visited the town, immediately felt at home and bought property here. They later returned to photograph and interview him painting at his Bethulie property, where he spoke about being able to escape the rush of performing and simply become Francois Henning again.
His connection to Bethulie has also found its way into his creative work. Several of his music videos, including Dis ’n Land, Raak Vir My Rustig and Droppit Soos ’n Disprin, were filmed in and around Bethulie and the surrounding southern Free State landscape.
And Snotkop’s success has been extraordinary.
A SAMA-winning, multi-platinum-selling artist, he has built one of the most successful careers in Afrikaans popular music, with platinum albums, numerous music awards, major hits and millions of digital streams and downloads. His official YouTube music videos have accumulated well over 110 million views, taking his music to audiences across South Africa and far beyond.
Yet Bethulie remains one of the places he continues to return to, to create, to invest, to relax and simply to enjoy a town that has become very dear to him.
And perhaps that is what makes Bethulie’s collection of stars so remarkable.
Some were born here.
Some grew up here.
Some chose to make Bethulie their home.
Some discovered their creativity here.
And others simply arrived, fell in love with the place and kept coming back.
Their names may be known throughout South Africa and beyond, but in Bethulie they remain part of the town’s own story, remembered with pride, affection and great respect.
And underneath all these famous names lies an extraordinary history.
Bethulie began as a mission station in 1828. Through the decades it witnessed some of the most important and painful chapters of South African history. During the Anglo-Boer War, one of the largest concentration camps in the country was established here, and its memorial remains an important and deeply moving place of remembrance.
Historic Pellissier House, dating from the 1830s, takes visitors even further back into the town’s past.
Then there is the magnificent Hennie Steyn Bridge across the Orange River, the old streets and buildings, the koppies, the surrounding farms and the great open landscapes stretching towards Lake Gariep.
Bethulie is the kind of place that rewards those who do not rush through it.
Walk the old streets. Visit the history. Cross the bridge. Talk to the people. Have something to eat. Watch the last light disappear behind the koppies.
Then, when night falls, go outside and look up.
Because Bethulie has never needed bright city lights to attract stars.
It has always had stars of its own.
