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05 November 2020 | Story Thabo Kessah
Prof Moffett’s latest offering collates hundreds of mountain research material into one accessible reference book.

Prof Rodney Moffett recently published a new book focusing on various scientific articles published between 1808 and 2019. The book, A Scientific Bibliography of the Drakensberg, Maloti and Adjacent Lowlands, has 534 pages and covers material appearing in accredited journals, plus unpublished but traceable reports, documents, presentations, and dissertations.

“The scientific articles range from palaeobotany with 17 entries, to rock art with 502 entries, as well as 252 theses and dissertations,” said Prof Moffett.

He said it took 18 months to compile the book, typing the manuscript himself – mostly at night.

In the foreword, Dr Ralph Clark, Director: Afromontane Research Unit (ARU), says: “This bibliography is a labour of love, and will inspire a new generation to take up the baton for excellent research in this fantastic mountain system. We are proud to publish this under the ARU banner as a contribution to growing and consolidating mountain-passionate relationships in Southern Africa, and to encourage our journey towards developing a holistic understanding and sustainable use of these iconic mountain landscapes.” 

Other books

Prof Moffett is an honorary research fellow in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of the Free State, and an associate of the Afromontane Research Unit on the UFS Qwaqwa Campus. He was previously Professor of Botany on the Qwaqwa Campus when it was part of the University of the North, retiring in 2000. Since then, he has remained active, publishing scholarly works on ethnobotany and other natural history subjects.

His four recent books, also published by Sun Press, are: Sesotho Plant and Animal Names and Plants used by the Basotho (2010), A Biographical Dictionary of Contributors to the Natural History of the Free State and Lesotho (2014), Basotho Medicinal Plants – Meriana ya Dimela tsa Basotho (2016), and A Field Guide to the Clarens Village Conservancy (2018). A second revised edition of Meriana ya Dimela tsa Basotho – 

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Kovsie fencers dominate the Free State Fencing Closed Competition
2015-10-19


The ultimate clash of the fencing titans Photo credits: Robynne van Zuydam.

Willem Brink and Wanda Verster fenced their hearts out at Free State Closed Competition, winning gold medals in the men’s and women’s category, respectively. These University of the Free State students dominated opponents from the Vrystaat Amateur Skerm Klub (VASK).

Fencers from the VASK retaliated bravely in defense of their honour on Saturday 12 September 2015, with Jurgen Schroder taking home a Silver medal. His team mates, Ruan Coetzee-Schroder and Shaeffer Georgiou, shared the Bronze medal. A winning performance placed VASK’s Danielle Ceronio and Stella Heyns in the Bronze realm.  Kovsie Fencing’s Kayla de Gouveid shared the spot with Stella as a bronze recipient.

It was a clash of the titans as 27 participants formed opposing teams. The University of the Free State (UFS) team, who hosted the competition, showed the guests no sign of mercy as they triumphed.

Wanda was impressed by the UFS’s performance. “The students performed very well, especially considering that most of them started fencing just this year.”

“Willem Brink, who finished with gold, started fencing in 2012.  He finished with a Bronze medal at the Free State Closed competition held earlier, in May 2015 The first fencer to reach 15 wins,” said the Kovsie Fencing representative.

The club will represent our university at the University of Pretoria (TUKS) Open where fencers from the entire country will compete on 25 and 26 September 2015.  The club is also preparing for the University Sports South Africa (USSA) tournament and the Limpopo Open that take place in November and December, respectively. These competitions serve to pave the way for the July 2016 nationals, where Kovsies hope to make their mark as champions.

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