20/01/2026
When the Bentley brothers of Bonza Bay were heavily active in the Progressive Federal Party Youth in the late 1970s and early 1980s, we gave a whole new meaning to the term "political party".
Yes, we backed the PFP's anti-apartheid policy, but it didn't stop us from enjoying a good party, or "the jol" as we used to call it.
And it was encouraging how many young women, many still at Clarendon Girls' High, joined us in canvassing, hosting voter registration tables and, well, partying.
The Hobnob at the Bonza Bay Hotel was one of our favourite haunts and, having studied fine art under Jack Lugg from 1985 till 1988, I often carried around pen and paper to capture something of our youth as it passed all too quickly.
I have recorded the story in a PDF book, "Apartheid's Child, Freedom's Son (and the ANC's Fool!).
Most of my drawings are also captured in another PDF book, "Life Lines".
Both are available as downloadable PDFs for R200 each.
Contact me on [email protected]
Meanwhile, anyone who knew the likes of Peter Thesen, Dave Tarr, Philip Harper, Trevor Promnitz, Kim Demeretz, Kim Leyland, Eugene Potgieter, Philip Marcus and many more besides, might recognise some of them in these drawings.
Another factor we dealt with was military conscription. Yes we were young, but we also had to grow up fast because the state had us for two long years in our late teens and/or early twenties. Not to mention the one- and three-month "camps" throughout the 1980s.
This is a small cross-section of my drawings featuring my siblings Ian, Alistair and Don, as well as a few of the others mentioned above and many more whose names I've long ago forgotten. There's the odd self-portrait here too.
