Esje du Toit grew up on a farm in Kleinrivier near Stanford and not far from Hermanus. She was born on the 14th of March in 1940, one of 13 children of Philip and Muriel Du Toit. This period was during the war years and from an early age she wanted to know more about the olden days. She wondered what the places she knew had looked like before, and who the people and had once lived there. As she grew into adulthood, the history of Stanford and later Hermanus, became a passion that was to last her whole life.
SJ attended 2 schools; junior school in Stanford and her senior school was in Paarl. She matriculated in 1957. After school she did a teacher training course and a B Commerce at the University of South Africa. She taught in schools for some time after which she chose to retire early in 1994 and pursue free-lance writing. Her 2 main interests were the history of Overberg and the impact of bipolar disorder on her life and what she could learn about this mental illness. She has published some books about this disorder.
She interviewed countless people in their natural settings and rejoiced in their detailed accounts of Overberg life. Her great accomplishment was the ability to convey this enthusiasm through speech and writing.
SJ had the wonderful knack to inspire people to tell their stories and referred to her work as character focussed history. In her books SJ included detailed indexing and references with many relevant pictures.
Beyond that, she wished to bring the history of Hermanus alive to visitors and residents and to create an historical awareness in those whose ancestors had lived in or had connections with the town.
