Afrikaanse Nuus

Orkney Snork Nie was a popular Afrikaans sitcom, originally broadcast by the SABC in South Africa between 1989 and 1992. The name translates directly into Orkney Doesn’t Snore, but the message being conveyed in Afrikaans is that the town isn’t sleepy, there’s always something happening. The series was written and directed by Willie Esterhuizen who was also involved in other popular South African series and movies. The series consists of four seasons, with two movies also produced.

The show was based in the mining town of Orkney, near the city of Klerksdorp (and not too far from Johannesburg), and followed the exploits of an Afrikaner family named Van Tonder, a common Afrikaans surname.

The head of the household, Hendrik (played by Zack du Plessis), worked on the mines and his wife, Maggie (Annette Engelbrecht), was a housewife. They had four children (oldest to youngest): Ouboet, Bennie, Hester and Wimpie. Ouboet (Frank Opperman) was a car mechanic. He and his wife, Yolanda (Sally Campher), had a little baby of their own, named Hendrik after his grandfather. “Ouboet” is an Afrikaans term of endearment meaning “older brother”, his name really being Neels. Hester (Clara Joubert) and Wimpie (Anrich Herbst) were both at school. The character of Bennie (Charl van Heyningen) was rarely seen as he first was in the army and later left the town of Orkney. Wimpie had an on and off relationship with a girl named Sonja (Carien Wandrag), and his best friend was named Koert (Rinus van Niekerk).

From time to time other family members, such as grandfathers and grandmothers would stay over with the family and cause all sorts of mischief. Later the family also adopted two orphans, a young Afrikaner girl named Riekie (Bernice Du Plessis) and a coloured boy named Neelsie (Eugene Martin).