Stumbling across Paul Kruger's great-grandson

NO matter what the locals say, there isn't much family resemblance between former president Paul Kruger and his great grandson, living on a smallholding outside Winterton. Nevertheless, Reg Ströh has banished a prized family portrait of his famous relative to a musty corner of his home, where it hangs among a treasure-house of curious pictures.

"Oh, this old thing," he mutters, leaning on his cane. "Well, it really is quite rare."

From his 19th-century wooden frame, Oom Paul pegs us back with a zealous stare.

Now 84, Ströh is as beautiful as his great grandpa was Boer. It's not that the Drakensberg sculptor dislikes the connection with the past, in fact he is fascinated by it, but Ströh's personal journey has meandered so far - from Joburg to London to the foothills of the Drakensberg - that Oom Paul's portrait is just a calling card from the past.

His wife, Anne, confirms: "Every time he passed that portrait he would say good morning. So when we moved here I told him (Oom Paul) was not moving in with us."

Ströh's career as a sculptor explores both Khoisan and Nguni art. He talks as passionately about Xhosa and Zulu ritual as he does about the Anglo- Boer War battles that took place not far from his home. He still offers guided tours of these battle sites to special overseas guests. He is also deeply in love with the mountains . His smile vanishes when he talks of rampant development and forestry in the central Drakensberg region.

But the twinkle in his eyes is quickly restored when we ask about the most mysterious aspect of his great-grandpa's legacy: the gold. Leaning forward in his chair, he says: "It's just a myth. If there was any gold, do you think I would be living here?"

Yes, I'm sure he would. - Bobby Jordan