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Beatrice Esterhuysen is the friendly new face you’ll see when walking into the management block at Kingswood’s gatehouse.
She’s been in charge of Communications, Marketing, and Community Liaison since 5 January, and says she’s here for KGE residents, far preferring people to pencil pushing.
Comms ace’s ‘komvandaan’
Born in the far-flung Eastern Cape town of Barkly East, she completed her school career in Queenstown. ‘There isn’t a province I haven’t lived in! Our family moved around a lot when we were kids. I think my dad had ants in his pants.’ After matriculating in 1994 – coinciding with the seminal year of Mzansi’s first democratic elections – she started working at the court in Queenstown, transferring to Bloemfontein in 1997. ‘I wanted to study drama, but it made sense at the time to get a paying job.’ What could not be ignored, however, is that Beatrice has the finer arts running through her veins, feeling equally passionate about music and language. She managed to attain her Grade 8 in Musical Theatre through Trinity College.
Her love for language and literature was pursued when tackling her bachelor’s degree in Language and Literature, specialising in creative writing – a qualification that has served well throughout her career. I considered following that with an honours degree, but life had other plans.’ Suffice it to say, her way with words makes Beatrice a perfect candidate for any communications department.
Coming to George …
It’s now 20 years since Beatrice was transferred from Bloem to the George court. ‘In 2006, I started working at George Magistrate’s Court and dealt specifically with domestic violence and child abuse.’ These dealings would take their toll on anyone’s soul, but a singer-songwriter at heart, she always had her music as consolation. While still working at the court, she got involved at the theatre in close vicinity, located diagonally across from the traffic circle at the top of York Street. Her talents as singer and musical artist could now flourish again in a more official context. In 2008, I was appointed as manager at George Arts Theatre.
At first it was just me and two volunteers who helped on a twice-weekly basis with tasks such as sound, lighting and building maintenance when required. ‘I was the only employee, so it was a relief when, some years later, I was joined by an intern called Jolien Petersen. Jolien went on to become events manager of George Arts, while I’m currently serving as vice-chair.’ Beatrice set foot on that stage again for the first time in 10 years, playing the villainous sea witch Ursula (from The Little Mermaid) when the theatre presented its Disney Tribute in 2024.
… and going Down
Under But Beatrice is hardly a stranger to stages of any shape or size. She has been writing songs, singing and strumming her guitar to appreciative audiences for decades. Her preferred styles are acoustic blues and jazz, with a bit of rock and folk thrown into the mix.
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Apart from local gigs, she has done a couple of national tours and had the good fortune of touring Australia, sharing stages with many talented musos and bands. ‘I actually gigged full-time throughout 2014 to 2019 but recently decided that this part of my performing repertoire has run its course. I’m no longer in the mood for the pub scene, so did my last gig last year.’ The road ahead may include more intimate gigs at house parties or other corporate and private functions.
Rewinding a decade, it’s worthy of mention that this songbird’s musical career was not without its challenges: in 2019, Beatrice was diagnosed with a condition that caused growths on her vocal cords, which required serious medical attention. ‘I didn’t sing for five years, but when my voice had recovered, I started performing again in 2024.’
Burning the midnight oil no more
Before becoming Kingswood’s newest broom, Beatrice worked for seven years – exactly – at Group Editors. She started there as a digital sub before being promoted to digital editor, then team leader of this section within the Southern Cape media giants.
‘There were many changes in the digital world between 2018 and 2025. What people don’t know is that, even though George Herald is a weekly newspaper, the digital side works like a daily, with some days running until after midnight.’ She chose the seven-year anniversary of her first day at Group Editors to hand in her resignation, but it wasn’t a decision she had planned. ‘I was in a very good place at Group Editors, but when the opportunity for making the move to Kingswood arose, I just couldn’t resist it.’
Getting in on the social scene
Beatrice jokes that she makes ‘everyone’s business my business’ – she’s surrounded in her office space by finance manager Marina and financial assistant Annemarie, receptionist Masadi, and finance and admin assistant Lize. She sticks her nose in when wanting to ensure her purpose as an information conduit is served. ‘Some days I would just get in a golf cart with Andries (Wolmarans – meet him elsewhere in this edition) and we’ll recce the estate.
It’s important to know the lay of the land when planning events and learning about its inhabitants – and sometimes we even find little gems for our social media channels.’ One of the first such events was a potjiekos competition on 21 March – more elsewhere in this edition. To wrap it up: whenever there’s a notice being sent out to residents, a memo to be proofread or some other message to be disseminated to Kingswood homeowners, Beatrice is on the ready. She is also busy establishing a social committee to get residents involved in social events at the Community Centre.
As CEO Willem Jacobs says: ‘We know that our community will only be richer for having Beatrice involved.’
