User:Rudy Schats

The account of this former contributor was not re-activated after the server upgrade of March 2022.

RUDY SCHATS, a citizen of The Netherlands, but now a permanent resident of the Republic of South Africa.

Rudy did most of his senior schooling in Jakarta, Indonesia, followed by two years in the Netherlands, where he obtained his final certificate from a Dutch High School.

He then worked for some 10 years in ship’s agency companies in Indonesia and Tanganyika (now Tanzania), before joining a Dutch Shipping Line, at that time trading as Royal Interocen Lines. For the rest of his career he worked for that Dutch shipping line in South Africa, the Netherlands, Hong Kong and Australia, rising through the ranks until his appointment as General Manager Far East –based in Hong Kong- of ScanDutch, an international consortium of Scandinavian, French and Dutch Lines, in which his “mother company” had a major share. ScanDutch was, until the partnership was dissolved in 1992, one of the leading container lines between Europe and the Far East.

Upon his retirement in February 1995, Rudy and his wife Aura came to Somerset West, South Africa and had a house built at Erinvale Estate. Since settling there, Somerset West has become part of the city of Cape Town.

Since his arrival in the Cape Rudy has been actively involved in various NGOs and other organizations, amongst others he is a past president of the Rotary Club of Somerset West, past chairman of the Cape Jaguar Drivers Club, president of the PROBUS Club of Somerset West, vice chairman of the Western Cape region of WESSA (the Wildlife & Environment Society of SA) and vice chairman of the Helderberg Nature Reserve Advisory Board, a statutory body.

He has been married to Aura since 1957 and they have four children.