"IT was like walking back into history" for some of the 257 Mossel Bay land claimants when land was returned to them which their families had occupied for decades before they were forcibly removed during the early 1960s under the Group Areas Act.

During a handover ceremony in the Southern Cape town pn Thursday, the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights, in conjunction with the Mossel Bay municipality and the Tarka Claimant Committee, signed a memorandum of agreement to bind all parties to a restitution and development programme.

"It's the original land that they received. There were 257 claims in total. Of them, 160 opted for financial payouts and the others opted for the land instead," said Ameldia Hollander, the commission's project officer in the area.

She said the almost 600 people present at Thursday's handover were "rejoicing" at the finally receiving their rightful land.

"We also had a march to where they were dispossessed. It was like walking back into history for most them.

And it was mostly women and widows, which is why we chose to have the handover on Women's Day," Hollander said.

Tarka in Mossel Bay has its origins when fishermen moved there in 1898. At that time it was known as "New Rush", the only demarcated area for coloured people.

When dispossession from Mossel Bay central took effect from 1961 onwards, people were moved to an unserviced area with no social or physical infrastructure.

From 1970, racial boundaries divided the commonage, making separate provision for coloured and white residents.

Some claimants were then again removed from the white group area and local authorities moved the coloured people to a new location.

People were compelled to move to "The Valley", an area created in terms of the Group Areas Act. Some people chose to move to surrounding towns instead.

The community's claim was launched in 1997 by former tenants, or their direct descendants, for land rights lost in Tarka. Land Affairs Minister Lulu Xingwana approved the settlement.

Leon Prinsloo, whose parents Susan and Daniel were dispossessed from their land, said he was glad the 10-year wait was finally over.

The regional land claims commission is settling the remaining 949 urban and 661 rural claims in a bid to settle all claims before March 2008.