The Grange was a majestic farm in Griqualand West that became well known as the first stop after the Orange River on the journey from the Cape to Kimberley. The Fincham Family owned it for many years and welcomed many famous visitors making their way to the diamond fields and beyond including Winston Churchill, Charles Warren and Cecil Rhodes. Below are a few powerful passages from the diary of Allister Thornton Fincham that tell the story of the transformation and ultimate tragedy of the Grange. Thank you to Spencer Fincham for sending the diary through.
It was at Hopetown on the third day of February, 1871, that I was ushered into this world. My parents resided on the farm named Witteputs, which after it had been surveyed, was renamed The Grange.
My parents settled on this farm whilst Griqualand West belonged to the Griqua Tribe under Captain Waterboer who resided firstly near Douglas but had moved to live on a farm on the banks of the Orange River about twenty miles from Hopetown.
The Griquas were wealthy. They owned their own land and many horses, cattle, sheep and goats. The Bo-landers, as the Traders were known, came from the Western Province with long tent wagons and carts of various kinds which were loaded with hogsheads of cheap brandy, known by the name of Cape Smoke, and wine. The wagons, brandy and wine were exchanged for cattle, sheep and goats and, in many instances, for farms which they got at very low...
