Graves

The N12 route via Kimberley to Cape Town, sometimes called the Diamond Fields route, offers a respectable alternative to the slightly shorter but more hectic N1 route. Kimberley, after all is where South Africa’s Industrial Revolution originated and if memory serves correctly was the first town to install electric streetlights.

Victoria West, situated approximately half way between Gauteng and Cape Town, remains a charming stop over. Most small Karoo towns display imposing churches, usually associated with the Dutch Reformed and Anglican faiths and Victoria West is no exception.

Dutch Reformed Church Victoria West (Wikipedia)

The St John’s Anglican church while less imposing than its Dutch Reformed counterpart nevertheless boasts impeccable credentials having been designed by Sophy Gray, wife of Bishop Robert Gray, the first Anglican Bishop of Cape Town. Bishop Gray and his wife arrived in Cape Town in 1848 with a mission to increase the number of Anglican clergymen in the Cape Colony. Within 25 years Robert Gray was instrumental in the erection of 50 churches of which 40 were designed by Sophy Gray.

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William Froude was born on 28 November 1810, in Dartington, Devon in the South West of England. After graduating from Oxford University he worked with Isambard Kingdom Brunel as a railway engineer and was responsible for several innovations. He was what today would be called a “lateral thinker”, but with a rigid scientific approach.

In 1846 he turned his interests to Naval Engineering. The need for increasing the speed and efficiency of their ships had been recognised by the Royal Navy, and Froude set about studying the resistant forces between ship and sea, recognising the important impact of wave formation.

Using towed models Froude demonstrated that the speed in respect of size, or, “corresponding speed' as it is called, should be the ratio of the length to the square of the speed. This relative speed is known more in the form of the ratio of speed to the square root of the length. He developed what was termed “Froude’s Law of Comparison.” Based on this principle he was able to successfully design ships’ hulls to minimise resistance and increase fuel efficiency. Two of his early models are on display in the Science Museum in South Kensington, London.

William Froude (Wikipedia)

In 1870 he was allocated an amount of £2 000 to build the world’s first ship model testing tank. The seventy six metres long tank was built on Froude’s land at Torquay and...

On rare occasions when finances and time permit, planning a leisurely road trip to Cape Town can be an exciting enterprise. Should one travel via Bloemfontein on the N1, Kimberley via the N12 or Upington via the N14? Perhaps even the N9 via Graaff-Reinet and then Montagu via the R62.

This time a slightly different route prevailed. Initially, via the N12 to Britstown and overnighting at the excellent Transkaroo Country Lodge (main photo). This hotel was operated by the Klass family for 66 years from 1907 until 1973. Then called the Central Hotel it was upgraded in the late 1930s in an attractive Art Deco style, still largely extant. Late-night carousing by wedding guests somewhat disturbed my slumber, but it would have been churlish to complain, especially when merely engaged in travelling and sightseeing. 

The following morning after visiting the historic Britstown Cemetery, I discovered a good gravel road directly connecting Britstown to Richmond. Stopping only on three occasions; firstly, when two mule carts of the ‘Karretjie mense’ galloped past, secondly when noticing a distant array of giant wind turbines lazily combing the wide Karoo skies and lastly, at the site of the Imperial Yeomanry Hospital near the defunct Deelfontein Railway Station. 

‘Karretjie mense’ in this photo from Carnavon (SJ de Klerk)

Visiting this hospital site of the...

On 5 May 2018, a small group of about 20 people gathered at Rynsoord Cemetery in Benoni to remember Esther Henry/Eaton who passed away on 11 January 1943 at her residence, “The Firs,” Main Road, Benoni. A plaque was unveiled in remembrance of the Benoni pioneer who was separated by law from her husband, George William (Bill) Eaton in death.

Unveiling the Esther Eaton plaque (Glynis Cox Millett-Clay)

Esther Eaton plaque (Glynis Cox Millett-Clay)

Esther was born on St. Helena Island on 29 September 1862 to a descendant of freed slaves and was the daughter of Samuel and Sarah Henry from Thompson’s Wood. Esther was baptised in St Paul’s Cathedral on 30 November 1862 on St. Helena. Because of her birth, Esther would be classed ‘coloured’ in South Africa.

It is unclear when Esther Henry arrived in South Africa and met up with Bill Eaton, however, she remained his faithful and beloved wife/partner for many years. Bill Eaton was born in Hull Yorkshire, England.

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When I picked up a tourist brochure in the Northern Cape and read something about German war graves at Kakamas, my interest was piqued. The existence of German war graves implies that there must have been German troops in South Africa. I do possess a fair knowledge of German and South African history and just couldn't think what the historical event was. What were some of my countrymen doing in South Africa fighting a war and why?

The site is at the north side of the Orange River across from Kakamas, near a small town called Lutzburg, about 85 km west of Upington along the N14. The coordinates are: 28.7436ºS, 20.6363ºE and altitude 682m.

Information board (Horst Müller)

Some internet research and a visit to the gravesite revealed what had happened here. 

At the beginning of the First World War, when the Union of South Africa was drawn into the war against Germany through being part of the British Empire, it was expected of the South African forces to move into German South West Africa. Whilst the South African army was mobilising, some of the Schutztruppe (territorial troops) did not wait and attack being the best form of defence moved towards the Orange river in order to block the crossing point at Kakamas.

A battle ensued on the 4...

On the road from Reitz to Bethlehem (R26) in the Free State one crosses over the railway line about 10km out of Bethlehem. Inspecting the area under the bridge one finds a grave next to the rails a few meters from the bridge. It is marked by some upright railway sleepers, totally overgrown and with a largely illegible gravestone. I could just make out... ‘Nov 1931’. 

Who is buried here? And why next to the rails, not in a cemetery?

The person laid to rest here is Cornelius van Heerden, aged 22 at the time of his death. He was what we nowadays would call a troubled youth. At the beginning of November 1931 he had been in court charged by his father for theft by conversion. He received a suspended sentence due to his age and being a first offender. Earlier in the month he was fired from his job with the railways for absenteeism and the day before the incident he was in court on a charge of negligent driving.

He lived with his parents at Bethlehemspoort, about 7km out of town. On the morning of the 26 November he went into town and bought ammunition. On his return he announced to his brother that he was going out to do some shooting.

First, as reported by various sources, he went around the neighbourhood asking for Dawie Viljoen who was farming nearby. It is speculated that he wanted to kill him because he laughed during an incident when van Heerden fell off a...

In the article below, journalist and heritage enthusiast Lucille Davie reveals the fascinating story behind the Prestwich Memorial in Cape Town. The article was first published on the Media Club South Africa website on 30 September 2013. Click here to view more of Davie's work.

Sometimes new developments can lead to more than just creating fresh spaces. During excavations for a new residential block in Cape Town, old bones were uncovered, the unmarked graves of slaves dating from the 17th and 18th centuries.

The modern story goes back to 2003, when construction began for a new luxury apartment block in Prestwich Street, Green Point. The bulldozers soon unearthed the bones, and excavation was halted. Archaeologists from the University of Cape Town were called in, as prescribed by the National Heritage Resources Act.

The remains were exhumed and taken to the mortuary at the Woodstock Day Hospital. Decisions had to be made regarding what would be done with them, as human remains are always a sensitive issue. Descendants need to be consulted, and reburial is sometimes a contentious point.

This story ended with the opening of the Prestwich Memorial, on the corner of Buitengracht Street and Somerset Road, in 2008. The single-storey building is finished in grey Robben Island slate. It makes a striking statement, built next to the first Presbyterian Church in the country, completed in 1828. It was the first church to allow freed slaves through its doors, after slavery was abolished in 1838 in South Africa.

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Below is the first article in a series on the Brixton Cemetery by Kathy Munro. The piece begins by giving the reader a general understanding of the purpose, origin and meaning of cemeteries before delving into the history and significance of Brixton Cemetery. It finishes by highlighting the shocking current state of the cemetery and attempts by local groups to take action. Future articles will look at the epitaphs and symbolism of the Brixton Cemetery as well as stories behind the graves and family memorials.

Walker grave-site Brixton Cemetery (Kathy Munro)

Why the fascination of a cemetery? Cemeteries have always fascinated me. I love their tranquillity, remoteness and solitude. Stepping within the gates of a cemetery takes one into another world; it is the world of the dead but belongs to the living. Cemeteries are strange places as they are resting places for the dead, a means of disposing of a deceased body, but they are also places for the living to return to, to mourn, grieve and remember a loved one. I may not know any of the people buried there but immediately I become a vicarious mourner if only for an hour or two. Cemeteries are places to reflect on mortality, life, death, longevity and the possibility of an afterlife. 

Cemetery definition. By definition a ”cemetery” is a place or ground set...

Beautifully situated in the Heidelberg Kloof is the Kloof cemetery, the original and oldest cemetery of the town. In fact, the oldest grave goes back to before the town was established. I'd like to take you on a walk through the graves, picking up a specific grave stone here and there.

Heinrich Ueckermann

The town started with Heinrich Ueckermann, he set up the first trading store in what now is the town.

Heinrich Ueckermann

He originated from Germany and named the place after Heidelberg in Germany where he studied (the sources don't reveal what he studied). He arrived in South Africa in 1849, disembarking in Durban. He set up business in Pietermaritzburg and two years later got married to Elizabeth Mary Mason. She bore him 14 children.

After the birth of their first son, they trekked extensively by ox-wagon into the interior as far as the Soutpanberge. It was on this trek that their first daughter was born in 1856 (a personal note: it is always an amazement to me how tough people were in those days that they could trek for months on end and have babies at the same time). On another trek he got to the farm Langlaagte and decided that this was a good place to establish a trading store thus bringing an end to their wanderings.

From the farmers Strydom and Venter...

In August 1988 an article appeared in The Star with the headline 'Sandton historians seeking facts about mystery man'. Researchers from the Sandton Historical Association (SHA) had found a neglected grave in the veld just off Sloane Street in Bryanston but knew nothing of ‘John Richard Davis, born 8th December 1876, Died at Craigieburn, 25th May 1948’. The case generated significant interest and caught the attention of Davis’ daughter Molly Steel and others who helped researchers to build a picture of Bryanston’s mystery man.

Davis grew up in Rossacarbery, County Cork in Ireland, was schooled in England and completed a Diploma in Engineering while studying in Glasgow in the 1890s. The reasons why he came to South Africa at the turn of the century are unclear but according to Steel he arrived ‘with only 6d in his pocket… and spent it on a cup of coffee!’ He worked on the mines for many years before starting a spare parts business, specialising in Austin engines, in Motortown in 1920. The same year he met and married Nora Coventry from Bergville, Natal. The couple had Molly in 1923 but separated a few years later.

By the mid 1930s Davis was a wealthy man thanks to hard work and the rapid growth of the motor industry. Along with his partner John Macrae, he established Craigieburn, a grand hunting estate located to the east of where the Bryanston CBD is today. He was active on the social scene and counted many affluent Johannesburg citizens...