Bathurst

A dusty old shoebox in a charity shop in Pinetown. No-one knows how long it had been lying there and no-one knows who brought it in. A staff member working there found it whilst tidying up and opened the box to see what was inside. “Look at this”, she said to the ladies managing the shop, “this box is full of old photographs with names on the back”.

Neither of the ladies were much interested in genealogy, but both agreed that the contents of this box looked quite special and should, if possible, be reunited with its family, or, failing that, go intact to a collector who would appreciate it. But how to go about it?

They posted a few of the photographs on the shop’s Facebook page, which was shared to several Genealogy groups. Although causing a fair number of comments, no-one among the large groups of members seemed to have any connection to the family. Passing through Pinetown and having an interest in genealogy and old photographs, my husband and I stopped at the charity shop on the off-chance that the photographs might still be there. We were hoping, at best, to find a few nice old photographs as seen on the Facebook post, but were completely taken aback at what we found - a whole box of the most beautiful Cabinet Cards and Cartes de Visite, most of which were identified by name, as well as some handwritten notes and a diary.

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Barville Park 1820 settler estate, located to the west of Port Alfred in the Eastern Cape, has a long tail to its history. It was one of the largest properties allocated to a settler in the region. A portion of it touched on Port Alfred itself. It included well known farms, obviously subdivided off now, however, these were all part of the original farm.

The farm known as Barville Park, comprised of Reed Fountain and Glendower. It was granted to General Campbell and his independent party of Settlers. Unfortunately the General died as a result of injuries sustained when falling off his horse in 1822 so was unable to enjoy the farm he had named. He left his second wife Mary and seven children. When the Seventh Frontier war broke out, fourteen families sought refuge at the farm. During the War of Umlangeni, 300 persons were sheltered at Barville Park farm. (The War of Umlangeni 1850-1852 centred around King William’s Town and into the eastern section of the colony)

Reed Fountain (before restoration)

Glendower farm buildings with beacon in the background

I must tell you, this farm and its buildings are utterly glorious. I would...

Once, a train ran from Port Alfred station every day: the 11.10 to Grahamstown, 68km away. In the early 1900s the train used to steam up through the valleys towards Bathurst and Grahamstown taking farmers, farm workers, holidaymakers and commercial travellers, especially on stock-fair days, when the atmosphere was festive and the coaches were full. It is no longer possible to go on the train. One must walk the line or take the road that loops and meets, strays from and returns to it. 

The railway runs truer than the road: there are fewer meanderings and distractions. In the old days, prospective passengers could signal to the train driver if they wanted to board, running up from a farm or waving from the veranda of a homestead for him to wait. Train drivers were obliging in those days. 

Mr. Robinson, driver of the 11.10 on Saturday April 22 1911, was aware of potential passengers as he steamed along. By the time he reached Martindale, he had 52 on board. The line was built in 1883, tracing a wide curve across the farms of lower Albany, ancient in the history of the indigenous people long before the first white colonists settled there in 1820. The names of the small stations and sidings are testament to the provenance of those Settlers: Hayes, Bathurst, Clumber, Trappes Valley, Martindale, Manley Flats, Oak Valley, with the occasional gesture to other origins: Blaauwkrantz. The older, Xhosa names for the rivers that cross those grass and copse-scattered hills...

Morley House is an exquisite historic home. I first went there in the late 1980s, when it was a home and antique shop. Oh my... the yellowwood woodwork, red baked floor tiles, crooked passages, low doorways. It was all just so perfect! There is an oldish rondavel in the backyard, which I am convinced might have been the original kitchen. Since there are no known plans, it is difficult to be sure. The bathrooms, would have been added, possibly in place of the old pantry. 

Rondavel in the backyard of Morley House (Bev Young)

Morley House is one of the oldest buildings in Bathurst and dates from the time when the 1820s settlers arrived from England. The house was built in 1828 for the blacksmith Thomas Hartley from Mansfield, England by William Forward. Hartley had already built a smithy in Bathurst which he later turned into an ‘accommodation house’ he called ‘Hartley’s Hotel’, now the present day 'Pig and Whistle' pub. The stone cottage is one of the few buildings that survived the Sixth Frontier War in 1834-1835 which makes it a unique place to stay.

Old photo of Morley House...

In the vale of Clumber in the Eastern Cape, 5 km from Bathurst just off the Shaw Park road, lies Clumber Church. Situated on a knoll, this is the third Church to be built on this spot by the Nottingham Party and descendants of the 1820 Settlers. This knoll was given the name of Mount Mercy by the Nottingham Party in thanksgiving for their safe arrival here on a journey which had taken them over 6 months to complete. The wagons and carts that had transported them from "Tent Town" on the dunes of Algoa Bay to their final destination were offloaded at the base of Mount Mercy close to the Torrens River. A Service of Thanksgiving was held on Mount Mercy on the day of their arrival on July 23 1820.

Clumber Church from a distance

The Nottingham Party was one of the few Parties of 1820 Settlers that consisted of the poor as Nottingham was a cottage industry hub of lace and hosiery making. With the Industrial Revolution under way most of these family run cottage industries had to shut down. It was also the end of the Napoleonic Wars so demand for goods had slackened off and soldiers had returned from war with no prospect of employment...

We found the following article by B.I. Spaanderman in the 1991 edition of the old Johannesburg Historical Foundation's journal Between the Chains. It looks at a number of South African mills with a particular focus on Millbank, the closest to Johannesburg.

For a mere fifty cents you can ask the watchman at Bradshaw’s Mill in Bathurst to set its wheel in motion. It costs a few cents more in Graaff-Reinet. The beautifully restored Josephine Mill in Rondebosch is a delight, and an informative booklet has been produced by the Historical Society of Cape Town describing its history and restoration.

The water-mills of South Africa are mainly located in the Cape Province by virtue of the settler population. These were built from the late 1600s to the late 1800s. Mills in Natal, the Orange Free State and the Transvaal were built from the middle to the late 1800s. The most definitive study to date is Water-mills, windmills and horse-mills of South Africa by James Walton, published in 1974. Owing largely to his interest, a number of the mills have been restored, such as the Josephine Mill, but more sadly, many have been left to decay, or have been destroyed by fire and other natural disasters.

Bradshaw’s Mill was built by the 1820-settler Samuel Bradshaw and his brother. He was assisted by the young Jeremiah Goldswain, who worked for “Measerss Bradshaws and Wiggall for servel months, at this time cash was so scarce that it was almost imposable for andy one to...

[Originally published 30 May 2014] Bathurst Primary School is running a campaign to raise funds for much needed restoration work. The campaign's tagline is 'Restoring the Oldest School in South Africa'. The cause is undoubtedly a worthy one but is the claim of 'oldest school' legitimate? Ms Sigi Howes (Head: Education Museum, Wynberg, Cape Town) provides some answers in this open letter.

I have been researching the history of schools for several years now, and I note with some concern your claim that the Bathurst Primary School is 'the oldest school in South Africa'. While I admit that the school has has a proud history and is certainly ONE of the oldest schools, it cannot lay claim to being the oldest. That honour falls to the LR Schmidt Laerskool in Genadendal (1738). There is also a school in Wellington, Wagenmakersvallei, that may date back to 1796.

Other schools older than Bathurst: 

• Mamre Primêre Skool (1808);
• Outeniqua High & Junior Schools (1812);
• Pacaltsdorp Hoër- en Primêre Skool (1813);
• Swellendam Hoër- en Laerskool (1814)
• Simon's Town School (1815).

That means Bathurst could currently be seen as the 8th oldest, but my research only focuses on the Cape provinces. Also, I should just caution that, as I delve deeper into the history of schools, I occasionally come across a very old school and then the picture changes again.

In the light of the above, I think that you should amend the phrase to something like 'possibly the oldest school in the Eastern Cape', or 'one of our...

Very little remains of the historic Richardson's Mill in the Trappes Valley 10km north east of Bathurst in the Eastern Cape. Well known local enthusiast Bev Young first saw the structure in 2000 and described it as 'wrecked but visible and the grounds still accessible'. Over the years she has documented what is left of the mill and has watched as things have deteriorated to the point where there is almost nothing left today. The short article below, written by A S Basson, is very tough to read. It highlights the importance and potential of the site before it was destroyed by fire in 1970. The article appeared in Restorica, the journal of the Simon van der Stel Foundation (today the Heritage Association of South Africa). Thank you to the University of Pretoria (copyright holders) for giving us permission to publish. Thank you to Bev Young for the photographs.

This is an example of a historic building that might have been preserved for posterity. There was all the atmosphere of old times. The rails of the original windmill had disappeared because the mill had been converted to steam in the 1880’s by Thomas Richardson. But there was much in the way of yellowwood floors and a delightful twisty yellowwood staircase mounted to the second storey whence the grain poured to the mill stones. The machinery was intact and one could even move the grinding stones. In a corner was a gigantic bellows. With half-closed eyes one could see the mill in floury working. During the native war...