GREAT KAROO REVEALS ANOTHER SECRET

The Karoo has shared yet another secret. “An extremely rare fossil, a magnificent specimen of a Conulariid, was recently found on Vyevlei, about five kilometres from town,” says Prince Albert palaeontologist Judy Maguire. “Oddly enough local Ds Eddie Scheffler also recently acquired two similar specimens, but is unsure of their provenance. The Conulariid is a totally extinct group of organisms. They left no living descendants. Way back when they were alive, the whole African continent lay much further south (the South Pole was close to present-day Bloemfontein). Strange life forms evolved in the cold climate and colder grey seas so far south. Since then, the continent has drifted to a sunnier and much warmer zone. Too hot for some perhaps. Interestingly, the Bushmen thought of the sun as evil. They believed that the ostrich sat on its eggs to keep the sun from killing them – not to incubate them.

ENJOY A PEEK INTO TANT SANNIE’S KITCHEN

Ever wondered what pioneer farmers ate? Struik has just published Tant Sannie’s Cook Book to transport readers back to the kitchens of the 1800s. Author Maree Lascaris was inspired by Tant Sannie, a character in Olive Schreiner’s The Story of an African Farm. So, based on what Tant Sannie may have had at her disposal in her Karoo kitchen in the 1800s, Maree has included recipes for bobotie, custard, koeksisters, malva pudding, ostrich egg dishes and springbok potjie. The book also has information on how to make a variety of household items, such as prickly pear soap and remedies for everyday ailments, such as alcohol overdose. Maree Lascaris, who has been involved in food preparation and catering for over 25 years, is passionate about entertaining and this allowed her to relate well to “Tant Sannie,” who would have found herself entertaining travellers of the wagon route. Tant Sannie’s Cook Book is illustrated by Louise Lumb of the Design Vine in Cape Town. In this 140-page hardcover book she has been able to combine three loves – food, design and art. The basic idea for this book came from Bonnie Rodini, producer of the film The Story of an African Farm. In 1991 she spent months in the Karoo working on the script for this film. This introduced her to a delicious world of traditional cooking, and she began collecting recipes. For Bonnie, Louise and Maree this cookbook is a dream come true.

‘FRANSIE PIENAAR’ CELEBRATES

One of Prince Albert’s greatest tourist attractions has just turned 20, but it has many other milestones to celebrate. The museum was upgraded to a local museum by Gene Louw, administrator of the Cape, at a Van Der Stel Foundation conference in September 1985. “The museum, however, is much older than 20,” says curator Jonathan Rolfe. “Fransie Pienaar gave her collections to Prince Albert in 1972, however, it only moved to its current location in 1982. This magnificent old Victorian building, which now houses a superb selection of cultural historic items, was built in 1906 by Jan Haak, snr. At one stage of its life, it was also used as a hospital.”

NOT FREE FROM A WHIFF OF SCANDAL

“Prince Albert’s Oktoberfest (Round-up No 24) sounds wonderful. Wish I could be there,” writes Lynne Jones from London. “I loved the story on Queen Vic and her beloved Albert. While strait-laced Prince Albert may have prided himself on being a pillar of moral rectitude, he was not free from a whiff of scandal. His mother outraged the good people of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha when she had an affair with the Hanoverian Court’s Jewish chamberlain. Many whispered that he actually was Albert’s real father and some firmly believed this. Albert’s parents divorced when he was five. His mother ran off with an army officer whom she later married. Albert never saw her again. His father in proper Hanoverian style consoled himself with a seemingly never-ending string of mistresses. Albert’s brother followed in their father’s footsteps. This led to his death from syphilis at an early age. However, while all this may give us a smile, it does not detract from the good Prince Albert did.”

HOMELY HOSPITALITY IMPRESSES A PRINCE …

South Africa’s rich history and natural resources made it a must when officials drew up the itinerary for the visit of Edward, Prince of Wales in 1925. Even after he had sailed on the battle-cruiser Repulse on March 28, there was still a good deal of speculation as to how he would be received by phlegmatic farmers in rural areas of the Western Cape and the far-flung villages of the Karoo. “Of course, there would be none of the clamorous shouting of Dominion Capitals and nothing like the pomp and colour of Kano and Kumasi,” writes The Times correspondent Ralph Deacon in Southward Ho! But they need not have worried. The prince was a winner wherever he went. Here he discovered pure, simple, homely hospitality, warm hearts and exuberance. “He found hospitality thrived in lonely valleys and lonelier veld settlements. At each small town the Prince sought out veterans of the Great War and shook hands with them. In Cradock he spoke to Mrs Faulds, mother of the first South African to win the VC in the war. He paused in the main street of George to discuss the Battle of Cambrai with a Mr van Niekerk who had been blinded in that action.” At every station people gathered to see him and as he looked from the white train windows at night, he saw little camp fires around which people had gathered to wave to him. “The sight of a commando escorting the Prince into Graaff Reinet, along the street where, during the Anglo-Boer War, Lord Milner had seen the Union Jack shot to shreds by a galloping cavalcade, is one that will have to be written into the chequered history of that centre of early republicanism,” writes Ralph Deaken

… AND FEATHERS WAVE IN WELCOME

The Prince of Wales loved Oudtshoorn. The people of this “ostrich feather capital” gave their august visitor a truly royal welcome. “It was a day of ostrich feathers fitting to his own crest and motto,” writes Ralph Deaken in Southward Ho! “The Prince made a special entrance into Oudtshoorn, Hnot in the Royal train, but on horseback. Two hundred farmers had ridden out to meet the train, each on a horse with Prince of Wales feathers at the sides of their heads. The Prince was so impressed he asked if there was a horse for him to ride. One was quickly found, and he led the procession into town amid cheers from the crowds. Later that day the Prince appeared on the veranda of the beautiful white-fronted homestead on the Le Roux farm with an ostrich plume stuck airily in his hat. “They are trying to turn me into an ostrich,” he said, rushing off to see four freshly laid eggs and a paddock of chicks. One was handed to him to hold as cameras clicked. The Prince was amazed to learn ostriches could be powerful swimmers. He accepted a bunch of feathers, some deeply black, others white tipped and yet others silky white. There were ostrich plumes on the Royal car and the escorting convoy. They were all over rooms and restaurants. Magnificent plumes beautified the hall in which a ball was held that night. They were set in festoons of giant ferns, in shields of royal blue and canopies of orange and gold. About 25 000 people flocked into Oudtshoorn that day on foot, on horseback, in carriages, mule and donkey carts and bull wagons, most bedecked with feathers. In truth, it was a memorable day of Prince of Wales’s feathers!” writes Ralph Deaken.

BIKERS TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THE KAROO

The week of September 22 saw two groups of bikers exploring the Karoo. The Harley Davidson group attended a rally in Colesberg, while BMW Bikers set off for the tiny town of Loxton, where they met at Jakkalsdans guest farm on the edge of town. This get-together, sponsored by BMW, Cape Town, featured a range of speakers, all experts on the Karoo. Among them was Johan Loock, senior lecturer at the Department of Geology at the University of the Free State. He presented an interesting talk on the geomorphology of the Karoo and was able to prove to his audience that there is far more to the Karoo than meets the eye. And definitely that it is not a place to race through at great speed.

INTO “TERRA INCOGNITO” AND ON TO FAME

A young man rode out of the Karoo in 1849 and rose to become President Brand’s right hand man in the Free State. William W Collins, Justice of the Peace, advocate, attorney and self-proclaimed English-speaking ‘burgher’ of the Free State was the son of President Brand’s favourite school master. He was also a personal friend of William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army. In Free Statia, Reminiscences of a Lifetime in the Orange Free State, Collins tells of his family’s trip from Doornhoek, “a romantically situated farm near Cradock.” He was only a teenager when they “journeyed to the territory north of the Orange River, known as Gariep and ‘Terra Incognita.’ It had been annexed and proclaimed British Territory by Sir Harry Smith, Her Britannic Majesty’s Governor and High Commissioner.” Collins’s father had great hopes for his family’s future in the “new territory,” so he sold his Beaufort West farm before they left for Bloemfontein. “My story,” says Collins, “is a miscellany of interesting facts, about episodes, occurrences and people connected with the early history of the land between the Orange and the Vaal. It covers the most thrilling and interesting period of the Republic’s lifetime.” Collins’s role in the saga of the Free State is most interesting. He was on the legal team at the high-profile Cox murder trial. He played a vital role in President Brand’s Model Republic. When the President fell ill in 1872 and was diagnosed with Bright’s disease, Collins was elected chairman of the Triumvirate that governed the province. Diggers at Kimberley’s diamond fields referred to Collins, G J du Toit and F P Schneehage as “a three-headed monster that mis-governs the Free State.” Nevertheless, historians agree that William W Collins came closer than any man on earth to becoming Vice President of the Free State.

DUG UP GRANDPA TO WIN AN AWARD

The execution of Commandant Gideon Scheepers at Graaff Reinet during the Anglo-Boer War was most controversial. Many felt the British “had no right to shoot Scheepers, as he was a Free State burgher.” One of these was Arthur G Barlow. “Scheepers was a friend of mine, a first-class fellow,” he writes in Almost in Confidence. “Friends of Scheepers’ believed that some ignorant, but well-meaning people had removed his body from the original grave to hide it away from the authorities. They advertised a reward of £50 for anyone who could produce the skeleton. Scheepers had been wounded and had broken his leg in his last fight. Before long a man in Graaff Reinet district produced a skeleton, which had a leg broken. He said it was Scheepers. A local doctor decided that the skeleton was of a man over 70 years old. (Scheepers was a young man when executed.) There was quite a furore. After questioning the miscreant eventually admitted he had dug up the grave of his grandfather who had died many years earlier in order to obtain the reward He was sentenced to be punished for this unforgivable sin.”

GOLD, DIAMONDS AND CHLOROFORM, ALL IN A DAY’S WORK

The amateur geologist who identified the first diamond in South Africa in 1867 was also the first surgeon to use chloroform in South Africa. A year after Dr Simpson first used it successfully in Europe Dr William Guyborn Atherstone used chloroform as an anaesthetic in Grahamstown writes Rene de Villiers in Better than they Knew. Atherstone worked as a surgeon in Grahamstown from 1839 till his death in 1898. He was also the man who prophesied that gold would be found near Prince Albert.

KAROO HERITAGE UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT

The cultural and natural heritage of the Great Karoo was highlighted recently at Grootfontein College, outside Middelburg. During a two-day symposium, organised by Heritage SA (formerly the Van Der Stel Foundation), several speakers all experts in their fields, delivered talks on various aspects of Karoo heritage. Dr Johan Welman, a Bloemfontein palaeontologist discussed the primitive, pre-historic life forms, and historian Johan Loock discussed buildings of the Anglo-Boer War with specific emphasis on blockhouses. Experts from the War Museum in Bloemfontein discussed arms, and ammunition as well as the new Fire Arms Control Act (Lt-Col Ben van Coller); food traditions of South Africa (Elria Wessels) and Anglo-Boer War artillery and clothing (Johan Wolfaardt.) The second day focussed on the preservation of historic areas in a developing land. During this session Prof Ora Joubert, from the University of Pretoria’s Department of Architecture discussed SA’s contemporary architecture and heritage,” Professor Richard E van der Ross, academic, author and ambassador, discussed The role of slaves in the building heritage of South Africa and Heinrich Titus, chief executive of Heritage Care, discussed this organisation’s project listing projects. On Saturday afternoon Hannes Meiring led a tour through the town’s old and interesting buildings. Gold medals were handed out at a gala dinner on Saturday evening during which Phil Mashabane, a well-known architect and cultural heritage specialist from Johannesburg, was the guest speaker. His topic was Cultural Heritage, Insight and Responsibilities.

LOOKING FOR FAMILY LINKS

During the Anglo-Boer War a Welshman rode into the Karoo with a British regiment and the area so impressed him that he stayed. In time Captain Gwyn Williams, fell in love with Mary Adelaide Radloff, who lived at Waterfall farm at Gumtree, near Ficksburg in the Free State and married her. Now his grandson, Marcus Lampard, who still lives in Wales, is trying to trace the family history. “The Anglo-Boer was a great divide in our family. My Grandmother, one of the Free State Radloffs was a Boer supporter and told us all about the horrors of the concentration camps, while Grandfather was pro-British as he had served as officer the British Army during the war. My Grandfather settled down on a farm Achtertang, in the Hanover/Colesberg district, early in 1900. He imported Arab horses and Hereford cattle and was responsible for starting the S A Arab Horse Society. Do they still exist? If so, I wonder whether they have any background details on him. He also grew lucerne under irrigation. However, when he lost his son, Gomer, in 1918 it broke his heart. We don’t know where Gomer is buried, nor anything about his death. My grandfather built a dam at Kriergerpoort in about 1921. I am not too sure of the exact date. Perhaps one of your readers could help. He became ill in 1928 and lost his farm. I believe Messers Taylor and Mckay acquired it. A Mr S D Naude “Oom Fanie” is also linked to this farm from about 1928 to 1942. I would love to hear from anyone who has any information on my grandfather. I would also love to visit the Karoo. Your website and newsletter have whetted my appetite.”

IAN UYS CREATES A PRIME HERITAGE SITE

A man with close ties to the San people has developed a prime cultural heritage site at his Swartberg Private Nature Reserve, outside Prince Albert. Developer, Ian Uys, who has written a book on Bushman Soldiers and visited the Caprivi and Kalahari, recently modified the original concept for an administration area, lapa and ablution block to include a museum and audio-visual presentation centre in his private reserve. A guide has been appointed to tell visitors more about the San people who once lived in this area of the Karoo. Manager Christie Jooste has also employed a team of locals to ensure that this beautiful valley with all its facilities will be available around the clock for caravanners, campers and visitors who simply want to picnic, braai or enjoy the facilities for functions. Indigenous trees and shrubs are now also being planted near the Cape-Dutch style lodge and educational centre. The magnificent amphitheatre has also at last come into its own for use by local residents and visitors to the area.

ONE GREAT MAN SALUTES ANOTHER

The Karoo never ceases to fascinate. Local researchers and their counterparts from around the world constantly search for missing pieces of the puzzle as they try to form a more complete picture of the history of this fascinating land. One man credited with finding many links was palaeontologist, Dr Robert Broom. His contribution to science, over more than 20 years, was eloquently summarised by General Jan Smuts. He paid tribute this great man in the Broom Memorial Volume published by the Royal Society of S A, writes Rene de Villiers in Better Than They Knew. In it General Smuts wrote: “The story of the evolution of life on this globe is perhaps the most enthralling romance in all science. Much of it still remains obscure, but much more was debatable or unknown when Broom embarked on his Karoo researches. Today, as a result of his discoveries, an important and vast terra incognito has been mapped for all to read and to visit, and the area of the unknown has been considerably reduced. All honour to this pioneer. Let me rather change the metaphor and say: All honour to this intrepid voyager into the African swamps and lakes of scores of millions of years ago. From the dark Stygian sea, he brought back the story of how life rose from the brutish reptilian to the mammalian, which has since borne and nourished the higher forms of life. What an achievement; what an adventure in science …”

NOW YOU SEE THEM …

A trip to Drie Riviere Natural Heritage site with guide Pat Marincowitz was an eye-opener for Prince Albert information officer Charlotte Olivier. “I was embarrassed to find myself standing on the rare Lithops persii, till Pat set my heart at rest saying they respond positively to this. These plants are so well camouflaged, that you can’t see them till an expert like Pat points them out. Prince Albert’s own Biilia (cana) dilatata also flourishes in this area recently donated to Cape Nature by farm owner Samie Luttig.

When the last individual of a race of living things breathes no more, another Heaven and another Earth must pass before such a one can be again.” -William Beebe

(From the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy)