The Forgotten Highway Express is a privately-published monthly newsletter covering snippets from the Karoo and Forgotten Highway by Rose Willis (Karoo Rose) in association with Karoo Development Foundation.
Copyright: Rose Willis * Cell phone: 082-926-0474 * e.mail: rosewillis705@gmail.com *
| Way back Rose Willlis considered herself to be a city-slicker. No small towns for her, the bigger the city, the better. Then she discovered the Karoo – a vast land, peppered with hospitable people, little villages, excellent food and almost never-ending stories. Like Alice she stepped through the looking-glass into a wonderful “new” world.
Rose had worked as a journalist, public relations, promotional and public affairs consultant in Bloemfontein, Johannesburg and abroad. However, her transition from city to town has its roots in a joke. After a particularly busy year in their public relations and promotions business, Rose and her husband, Wally, decided to “take a break”. They told friends they were going to drive down the road in search of peace and quiet. “If we see a house we like we’ll buy it.” Roars of laughter greeted this statement and these guffaws became even louder when they returned saying they’d found their dream home in Beaufort West. |
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| Karoo Development Foundation is part of the Arid Areas Programme, which examines the economic potential of the Greater Karoo, so that it can influence future government planning and expenditures. This is a new endeavour, as there has never been a coherent attempt to investigate the economic potential of the Karoo. The purpose of this project was to motivate for the creation of a development institution to represent and promote the interests of the Karoo. |  |
The Forgotten Highway Express March 2023 No 3
A SALUTE TO SA’S ITINERANT PEDDLERS - THE SMOUSES Some walked, some rode, but they all played a vital role in developing SA’s economy. Many of the Jews who came to South Africa in [...]
The Forgotten Highway Express February 2023 No 2
EARLY CURRENCY OF THE HINTERLAND Money is good for nothing unless you know the value of it - P T Barnum The tale of South Africa’s first coinage and the Griqua tokens is a rich [...]
The Forgotten Highway Express January 2023 No 1
THE LOVES AND LIVES OF TWO WOMEN NAMED MARY I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach. – Elizabeth Barrett Browning The road to Kuruman, conceals many a love story. [...]
Rose’s Round-up April 2023 No 355
GRAVES REVEAL THEIR SECRETS Unmarked graves in a hinterland cemetery, set Doreen Atkinson off on an intriguing quest. A professor of political science, trustee and vital cog in the wheels of the Karoo Development Foundation [...]
Rose’s Round-up March 2023 No 354
DISCOVER THE KAROO Live The Journey, a company that claims to be fuelled by curiosity, inquisitiveness, wondering and wandering is offering three seven-day exploration tours through the Karoo. These guided, self-drive trips are scheduled to [...]
Rose’s Round-up December 2022 Special No 351
A DIFFERENT WAR Looking for in an interesting read? Then, The Infamous Malaboch War and More Gripping Stories From The Old Transvaal and Beyond should be just the thing. This book follows David Hilton-Barber’s earlier [...]
Rose’s Round-up December 2022 No 350
END OF AN ICONIC RIDE The journey is over, but the memories remain. Some say reminiscences of their ride along 600km of the Forgotten Highway will never fade. This includes the armchair travellers who [...]
Rose’s Round-up November 2022 No 349
EAGER YOUNG MAN’S UNFORGETTABLE TRIP When William Burchell arrived at the Cape in 1811 he was an eager, but inexperienced naturalist with a romantic passion for science. Soon after setting foot on shore he [...]
Rose’s Round-up October 2022 No 348
BACK ON THE SAME PAGE Booktown, Richmond’s BookBedonnerd book festival, is back on track. It was rescued when the Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of the Western Cape, announced that [...]
Rose’s Round-up September 2022 No 347
SOME BEAUTIFULLY TOLD TALES Two books of /Xam stories will be launched in Sutherland in October 21 just before Piet Coetzer sets off on the 600km Great Forgotten Highway Expedition to Griquatown. The first [...]
Rose’s Round-up August Bonus 2022 No 346
%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#% There is so much happening in the Karoo that I can’t hold on to the news until I create a September issue in the middle of the month, so here’s a special issue [...]
Rose’s Round-up August 2022 No 345
BOOKTOWN FESTIVAL CANCELLED It is a sad time in the Karoo. Richmond’s annual BoekBedonnerd Booktown, the longest continuously running live literary festival in South Africa, has been cancelled. This announcement was made by organisers [...]
Rose’s Round-up July 2022 No 344
SNEAK PEEK Karoo lovers are in for a special treat. Chris Marais and Julienne du Toit are about to launch a new book which takes yet another look at the dryland. Karoo Roads III [...]
Rose’s Round-up February 2023 No 353
ANOTHER HORSE SPEAKS Dr Juliette Whelpton’s latest book in the Heroes with Hooves Series tells the story of Maharajah, an Arab stallion which belonged to Captain Jack Seeley. Jack first saw Maharajah on the Egyptian plains and was captivated by him. He came to South Africa with Jack to serve during the Ango-Boer War, and this is their story told by Maharajah himself. During his lifetime he met Queen Victoria, Lord Kitchener and many other important British officers. He also met some top Boer leaders, like General Christiaan de Wet and the teenage hero Japie Greyling. Maharajah had many friends [...]
Rose’s Round-up January 2023 No 352
FIRST DEEP SPACE GROUND STATION IN AFRICA Matjiesfontein has been chosen as the site for the first deep space ground station in Africa. This announcement was made towards the end of 2022 by NASA and the Department of Science and Innovation. “Dry air and clear skies make this area ideal for a ground station,” said Raoul Hodges, managing director of space operations at SANSA. “The aim is to establish a sustainable station on the moon, land the first woman and first person of colour there by 2025 and prepare for missions to Mars and beyond.” Construction is scheduled to start [...]
Britain’s last castles still guard the rails
By Rose Willis A scenic route leads military history enthusiasts through the Western Cape past graves and memorials and along the north-south railway line with its military fortifications of 100 years ago - the Anglo-Boer War blockhouses. These range from ruins to National Monuments. At the outbreak of the Anglo-Boer War there were 6 860 km of railway line in South Africa. During hostilities 600 km were added. In the early days of the conflict the British used armoured trains for armed reconnaissance. But the Boers soon discouraged this approach. Then came the blockhouse system. By the end of [...]
Mandlenkosi Township Tourist Route
The Xhosa dimension to tourism in the Central Karoo The Xhosa have been woven into the fabric of the Great Karoo since the late 1700s. Research has revealed that small groups settled at various times in the Nuweveld region from 1795. "We are collecting as much historic and background information as possible for the Kwa-Mandlenkosi Township Tourist Route to give visitors an insight into a little known part of the Karoo's history," says Siphiwe Piti, chairman of the Central Karoo District Municipality's Tourism Committee and a founder member of the Route Forum. "Little seems to have been written [...]
Curious habit of the Post Coach Routes
The search for the grave of British soldier, Private Calver, turned up some interesting historic facts. According to Mr T O Slabbert, owner of Goeiemoed, a farm across the road from Prince Albert Road Station, this farm was once on the post coach route. It was part of the huge old farms Vlakkraal and Tuinkraal that were proclaimed in 1838. On the little hill just south west of the present-day farm house, there once was a popular little hotel which served train passengers wishing to travel to Prince Albert and on to Oudtshoorn. Slabbert said that the farm Uitkyk, [...]
Love walked in and took her for a spin
Melton Wold guest farm between Loxton and Victoria West has a rich romantic history. Woven into the story is a Lady Chatterley-like tale which played itself out in 1910. This history of this farm dates back over 250-million years as a Bradysaurus fossil, preserved in situ, proves. In time a strong fountain attracted game, the San and Widow Nortje. She was given the title-deed to this farm by the Magistrate of Beaufort West in 1838. Little is known of this widow and how she ended up all alone on this forsaken farm which she named Boschduiwefontein. Nevertheless, she managed [...]
Beaufort West man of God buried on Robben Island
Visitors to remote little graveyard on Robben Island are often amazed to see the grave of Reverend Louis Hugo. Many wonder why this minister was buried there and why his body was not taken back to the mainland. Louis Hugo, who was born in Stellenbosch on November, 22, 1846, could trace his roots back to Daniel Hugo, a Huguenot who played a significant role in South Africa’s ecclesiastical and social arenas Daniel was a tiny man. He stood only 133 cm (4ft 6in) tall, but he was an excellent craftsman and gifted winemaker. After leaving school Louis studied [...]
Bank Manager captured by Boers
The Murraysburg branch of the Standard Bank was said to be the one most often robbed by commandos during the Anglo-Boer War. It was first hit on January, 1901, and because the Boers got away with so much money, the bank had to close for a few days, said Boer War researcher Taffy Shearing. On March 2, the bank manager, F C Lilford, was captured by the Boers while he was posting some official letters at the Biesiespoort post office. He was held for eight hours. Later that month he wrote a diary entry stating that the little town [...]
Renaissance Man Honoured
In 1778 Captain Robert Jacob Gordon stood on a Karoo koppie near the Swartberg mountains and painted the tranquil scene of Zacharias de Beer’s farm Qweekvallei in the valley below. In time this painting found its way to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Almost a century later a town, named in honour of Queen Victoria’s husband, sprang up on Queekvallei and later still a copy of the painting found its way to the town’s Fransie Pienaar Museum. Then, in May, 1999, the town, honoured Gordon, by naming the koppie in his honour. A small granite slab was placed at the [...]
Queen’s Death Stuns The Great Karoo
During the Anglo-Boer War, the news of Queen Victoria’s death on January 22, 1901, was greeted with deep emotions in the Karoo. British gun salutes echoed across the veld and rumours of battles spread. Journalist Edgar Wallace received the news at Matjiesfontein and wrote this poignant piece: “Queen Victoria had ever been a sacred subject among the rank and file of the army. They are very broad-minded the men who serve and love her; Papist or Buddhist or Jew are one with their Protestant selves. They are governed in their thoughts towards her by a love which cannot be [...]
The Land where the citrus blooms
A journey through the Karoo in 1856 so affected a Dutch traveller that he lapsed into philosophical meditations. Hendrik Antonie Lodewijk Hamelberg wrote: “I compare this road to the life of man. The potholes are the troubles he often feels cannot be overcome. Stoney places symbolise life’s disasters, while individual stones remind one that in the cup of the greatest earthly happiness there’s a drop of bitter wormwood.” Hamelberg travelled from Cape Town through Paarl, Bain’s Kloof, Mitchell’s Pass, Ceres, Karoopoort, and “the endless Karoo” via Beaufort West and Colesberg to Bloemfontein. He stayed at lonely farms and observed many [...]
Par For The Course?
Golf was first played at St Andrews in Scotland over 600 years ago, so it is little wonder that this venue is steeped in wonderful stories. According to Sporting Life’s Golf News some of the sand traps have very individualistic names relating to ginger beer, spectacles and the best spot to catch a lassie. One large bunker and two nearby smaller ones at the 10th hole have a historic link to South Africa and the Anglo-Boer War. The large one is the Kruger bunker, nearby is Mrs Kruger and Kruger’s mistress. The story goes that when war broke out [...]
Karoo Farming Experience Saves A Baby
Arthur Charles Jackson converted to Christianity in Karoo sheep pasture. In his teens he had high hopes of becoming a farmer and went to help out on a Kuilspoort, a farm belonging to his father’s cousin, Julius Jackson. While out in the veld one day Charles had an epiphany and gave himself to God “behind a Karoo bush.” In Manna In The Desert, A de Jager Jackson, writes: “In 1894 a young cousin, Charles, was so impressed with the shepherds’ forlorn state, the lonely deaths, the rude and summary burials and absence of aid in the hour of trouble [...]
