Towns

Towns in South Africa

Historic site in H’burg now open to tourists

August 3, 2017

High on the hills of Haenertsburg is the site where the last of the heavy and unwieldy long Toms from the Anglo Boer War were destroyed.

HAENERTSBURG –  Three kilometres off the Cheerio road, past Wegraakbosch, is the Rondebult site that locals call Top Camp. There local historian, Professor Louis Changuion, erected two small stone memorials. The wide but not very deep crater, caused by the explosion, is also still there.

On the Cheerio road, turn right to the site where the last long Tom was destroyed.

Recently farmers in the area, in conjunction with Haenertsburg Rotary, created a picnic spot with concrete seating and concrete benches for tourists to enjoy. Acacias and azaleas have been planted and an area has been levelled for parking. Professor Changuion said that he is still working on putting up an historic sign regarding the day Gustav Thiel destroyed the long Tom. The site overlooks the village with the imposing Iron Crown Mountain in the background.

One of two memorials at the site depicting the history, with the crater clearly visible in the background.

In his book Silence of the Guns, Changuion explains the antiquity of the long Toms and their importance in the Boer War. In May 1897, four guns transported by train were delivered in Pretoria. In October 1899, war between two Boer republics and England broke out. During October 1900, the Transvaal Volksraad, with their weapons reached Haenertsburg, a stopover before their journey to Pietersburg (now Polokwane).

A coloured pencil work depicting the long Tom memorial at the arboretum in the village. The view through the barrel is directed toward Rondebult.

The British seized Pietersburg on 8 April 1901. General Beyers decided not to defend and withdrew to Houtboschberg with the last remaining long Tom. The other long Toms were destroyed, once the ammunition had been expended, to prevent them from falling into British hands. Just before the British took over Haenertsburg the Boers destroyed the last long Tom at Rondebult on 30 April 1901.

Changuion erected the long Tom memorial in the village arboretum and spent countless hours searching for long Tom pieces at Rondebult and in the storeroom of a British museum. The long Tom was painstakingly recreated at the arboretum as pieces became available. The long Tom was placed in a strategic position in the arboretum. Looking down the barrel of the long Tom the view is directly towards Rondebult where the new tourist site has been created.

http://reviewonline.co.za/219804/historic-site-in-hburg-now-open-to-tourists/

Haenertsburg, Monuments

Barefoot woman (Kaalvoet vrou)

June 30, 2017

After the British occupation of Natal in 1842 many of the Trekkers decided to migrate either back over the Drakensberg into what later became the Orange Free State and the Transvaal or north to the present Vryheid area where King Mpande had offered them land. One of the Trekker women – Johanna Smit – said she would rather walk barefoot back over the Drakensberg rather than live under British rule. Her statue is situated at the top of Retief’s Pass.

Bergville

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Pilgrims rest

June 26, 2017

Pilgrims rest

Mining in this region of Mpumalanga dates back many centuries, when unknown miners worked quartz reefs in the area for gold.

Proof of these diggings can still be found in this area.

 

The history of this small delightful village dates back to 1873 when a miner, Alex Patterson, discovered alluvial gold on the farm named Ponieskrantz.

 

He had left the Mac-Mac area to search for a place that was less congested.

 

Though the discovery was kept as a secret, the inevitable happened when a second prospector William Trafford also discovered gold close by.

 

What they had found in this beautiful valley drew optimistic gold panners and prospectors from all over the country and the World (news of gold strikes of this magnitude travel fast !).

 

On 22nd September 1873 Pilgrim’s Rest was officially proclaimed a gold field and the scatter of tents and rudimentary shacks soon grew into a flourishing little village complete with sturdy brick houses, church, shops, canteens, a newspaper and the well-known Royal Hotel.

 

The diggers called it Pilgrim’s Rest because here, at last, after so many false trails and faded dreams they had truly found their home.

 

In due course the alluvial deposits were depleted and the locals turned to forestry, but their village, whose residents still number in the hundreds, has been painstakingly preserved as a “living museum” and major South African tourist venue.

Pilgrims rest

Spioenkop battle

June 18, 2017

Spioenkop battle

At the beginning of the South Africa War Boer forces entered Natal and attacked the British forces at Dundee. As the British retreated to Ladysmith the Boers took up positions along the Thukela River in the Colenso area.

The British, under Sir Redvers Buller, tried to break through the Boer lines but on 15 December 1900 suffered a humiliating defeat at Colenso.

Spioenkop was the highest point on the Boer line, offered good views in all directions, and would allow command of the road to Ladysmith, so it seemed the best place to break the Boer line.

On the night of 23 January 1900 the British attempt to capture Spioenkop began. A series of blunders and misunderstandings resulted in another defeat for the British. Under the cover of dark and obscured by mist 1700 British soldiers moved towards the summit of the mountain. After little resistance they were able to flush the 100 or so Boers from the top of the mountain where the British dug in.

This seemed like a good position, but as the mist lifted at dawn the British found themselves exposed to fire from the surrounding hills each occupied by the Boers.

In particular the Carolina Commando, under Cmdt. Hendrik Prinsloo who occupied Aloe Knoll to the right of the British position, were responsible for many of the British casualties.

British reinforcements arrived during the day but it made little difference to the battle that ended the following night when the British began a retreat. On the day 343 British were killed and 563 wounded. The Boers lost 68 men and 134 were wounded.

Today the battlefield is marked by a number of monuments, graves and interpretative displays.

Bergville, Monuments

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Bloukrans battle

June 18, 2017

Bloukrans battle

THE BLOUKRANS MASSACRE – 1838 After killing Retief and his party, Dingane’s impis (army) moved into the valleys to the west under the Drakensberg mountains where the Voortrekkers were encamped in family groups. They were stretched over a distance of 45 miles by 25 miles and were expecting good news from Retief’s meeting with Dingane. Three Zulu regiments (10,000 men) moved silently up the Bushman’s River towards the unsuspecting trekker camps that were unaware of Retief’s fate. They then attacked the dispersed laagers in these areas. At several points along the Bushman’s River where there was no warning, many Voortrekkers died and whole encampments were wiped out. One or two trekkers managed to escape and rode on horseback to warn the others. The Zulu impi, attacking from the east had however miscalculated the number of Voortrekkers – now more than one thousand wagons – and was distracted by claiming their cattle. This, and the fact that the Tugela River was in full flood, meant that the Zulu attack was not pressed home. Gert Maritz was encamped at Saailaager, some way behind the the other laagers, heard the gunfire and had time to make some hasty defences. Later, on the 17th, the Zulus attacked him but were on the South bank of the flooded Bushman’s River. By forming a human chain, they attempted to cross but the chain was broken repeatedly by musket fire from the laager. That same night the Zulu impi attacked the van Rensburg laager and forced the ten families there to flee to a nearby hill. Because of the haste of the retreat the men were short of ammunition. Only through the bravery of another trekker who dashed through the Zulu warriors with fresh ammunition were the trekkers saved. The area was subsequently called Weenen (‘weeping’), also to the Zulu it was called kwaNobamba – ‘the place where we caught them’. A Voortrekker commando sent from Durban to avenge Retief’s death was ambushed at Italeni with the cost of many lives. On the 57th anniversary of Blood River, the remains of the 370 who had lost their lives at Bloukrans were exhumed and buried together. There is a memorial on the spot.

Escort, Monuments

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Worlds view

June 17, 2017

World’s View

World’s View is located in the Zwartkops mountain range, three kilometres west of Pietermarizburg, and is where many Voortrekker wagons, arriving in Natal in 1837/38, began their descent into Pietermaritzburg. In what became known as the Great Trek the Voortrekkers left the Cape Colony, beginning in 1835, to escape British rule.

 

Many of them came to Natal and negotiated with the Zulu King Dingane for land to settle and farm. The actual route that the wagons took down from World’s View can still be seen. In addition, the site provides stunning views of Pietermaritzburg and the surrounding country.

 

http://www.msunduzimuseum.org.za/museum-complex/

Pietermaritzburg

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Pietersburg

June 17, 2017

Pietersburg

In the 1840s, Voortrekkers under the leadership of Andries Potgieter established Zoutpansbergdorp, a town 100 km to the north west. This settlement had to be abandoned because of clashes with the local tribes. They founded a new town in 1886 and named it Pietersburg in honour of Voortrekker leader Petrus Jacobus Joubert. The British built a concentration camp at Pietersburg during the Boer War to house almost 4,000 Boer women and children. The town officially became a city on April 23, 1992; on February 25, 2005, the government declared the official name of the city as Polokwane, a name that was generally in use by the speakers of Northern Sotho. The city was the site of the ANC national conference which saw Jacob Zuma take over as head of the party.

Pietersburg

Voortreker museum

May 3, 2017

Msunduzi Museum / Voortreker Museum

The nucleus of the Voortrekker Museum was established in 1912 in the Church of the Vow which had been built in 1840 to fulfill the vow the Voortrekkers had made to God before the Battle of Blood River, or Ncome, that, if he would grant them victory, they would build a Church in his honour. The museum houses many Voortrekker relics including a water bottle and Bible, which belonged to Piet Retief and were found at KwaMatiwane, where he and his party had been killed on the orders of King Dingane.

Since the early 1990s, the museum has evolved into a multi-cultural institution showcasing the history of all of the people of the province. The museum now also consists of the former Longmarket Girls’s School, which houses the administration and a number of displays, the Shiva Indian Temple, which is an exact replica of the Groutville Shiva Perumal temple, built by Perumal Naicker in 1937, a Zulu hut in the museum yard, Andries Pretorius’ House built in 1842, and, at 333 Boom Street, the oldest double-storey house in Pietermaritzburg.

Among the unique treasures on display in the Voortrekker Museum are King Dingane’s chair, carved from a single piece of wood, his headrest and some beads found in the remains of his palace at Mgungundlovu. There is also what is reputed to be the second-oldest wagon in South Africa, built in 1824 and used by Voortrekker Albert Smit during the Great Trek, and a number of sculptures by Mary Stainbank.

voortrekker-museum

voortrekker-museum

http://www.heritagekzn.co.za/sites/visit/pietermaritzburg/item/70-voortrekker-museum

Church of the Vow

The Church of the Vow is the original part of the museum, and houses exhibitions dealing with the history of the Church, the Vow the Voortrekker made before the Battle of Bloodriver/ Ncome, and the lifestyle of the Voortrekkers. The original pulpit, made by 2 German Craftsmen in 1840, is still on display.

Andries Pretorius House

The Pretorius House was awarded the Master Builders of SA Award for Historical Buildings in 2008, and is supposedly the first double-storied farmhouse that was built in Natal. It is furnished with items and furniture from the 1850’s, most of which belonged to Voortrekkers who settled in Natal.

The Voortrekkerhuisie (Boom Street)

This is one of the oldest original Voortrekker houses built in Pietermaritzburg, and dates from the early 1840’s. At the moment it houses a small display of items from the Anglo Boer War, specifically focussing on the concentration camps in Natal.

E.G. Jansen Extension

The Extension, added to the museum in 1955, is home to one of the original oxwagons used on the Great Trek, as well as a large number of Voortrekker memoribilia. The story of the origin of the Great Trek, its leaders and some of its most touching incidents is depicted.

 

Museum, Pietermaritzburg

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Monument hill

May 2, 2017

Monument Hill

Monuments, Orania

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HIMEVILLE FORT & MUSEUM

April 29, 2017

Himeville fort and museum

Originally built as a fortified laager, the “Old Fort” in Himeville (the last of its type to be constructed in South Africa) was completed in 1900. In 1902 it was taken over by the Natal Mounted Police and was used as a prison until its closure in 1972. Subsequently, through the efforts of local residents and the local Historical Society, who took over the buildings in 1976, it became a museum, which was opened to the public in 1981.

Said to be one of the best rural museums in South Africa, the museum comprises a large complex (warders’ house, cells, the armory (originally the only building within the laager walls), workshops and parade ground, and a few additional buildings erected to house some of the exhibits).

The warders’ house, furnished much in the style of 1900, comprises a typical living/dining room, kitchen, bedroom and nursery. Wildlife exhibits; local pioneering records and photographs; typical examples of a Post Office/telephone exchange and a schoolroom; rock art and other items associated with the Bushmen of the area; and bead work and other artifacts of the local AmaBhaca community are on display in some of the old cells. A variety of exhibits is housed in the old armory, while a modern addition houses a number of farming and dairy implements, and a display of relics from the Boer and the two World Wars. Around the parade ground are displayed several agricultural implements; carts and wagons; a blacksmith’s forge and workshop.

Forts, Himeville, Museum

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