The morning after the rain

The start of a new week and this days journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Good morning from Harrismith it's 14°C and 8mm rain fell during the night. The gardens at the Yard is looking good.

The Memorable Order of Tin Hats (M.O.T.H)

 We paid a visit to the Platberg Shellhole. It is believed that it was founded in 1928. The Shellhole lapsed rather towards the 1930s. With the 2nd Great War, there was a great influx of returned servicemen, all keen to carry on the true ideals of the Moths.

In 1962 the building in Stuart Street Harrismith was purchased as a Shellhole.

The Flag was hosted it waved in the slight breeze. The dark blue of the naval service, red for the army and light blue for the air force. The Tin Hat and lighted candle remind of the sun which rises and falls over the world’s battlefields, above all known and unknown graves.

Then you walk into the door and the emblem greets you.

The emblem with the tin hat and lighted candle signify the comradeship of the front line. The two rifles with fixed bayonets are leaning as if thrust into the battlefield soil, they are crossed to signify sacrifice and are revered in a token of remembrance. A circle of stars denoted the eternal universe forever that has no end. The twelve stars as in a clock indicate the hours of the day reminding us that every hour presents opportunities of harmony among mankind through tolerance and help.

On entering there is a beautiful collection of a uniform and tin hat.

The members stopped in front of the uniform and show a moment of silence and honour to the fallen soldiers.

“At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them”

The Shellhole is dedicated to preserving the military history and the people of Harrismith has donated to keep it updated. The display dates back from the Anglo Boer War to modern-day warfare.

 On the day of our visit the Shellhole was giving honour to the battle of El Alamein that took place from 8 – 12 November 1942.

 

  During this battle more than 100 000 men were killed, wounded or taken prisoner. The Shellhole was decorated according to the theme.

During the battle of El Alamein my uncle Ignatius (Natie) Barlow was one of the fallen soldiers. Early 1942 they were first to retreat to a little railway station called El Alamein. They were supposed to patrol the desert. On 6 July 1942 Nati and two of comrades were blown away by a German bomb that hit their panzer car. They died instantly. Their temporary burial ground would be the desert. After the battle, they were re-buried in El Alamein Military Cemetary. 

“Where the tree has fallen let it lie”

During the war, the Cartoonist, Bruce Bairnsfather’s Old Bill sketches boosted the morale at home and on the front line. The trench humour, cubby pipe-smoking British “Tommy” during the First World War. A weary Old Bill, pictured top left is also part of the Platberg Shellhole.

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month when the guns fell silent – we will remember

We all know about the poppies on Remembrance Day. In the spring of 1915, John McCrae was inspired by the sight of poppies growing in battle-scarred fields and he wrote that famous poem – Flanders Fields. After the First World War, the poppy has adopted a symbol of Remembrance.

In Flanders Fields

by John McCrae, May 1915

In Flanders Fields, the poppies blow

 Between the crosses, row on row,

 That mark our place; and in the sky

 The larks, still bravely singing, fly

 Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

 We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

 Loved and were loved, and now we lie

 In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

 To you from failing hands we throw

 The torch; be yours to hold it high.

 If ye break faith with us who die

 We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

 In Flanders fields.

One minute of memory of the fallen,

One minute in gratitude for survivors.

You can read more on the long table sheephead banquet here  

https://deoudehuize.blogspot.co.za/2014/06/the-moths-sheephead-long-table-banquet.html

Till next time

Hennie & Sandra

Platberg the Free State's Table Mountain

The Platberg, the Free State’s own “Table Mountain”, overlooks the town of Harrismith. It means the flat-mountain; the 2377m high inselberg is a landmark & forms an imposing backdrop to the town. It is an extension of the eastern foothills of the Drakensberg Mountains. Its western slopes & the summit of the mountain are a nature reserve with many endemic/near-endemic alpine plants that are unique to the region. The reserve is also home to eland, black wildebeest, blesbok & mountain reedbuck.

In October Harrismith welcomes outdoor sports enthusiasts to the town to participate in one of South Africa’s toughest running events: the Platberg Marathon also known as the Platberg Mountain Race. The history of the race is legendary. In 1922 residents, incensed by a remark from a British Major who disparagingly referred to the Platberg as “that little hill of yours”, challenged a soldier to a race to the summit in less than one hour. Major Belcher accepted, won the challenge & challenge & to this day his floating trophy is awarded to the first person to reach the Platberg’s summit top in what has become a prestigious & gruelling cross-country race and is known as the Platberg Mountain Marathon. This arguably is the ‘toughest in the world’ route as it climbs approximately 600m in 5 kilometres to the summit of Platberg (2377m) The race is the oldest in South Africa, older than the Comrades Marathon.

Platberg’s altitude ranges from 1900m to 2394m. The surface area covers approximately 3000ha. The slopes are steep with numerous vegetated gullies and boulder green slopes below vertical cliffs that are 20m to 45m high. Waterfalls cascade down the southern cliffs after rain. A permanent stream arising from the Gibson Dam on the undulating plateau flows off the escarpment and cascades like a waterfall.

From a distance, Platberg appears to have a distinct flat top. However, once on the summit the plateau is found to be undulating, with rolling grass-covered slopes.

Platberg was known “Mount D’Urban” till about 1850. The name then changed to Taba’Nchu (Tafelberg) but the name Platberg stuck.

An interesting fact is that the hagiographer who was sending from Platberg during the Anglo-Boer War could be read in Escourt.

It towers about 2000 feet above the town with a dolerite cape and halfway up its slopes can be seen cave-sandstone beds, with their characteristic incipient caves.

Above the Alexandra, the plantation is the only real cave, namely the Zeeland Cave as in the main picture of this collage. On Spur is running out to the west and is known as Palm Grove see the left bottom and a close-up next to it. The Swiss cave in line with the Khyber Pass cuts aeons ago out of the solid rock by the stream which flows below it, or one might say, between the two halves is shown in the below pictures next to the Spur. The picture on the bottom right is close-up.

The picture at the top right is the round Turkey cave, set high in the cliff and entry requires a cool head and strong arms, but success gives a wonderful sense of achievement and a magnificent view of the mountains in that quarter. A close-up is shown under that.

The Dining cave is a large over-hang with a monkey path running round a good part of it. It is the recognized resting place before attempting the last part of the climb up the One Man Pass on the right top.

It has wooded kloofs, filled with ferns and flowers, Agapanthus, Watsonias, Kniphofias, Leonotis, Selago, Phygelius and many others.

Woody patches of Leucosidea, Buddleia, Kiggelaria, Polygala, Heteromorpha and Rhus shrubs, as well as the indigenous Mountain Bamboo Thamnocalamus, tessellates, grow along the base of the cliffs. The shrubland vegetation is concentrated on the cool side of Platberg on the sandstone of the Clarens Formation, in gullies, on-screen slopes, mobile boulder beds, and on rocky ridges, Shrubs and trees also occur in a riparian habitat in the south-facing cleft, in which the only road ascends steeply to the summit. An occasional Yellowwood, a sad relic of the many that once flourished here, can be found.

The Rhodesian Flame Lilly (Lithonia Modesta) is a climbing perennial of up to 1 meter. It is found in tall grass on forest margin at 4800feet. It flowers in January and is very rare and is protected in KwaZulu-Natal. What makes this lily so exceptional is that it has also been found on the back slopes of Platberg.

 The waterfalls during the rainy season

Many passes are running through the mountain.

The most popular pass is called One Mans Pass, so-called because from a distance an isolated column of rocks standing out against the skyline presents the appearance of a single person standing upright. Up this Pass lies the route for those taking part in the annual mountain race held each October.

Zig-Zag Pass holds a romantic tale used to be told of a large rock, roughly four feet square, which could be seen at the foot of the Zig-Zag pass, a little towards the west. On it, the words ‘Iris Isabelle” was deeply cut. The story ran that a newcomer in this country climbed up and down the Pass and them, wearied out, fell asleep in the shadow of the rock. As he slept he dreamed of the girl he left behind and on waking he carved her name in the rock. But the Isabelle Rock, as it was called is now no more seen. It was probably crushed for use when the mountain Drive was first made in about 1925. The Zig Zag pass is visible just right of the Z-shaped rock formation and was utilized to descend from the mountain.

The longest and the easiest is the Donkey Pass. It was previously known as the Flat Rock Pass which leads up to the huge Robert Gibson Dam, near the eastern end of the mountain. In the past farmers would hire grazing on the summit and the story is told of a tremendous storm which burst on the summit and caused a herd of some thirty cattle to move before it. As still heavier sheets of rain fell the animals quickened their pace to escape. Moving blindly towards the edge of the cliff they fell to their death on the rocks 200 feet below. As the leaders felt the irresistible pressure of those behind them.

 The Donkey pass which was constructed in the early 1900s using donkeys – which is where it got its name from, consists of two concrete strips, with a radical 3 km ascent. From the onset, due to its steepness, the Donkey Pass is only accessible via four-wheel-drive vehicles & equipment. When you look back from the top, this pass beautifully frames the glittering Sterkfontein Dam & Drakensberg Mountains.

Die Khyber pass reminds of the sight of a gun. It was named after the Khyber pas in India.

The acting Governor, HF Wilson and his sister came to plant the first trees and suggested that the plantation should be called the Alexandra Forest after the Queen. The suggestion was adopted but the name was never in general use it was better known as the Government Forestry. On this occasion, tea was served in the area set aside for the nursery and many years afterwards townspeople were allowed to make fires there and have picnics and move freely about the whole area.

Seeds of the trees came from the Cape, Transvaal Europe and the United State of America, Australia and Paris, France. 38 varieties were planted. Within 3 years the whole area had been divided into 12-acre blocks with wagon roads between, fences had been put up, pipes or drains laid down and a dam made. By 1920 a quarter of a million trees had been planted in the streets, the Park, the Golf course and the commonage, at the Old Homestead, to the Gymkhana and the polo clubs and the SA Railways.

 In the early days, picnics were very popular. Perhaps because houses were not very comfortable, and had few of the conveniences which today are considered essentials, the early inhabitants of the town found that one of their greatest pleasures was getting out-doors and going for picnics. Picnics were often arranged to the “Flat Rock” and people could climb to the Gibson Dam. Akkerbos, near the base of Donkey Pass, is a grove of oak trees that provided a picnic site during a Royal Tour by the British monarchy, including Elizabeth II in 1947.

The Gibson Dam and the Water pans on Platberg

 An improvement by the British Military’s Royal Engineers helped to improve the supply of more water to the town. A dam on Platberg, built by the Royal Engineers, was named the Gibson Dam after Mr Gibson, a member of the town board. The wall of the dam was subsequently raised three times thereby increasing its capacity to 540 million litres. The main water reservoirs were constructed in 1904 on the highest point on King’s Hill. Water was pumped from the stream which flows through the then Botanic Gardens. From the reservoir, it flowed downhill to the buildings on King’s Hill. The reservoir foundation stone is seen between the two reservoirs. 

 The water supply of the town, which is always an important matter, was obtained from springs and surface water collected in the upland basins of the Platberg. The water flowed down the cliff through a deep Krantz and forms a clear mountain stream, which passed through bush and over basalt boulders to the town reservoirs. The large dam The Platberg dam with a wall 200ft long 9ft high and capable of impounding 120 million gallons of water was built by the Royal Engineers and completed in 1904. An account of 386GBP was presented to the council of Harrismith.

 

 Hawkins and Von During Dams – The dam was built in 1899 and named after Captain Harlan Hawkins. He was also in command of “Harrismith Volunteer Light Horse” from 1914 to 1918.

In the last years of the century, the Council once again took thought for the water supply of the town and planned a storage dam. This dam is today known as the Von During Dam, after a very popular mayor in office long after its construction, but it was felt desirable for him to have a memorial of some sort.

Mr Hawkins was responsible for making the dam and pointed out to the Council that a second dam high up the stream could be built. His suggestion was adopted and the present Hawkins dam came into being

Blockhouse still stands guard over the Dams 

During 1963 water was brought to the town via water furrow. This changed in July 1877 when the furrow was paved with sandstone.

 

Jono Skypictures showing Platberg and the town of Harrismith

Thanks to Biebie de Vos for his pictures of our beautiful mountain.

Thanks to Adam Truscott for the painting

Thanks to Dan Wessels for the beautiful fauna pictures.

Till next time

Hennie & Sandra

Kaalvoet Vrou Monument

Wanneer jy voor die monument staan besef jy dat die vrou klein van postuur is. Haar skouers is smal, byna asof sy koud kry in haar gegote gewaad. Sy is geklee in haar Voortrekkerkappie en lang rok. Onder haar rok steek haar fyn kaalvoete uit.

Haar regtervoet trap op ‘n klip. ‘n Mens verwag amper ‘n gebalde vuis of ‘n intimiderende gesig wat luidkeels uitroep, maar alles behalwe.

Haar arms hang langs haar sye, verseker nie die lyftaal van ‘n veglustige aktivis nie. Sy het ‘n tipe kyk wat met jare se ondervinding kom. Liefdevol, wys, sag, geduldig en omdat die geskiedenis dit laat deurskemer, maar met ‘n goeie skoot vasberadenheid op.

Beeldhouer was Anton van Wouw

 Die kaalvoet vrou is ‘n interessante hartseer storie van Susanna Catherina Smit. Susanna was die suster van Gert Maritz en die vrou van eerwaarde Erasmus Smit wat as die Voortrekkers se predikant opgetree het.

Die groep vroue was deel van Piet Retief se trek wat besluit het om die groen land van Natal as weivelde te kies. Volgens oorlewering het van die Voortrekker-vroue met ‘n Britse kommissaris in ‘n woordewisseling betrokke geraak. Hulle het met hom gestry omdat hulle nie onder Britse gesag wou staan nie en gesê dat vryheid vir hulle meer werd was as hulle lewens. Dit is toe dat Susanna Smit die bekende woorde uiter, “Liewer kaalvoet terug oor die Drakensberge as om onder Britse beheer te staan.” Susanna is egter in die destydse Natal dood, wat beteken dat sy nooit kaalvoet terug oor die Drakensberge geloop het nie.

Lees ook 

https://kameelhuisetussenspore.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-oliviershoek-pass-via-r74.html

Tot ‘n volgende keer

Groetnis

Hennie & Sandra

The Dam and Her Majesty's Apology

A page from the diary of The Dam 

The story of the character full house begins at the turn of the 19th century. Paul Michiel Bester was part of the Voortrekkers and he established the town Harrismith in the Eastern Free State in South Africa. The town was proclaimed and Paul became the first magistrate of the town. He then traded and became the owner of the farm called The Dam.

During the Anglo Boer War, Lord Roberts began a policy of farm-burning in the Orange Free State in June 1900. When Boeres were sighted within 20 miles from a Boer homestead, the occupants were given 10 minutes to evacuate their homes with a few belongings before the building were set alight by British forces. The animals destroyed and the homeowners sent to the nearest concentration camp.

Most of the burnings in the Free State were carried out by Colonel Mike Rimington's notorious Colonial Force, The Rimington Guides (Tigers).

Mary Bester (nee |Mandy) and her sister, who were English speaking, sere alone on the farm The Dam, as Mary's husband Paul Michiel, had been captured in September 1900 and were in Tin Town concentration camp in Ladysmith. When Rimington Tigers arrived Mary was asked, "Madam, have you seen any Boers around?" (which they pronounced BOARS, as in males pig). "Yes" she replied, "Down at the pig stay!"

They were give a little time to gather together a few belongs before the house was torched and Mary hid her silver teaspoons in a tin covered with rusks, as the Tigers were known to loot anything of value. As here sister was heavily pregnant Mary asked the soldiers to load a chair onto the wagon which was to take them into Harrismith, which they did. When Mike Rimington saw it, he hurled the chair off the wagon. The two sisters were allowed to travel on to friends in Natal where they spent the rest of the war. 

When the family returned to the farm after the war, the chair was still in the garden and was the only thing left of their home. 

After the war British government grudgingly voted 3 million pounds towards the restoration of the country. Most of this amount went towards toe restoration of the railways and mines. The Boers received very little of this money and there were usually string attached to their claims. 

The tongue in cheek name, Her Majesty's Apology was chosen although queen Victory had died before the war ended and scorched earth policy carried out by Kitchener and Roberts occurred during her reign. 

The Dam in days gone by. The Dam was one of the first Hotels in our area. 
Look at the beautiful broekie lace that surround the "stoep" 

The lady of the house and her girls are dressed up for the photo shoot. I wonder if they went into town. 
Mary Bester in the Dam Hotel taxi. The dominee objected to the name as he said it sounded like a swear word: "the damn hotel". 
The stable boy was pulled from the stables every so often, given a pair of white gloves and given the temporary job of watering at the tables.
Look at the hats of the little girls. Sure that they are ready to hit town in the Hotel vehicle.

In the photo is Paul Michiel Bester the first Magistrate of Harrismith 
with his wife and the youngest son. 
At the turn of the century, Paul Bester, was the original owner of the farm 
The Dam 

When you look out through the windows you can still hear the inhabitants carrying on with live on the farm Life was good at The Dam and the old photo's tell a wonderful story 

Dark days was to follow when the Second Boer War break out in 1899.
"Boer" was the common term for Afrikaans-speaking settlers in Southern Africa.
At the time Paul was interned in Ladysmith during the War.
he infamous Remington's Guides attacked his Free State Farm, turning out his family, and burning down the house.

The rocking chair standing in the corner was the only piece that survived the fire 

After the war, as an apology, the British Crown rebuilt the Homestead. 

The homestead was rebuilt as an apology from Queen Victoria 

It is this older wing of the house which has now been renovated for guests, hence the name "Her Majesty's Apology"

We visited Malcolm and Angie Bester in September 2015 on the farm. 

They are both artist and has put in a huge effort to promote the artist of the area. 

Malcolm and Angie on the 'stoep' of Her Majesty's Apology 

What can we say all beautiful 

Then there is the beautiful inside of the house.
The magnificent dining table and buffet was part of Angie's family treasures 

Lets take a stroll around the yard and what is happening out side 

The Dam now known as Her Majesty's Apology and some details 

The old vine that survived the test of time 

To soon it was time to say good bye.
Hennie and Malcolm having a last chat
Little would we know that Malcolm would pass after our visit
Rest in peace dear friend  

Till next time 

Sandra 

Thanks to Harrismith Chronicle for supplying some of the information