The three months of Januworry are finally behind us and we are slap bang in the hottest (and currently very humid) month of February. So far I’m keeping to my promise of doing the travel mailer every month again. Two down, ten to go.

I would like to encourage you to have a look at the Karoo Heartland website. I’m hoping to make it the most comprehensive reference guide to everything about the Eastern Cape Karoo, but I need your help. Do you own or know somebody who owns an establishment in the Karoo Heartland? Please encourage them to check out the website and join Karoo Heartland Routes.

Have a great February and stay cool

Jonker

This month, we look at:

• Historic Cemeteries of Middelburg Karoo

• The Jeffreys Bay Spekboom Labyrinth

• The historic Port Elizabeth Public Library

• What is the story behind the proudly Eastern Cape Ouma Rusks?

• Karoo Heartland Routes Recommendations

If there is something that you would like to see featured in our monthly travel mailer or have any suggestions, please drop us an email at jonker@fireflyafrica.co.za

Historic Cemeteries of Middelburg Karoo

Middelburg Karoo has several very interesting historic cemeteries worth visiting, especially if you are interested in the Anglo-Boer War period.

The Van der Walt and Voster Cemetery at Grootfontein

The history of Grootfontein dates back to the 1790s and the first official registration took place in 1836. Under the successive ownership of the Van der Walt and Vorster families, Grootfontein gradually grew to its present size of 11,418 hectares. The Van Der Walt and Voster Cemetery can be found on near the PW Voster Museum at Grootfontein.

Grootfontein Military Cemetery (Kingsway Cemetery)

After the Anglo-Boer War ended in 1902, the British military era of Grootfontein lasted until 1910. During this military period between 12,000 and 15,000 British soldiers were stationed at Grootfontein. The first military cemetery was located to the east of the “Droë” river and was closed in October 1905 due to the spreading of contagious diseases.

The “New” Grootfontein Military Cemetery

A new military cemetery was established to the east of Grootfontein, about 8 km (5 miles) from the military camp on the Oorlogspoort gravel road.

Middelburg Old Cemetery

The cemetery lies in the centre of Middelburg. It houses several graves from the Anglo-Boer War as well as early prominent inhabitants of the district.

The Jeffreys Bay Spekboom Labyrinth

Jeffreys Bay’s history is made up of surfers, fishermen, seashells and holiday makers. The town doesn’t really have a lot of historical sites or monuments, but between the Kouga Municipality and Jeffreys Baai Dorp van Drome, a lot of stories are starting to be told through heritage sites and attractions being created. One of these is the Spekboom Labyrinth.

Opened in 2022, the labyrinth was designed by landscape architect Pieter Kok, while the four columns were designed by Zuanda Badenhorst.

The four columns at the entrance to the labyrinth represent the four natural elements: earth (green), water (blue), air (white), and fire (red).

Why spekboom? Spekboom is adaptable to many different environments and is easy to propagate, but that’s not all . . . For the amount of water that a spekboom uses, it’s also the most efficient carbon guzzler in the world – even more efficient than a rainforest tree! One plant can absorb 8,5 kg of CO2 in a year and can live for as long as 200 years.

Port Elizabeth Public Library

The splendid old Port Elizabeth Main Library is situated in the North-Western corner of Vuyisile Mini (Market) Square. The first building on the site was constructed in 1835 and was initially used as a courthouse from 1854.  A small reading society, known as the Port Elizabeth News Society, which later led to the establishment of the library, was established in 1844 and was housed in a rented room above a shop in Jetty Street.

The present library building was officially opened in 1902. The building is regarded as an excellent example of Victorian Gothic architecture, and the terra-cotta façade was manufactured in England and shipped to Algoa Bay in numbered blocks.

The statue of Queen Victoria in front of the library, carved in Sicilian marble, was unveiled on 30 September 1903 to commemorate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee that took place in 1887. The position in front of the Library was a most command­ing at the time, looking down Jetty Street, the main entrance to the town, and welcoming new arrivals.

The library was closed in 2014 due to health and safety concerns, and a multi-phase refurbishment was started soon afterwards. While some of these improvements have been made, it is unclear when the project will be completed. However, since 2023, the Main Library Friends (MLF), a volunteer interest group supporting the library, has had special permission to host open days for locals and tour groups from visiting cruise ships.

Proudly Eastern Cape – Ouma Rusks

Remember the Ouma Rusks advert? “Dip a Ouma, dip a Ouma, dip a Ouma…”

Towards the end of the 1690s, Dutch Trekboers, and later the Voortrekkers, were the first to make South African rusks the way we know them today; hard but crumbly twice-baked treats made with buttermilk and enjoyed best with coffee. Fresh milk wasn’t readily available, so the then less desirable buttermilk was used when early Afrikaner women, influenced by their French and other European roots, adapted existing recipes for “biscuit” to include the ingredients available.

Buttermilk was a considerably less appealing by-product of butter, but food was scarce and throwing out anything taboo. So when available, the brownish liquid was saved and baked into the biscuits for taste and creaminess. Baking the creamy buttermilk into the rusks essentially dehydrated the liquid into a “long-life” creamer. This added nutrition and flavour, as the buttermilk would be released again when dunked into a cup of black “moerkoffie” and turned the coffee milky!

In 1939, during the Great Depression, the pastor in the small Eastern Cape town of Molteno had an initiative to assist the entrepreneurial efforts of the women in his congregation. They each received a half-crown, which is equivalent to two shillings and sixpence. Elizabeth Ann Greyvenstyn responded by baking rusks, and so Ouma Rusks were born.

Still produced in Molteno, Ouma Rusks employs about 230 people and is the biggest employer of locals in a 150 km radius.

So, “Dip a Ouma, dip a Ouma, dip a Ouma…”

Source: Daily Maverick – Rusks and Oumas: Foundation of a nation by Louzel Lombard Steyn

Karoo Heartland Routes recommend: