history

Read more about the article Methods of punishment at Cape Town’s Breakwater Lodge
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Methods of punishment at Cape Town’s Breakwater Lodge

The Breakwater Prison (or Breakwater Goal) within the V&A Waterfront precinct, was one of the prominent features along the early Cape Town coastline. In the 1840s, a need arose for a breakwater to be built, and it was suggested to make use of convict labour to do so. Construction of the first Breakwater Lodge (by convict labour) was completed in 1859 and work on the harbour breakwater itself started in 1860. During the later part of the 19th century other…

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02/10/2026
Read more about the article Graaff Reinet Kruithuis on Magazine Hill
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Graaff Reinet Kruithuis on Magazine Hill

The hill behind Graaff-Reinet is known as magazine Hill. But do you know why it has the name? Perhaps there was a battle fought here during the Anglo Boar War. Maybe local Burgers shot at the British from here while the town declared independence. Could a rebel have been shot here at some stage during the history of the town? The answer isn't quite as tragic or exciting, but it could easily have been linked to such an event. Also,…

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25/01/2024
Read more about the article Gill College, the Somerset East school that was supposed to be a university
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Gill College, the Somerset East school that was supposed to be a university

The history of Somerset East dates back to 1815 when Lord Charles Somerset established an experimental farm at the foot of the Boschberg. Somerset Farm was started to supply food to the British troops manning the eastern frontier of the Cape Colony, provide their horses with feed, and partly to cultivate tobacco for export purposes. By 1825 Lord Charles stood on the stoep of the house in 9 Paulet Street and surveyed Somerset Farm, dividing it into erven, thus starting the…

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17/01/2024
Read more about the article The old mill building in Somerset East
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The old mill building in Somerset East

One of the buildings in Somerset East that I find the most interesting is the little building on the corner of Paulet and Beaufort Streets. It is one that draws a lot of comments and speculation about its origins although the general thought is that it was a mill dating back to the early days of Somerset Farm. Information collected by Sheila van Aardt suggested it was used as a mill with the water wheel on the Beaufort Street side…

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27/12/2023
Read more about the article The historic Nieu-Bethesda Watermill
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The historic Nieu-Bethesda Watermill

Nieu-Bethesda is a place you have to explore on foot. Slowly. At your own pace. One of the historic buildings most people miss when visiting the village is the old watermill. The mill was erected in 1860 by Mr B.J. Pienaar, on the original farm, Uitkyk. The original wooden waterwheel was later replaced by the existing metal one. The wheel is driven by water from the village's ancient stone leivore. The leivore date back to the early days of the…

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01/09/2023
Read more about the article The Roodewal historic site outside Cookhouse
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The Roodewal historic site outside Cookhouse

Big monuments and historic buildings are easy to spot and often stand out. It's the ones that are often a bit obscured that very few people actually know about or get to visit. One such site is the Roodewal historic site next to the N10 near Cookhouse in the Eastern Cape. This site doesn't just have one, but three separate heritage-related items all linked to the same place. Roodewal Farm. I knew about one of them because there is a…

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23/03/2023
Read more about the article The war memorial in Somerset East
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The war memorial in Somerset East

No matter how big or small the town in South Africa, you are very likely to find a war memorial of some sort somewhere in or close to it. As you come into the Karoo Heartland town of Somerset East from the Graaff Reinet side the town's war memorial stands on an island on the left-hand side. The War Memorial commemorates the men of Somerset East and the surrounding district who lost their lives in the First and Second World…

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06/09/2022
Read more about the article Slagtersnek, reminders of a Boer rebellion in the Karoo Heartland
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Slagtersnek, reminders of a Boer rebellion in the Karoo Heartland

If you're driving along the N10 south of Cookhouse in the Eastern Cape and you keep your eyes open on the eastern side of the road, you'll spot a monument that remembers quite a significant piece of history linked to this district's early years. A sign on the gate identifies it as the Slagtersnek (or Slachtersnek) Monument, but what is Slagtersnek, what happened here and what led to it? Back in the early 1800s this area was the eastern border…

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30/08/2022
Read more about the article The grave of Ouma Dora Jacobs in Somerset East
Ouma Dora's grave
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The grave of Ouma Dora Jacobs in Somerset East

I have a particular interest in historic graves. They often tell a tale of an era long past in a way books can't. But sometimes a grave from the modern era holds just as many stories. Such a grave I found in Somerset East, set back in the trees at the end of a lane next to the Somerset East Museum. This is the grave of Ouma Dora Dotyi Jacobs who at the time of her death at the ripe…

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24/06/2022
Read more about the article Plaatbos forest and Storms River Pass
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Plaatbos forest and Storms River Pass

The Tsitsikamma is one of my happy places. It is where I go to recharge my soul and get close to nature and that is what we as a family did a couple of week ago. It wasn't a comprehensive charge, but a quick visit one just to breath in the fresh Tsitsikamma air and get away from lockdown at that stage. One of our stops for the day was the Plaatbos Forest section of the Garden Route (Tsitsikamma) National…

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29/09/2020