It could be said my roots were put down in the small southern Free State town of Bethulie, for it was there 100 years ago that my grandparents met and married. So it seemed the perfect occasion to visit it and try to visualise what life would have been like a century ago.
Bethulie, founded in 1863, is one of those towns which has not changed much, so it was not difficult to let my mind rove back in time.
What did surprise me, was the number of Durban people who have chosen to set up home there and say they have never regretted the move.
Armed with a map of the places of interest, we set off. Erven are huge, so neighbours who might have a bone to pick are certainly not in each other’s faces. Space seems to be a quintessential part of the town’s ambience.
First we sought out the police station where my grandfather would have served, in a small, rather run-down and isolated building, constructed in 1907.
We were delighted to see it still standing, having fully anticipated it could have fallen into disrepair and been demolished. The old lady who was renting the place (now a private residence) was happy to show us around.
The original ceilings and floors were still there and I tried to visualise grandpa as a young constable.
A somewhat easier fantasy to play out was a visit to the local Protea Store. Trading in these premises began in 1903 when the brothers De Bruyn opened a general dealership there.
Stepping inside was like crossing the threshold of another era. This was no modern supermarket, but the kind of old store which stocked everything from reels of cotton to garden spades. I could just picture my grandmother, shopping basket on her arm, gliding up and down the aisles in a long skirt with nipped-in waist.
A rather more difficult hurdle was trying to visualise what they would have done for entertainment in those days. Promenaded up and down the wide streets, no doubt.
Gran came to Bethulie to assist her sister, a dressmaker/milliner, but where would the house have been, and had my Grandad perhaps passed it on a regular basis, just so he could eye the beautiful young assistant? He always assured me she was gorgeous, and photographs certainly confirm this.
It’s a really relaxed place to wander around, especially in the evening. The street lights are dim, but I was assured crime is non-existent, and strolling after the heat of the day was pleasant. People even sat on the stoep, just as they must have done all those years ago.
Rising early before the sun flexed its muscles was also particularly enjoyable. There’s something special about the air in a country town at that time and I took a 6am swim in the pool of Lazy Life House where we overnighted, before strolling around the town. Owners Chris and Daphne Vieira say they visited the old house four times at different times of the day to get a feel for it, but each visit confirmed what they had thought on their first sighting - this was just what they were looking for.
The two have put in a lot of work and it is a cool oasis.
The old railway station has unhappier memories. It was here that women and children disembarked during the Anglo Boer War, then made a journey on foot to the concentration camp about 3km away. Apparently, the first child to die in the town because of the camp never even made it there, but died in the corrugated iron building on the station.
According to literature there were three camps. Between 4 800 and 5 000 were interned in the third and largest camp. During the 13 months of its existence 1 714 women and children died (equating to an average of nine deaths every two days, or 63 deaths every two weeks).
In the same way, the cemetery houses graves of British soldiers as well as some of the doctors who served in the concentration camp.
The present-day Methodist Church, built in 1877, was used as a school for children from the camp; while the impressive Dutch Reformed Church, inaugurated in 1864, housed British troops during the same war.
That war seems to be inextricably linked with the town’s history. Many children were orphaned after the war, prompting the Dutch Reformed Church to build an orphanage in the church grounds. Some of the huge old bluegums in the area were planted by the orphans before they were moved to Ladybrand.
In 1907 the town acquired its first hearse, and built a garage to house it. Prior to that the caskets were carried up the hill to the cemetery.
An ox wagon monument was erected to coincide with the symbolic trek of 1938 - a reminder of the 1838 Great Trek. The monument was made from smelted spent cartridge cases, but the oxen have since been stolen.
A monument to Louw Wepener (who was killed in action at Thaba Bosiu during the second Basotho War) is symbolic of the decay which sometimes surrounds our history. The road leading to it is completely overgrown.
One of the spectacular sights is the Hennie Steyn road/rail bridge: at 1 121m it is said to be the longest road and rail bridge in Africa. It opened in 1972.
Tussen die Riviere Game Park is situated at the confluence of the Caledon and the Orange rivers. The Vieiras, trying to inject new life into Bethulie, say they often arrange star-gazing trips to the reserve and champagne picnics at a view site overlooking the bridge.
amp,dressmaker,no doubt
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