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Introduction

This was originally a chapter in my book, Bacon & the Art of Living. I decided it fits better with the work of Oom Jan. He translated the war diaries of his grandfather and great-grandfather into Afrikaans. They both participated in the Anglo-Boer War. Oom Jan’s Great-grandfather was also a veteran of the Basotho Wars.

I started this collection as a way to give visual context to their lives and I realised that the focus should remain the work of Oom Jan. So I moved it out from my book on meat curing to Oom Jan’s work.

The Boers (Our Lives and Wars)

Most of these photos are also available on Google Photos in the following album for easy sharing: https://photos.app.goo.gl/NgBRUJwEapTMDv1A6

Americans in the ABW

Annexing the Orange River Colony

Apartheid

Australians in the ABW

Dirk Marais wrote,

“Australia and the ABW
1899-1902

NSW Bushmen

The war between the British and the two Dutch South African republics – the Boer War – began on 11 October 1899 when the Boers declared war on the British. It lasted until 31 May 1902 when Lord Kitchener and General Botha signed a treaty, the Peace of Vereeniging. Australia, as part of the British Empire, offered troops from the six separate colonies and from 1901, the new Australian Commonwealth.

Contingents

The first colonial contingents arrived in South Africa between November 1899 and March 1900; the second between December 1899 and February 1900; the third between April and May 1900 and the fourth between May and June 1900. The 5th NSW contingent departed between March and April 1901 and consisted of the 2nd and 3rd NSW Mounted Rifles and those troops destined to become the 3rd NSW Imperial Bushmen, plus reinforcements for the Field Ambulance NSWAMC and A Field Battery RAA. After 1901 additional contingents of soldiers were sent to South Africa to form battalions with squadrons from each state. These battalions were first numbered as units of the Commonwealth Contingent. Later the entire force was designated as the Australian Commonwealth Horse.

Casualties

It is estimated that about 16,000 Australians fought in the Boer War and there were about 600 casualties and deaths. Six Australian soldiers were decorated with a Victoria Cross. In our collection are some general records relating to the Boer War, such as regimental orders and photos of the NSW Bushmen’s Contingent.”

Concentration Camps – A balanced perspective

Sincere thanks to Colin Beazley, a friend, a tireless researcher and someone who is interested in the truth.

Army Headquarters, Pretoria, December 6, 1901

Sir, In forwarding the enclosed correspondence with regard to the refugee camps, I have the honour to submit the following brief statement of the actual facts, which are, I need hardly say, widely at variance with those set forth by Mr S. W. Burger.’

2. Numerous complaints were made to me in the early part of this year by surrendered burghers, who stated that after they had laid down their arms their families were ill-treated and their stock and property confiscated by order of the Commandants-General of the Transvaal and Orange Free State. These acts appear to have been taken in consequence of the circular dated Roos, Senekal, 6th November 1900, in which the Commandant-General says: ‘ ‘ Do everything in your power to prevent the burghers laying down their arms. I will be compelled, if they do not listen to this, to confiscate everything movable or immovable, and also to burn their houses.”

3.1 took occasion at my interview with Commandant-General Louis Botha to bring this matter before him, and I told him that if he continued such acts I should be forced to bring in all women and children and as much property as possible to protect them from the acts of his burghers. I further inquired if he would agree to spare the farms and families of neutral or surrendered burghers, in which case I expressed my willingness to leave undisturbed the farms and families of burghers who were on commando, provided they did not actively assist their relatives. The Commandant General emphatically refused even to consider any such arrangement. He said, ” I am entitled by law to force every man to join, and if they do not do so, to confiscate their property and leave their families on the veldt.” I asked him what course I could pursue to protect surrendered burghers and their families, and he then said, “The only thing you can do is to send them out of the country, as if I catch them they must suffer.”

After this, there was nothing more to be said, and as military operations do not permit of the protection of individuals, I had practically no choice but to continue my system of sweeping inhabitants of certain areas into the protection of our lines. My decision was conveyed to the Commandant-General in my official letter dated Pretoria, 16th April 1901, from which the following is an extract: ‘As I informed your Honour at Middelburg, owing to the irregular manner in which you have conducted and continue to conduct hostilities, by forcing unwilling and peaceful inhabitants to join your commandos, a proceeding totally unauthorized by the recognised customs of war, I have no other course open to me, and am forced to take the very unpleasant and repugnant step of bringing in the women and children.’

I have the greatest sympathy for the sufferings of these poor people, which I have done my best to alleviate, and it is a matter of surprise to me and to the whole civilized world, that your Honour considers yourself justified in still causing so much suffer- ing to the people of the Transvaal by carrying on a hopeless and useless struggle.’ From the foregoing it will, I believe, be perfectly clear that the responsibility for the action complained of by Mr. Burger in his letter of the 21st November 1901, rests rather with the Commandants-General of the Transvaal and Orange Free State than with the Commander-in-Chief of the forces in South Africa.’

4. It is not the case that every area has been cleared of the families of burghers, although this might be inferred from the despatch under discussion. On the contrary, very large numbers of women and children are still out, either in Boer camps or on their farms, and my Column Commanders have orders to leave them alone unless it is clear that they must starve if they are left out upon the veldt.

5. In addition to the families of surrendered burghers who either came in of their own accord or were brought in solely to save them from the reprisals of the enemy, there are three other classes represented in our refugee camps :

(a) Families who were reported to be engaged in a regular system of passing information to the enemy.(b) Families from farms which were constantly used by the enemy as places from which to snipe at our troops.’

(c) Families from farms which were used as commissariat depots by the enemy.’ (A) and (b) speak for themselves. Mr. Burger seems to consider that c) is in conflict with the statement that such families would have succumbed to hunger if not removed. If, however, a Boer commissariat depot is found with perhaps regular messing arrangements for thirty men, and thousands of pounds of flour and mealies, of course these supplies have to be withdrawn, leaving only a margin of a few weeks’ food for the resident inmates of the farm. At the close of those few weeks, the family runs danger of starvation and has to be brought in, so that the want of logic complained of is merely an attempt on the part of Mr. Burger to make a clever point upon paper .’

6. The majority of the women and children in the refugee camps are those of surrendered burghers; but neither they, nor the wives of prisoners of war, nor of men on commando, make any serious complaint, although they are constantly being invited by commissions, inspectors, etc., to say something, however little it may be, against the arrangements made for their comfort, recreation, and instruction.’

7. Mr. Burger is anxious that a Boer commission should be permitted to visit the women’s camps and render a report upon them. Indeed, this is the one practical suggestion contained in his letter. It is strange, to say the least of it, that no mention is made by Mr. Burger of the fact that I have already told the Commandant-General I would permit a representative appointed by him to visit the refugee camps in order that an independent report might be furnished upon the subject. Nor is there any reference to the inspection of these camps which was actually carried out by Captain Malan. It will be remembered that I immediately acceded to General B. Viljoen’s request that he might depute an officer for this purpose. He selected Captain Malan, who went around asking if there were any complaints, and who afterwards expressed his entire satisfaction with the arrangements which had been made on behalf of the Boer women and children. I take this opportunity of stating that I would make no objection to Commandant-General Botha himself, accompanied if he likes by General Delarey and Mr. Steyn, visiting these camps, provided they undertake to speak no politics to the inmates, who, as a rule, appreciate the general situation much better than their husbands or brothers on commando.’

8. Finally, I indignantly and entirely deny the accusations of rough and cruel treatment to women and children who were being brought in from their farms to the camps. Hardships may have been sometimes inseparable from the process, but the Boer women in our hands themselves bear the most eloquent testimony to the kindness and consideration shown to them by our soldiers on all such occasions.

5. In addition to the families of surrendered burghers who either came in of their own accord or were brought in solely to save them from the reprisals of the enemy, there are three other classes represented in our refugee camps:

(a) Families who were reported to be engaged in a regular system of passing information to the enemy

(b) Families from farms which were constantly used by the enemy as places from which to snipe at our troops.’

(c) Families from farms which were used as commissariat depots by the enemy.’ (A) and (b) speak for themselves. Mr. Burger seems to consider that c) is in conflict with the statement that such families would have succumbed to hunger if not removed. If, however, a Boer commissariat depot is found with perhaps regular messing arrangements for thirty men, and thousands of pounds of flour and mealies, of course, these supplies have to be withdrawn, leaving only a margin of a few weeks’ food for the resident inmates of the farm. At the close of those few weeks, the family runs danger of starvation and has to be brought in, so that the want of logic complained of is merely an attempt on the part of Mr. Burger to make a clever point upon paper .’

6. The majority of the women and children in the refugee camps are those of surrendered burghers; but neither they, nor the wives of prisoners of war, nor of men on commando, make any serious complaint, although they are constantly being invited by commissions, inspectors, etc., to say something, however little it may be, against the arrangements made for their comfort, recreation, and instruction.’

7. Mr. Burger is anxious that a Boer commission should be permitted to visit the women’s camps and render a report upon them. Indeed, this is the one practical suggestion contained in his letter. It is strange, to say the least of it, that no mention is made by Mr. Burger of the fact that I have already told the Commandant-General I would permit a representative appointed by him to visit the refugee camps in order that an independent report might be furnished upon the subject. Nor is there any reference to the inspection of these camps which was actually carried out by Captain Malan. It will be remembered that I immediately acceded to General B. Viljoen’s request that he might depute an officer for this purpose. He selected Captain Malan, who went around asking if there were any complaints, and who afterwards expressed his entire satisfaction with the arrangements which had been made on behalf of the Boer women and children. I take this opportunity of stating that I would make no objection to Commandant-General Botha himself, accompanied if he likes by General Delarey and Mr. Steyn, visiting these camps, provided they undertake to speak no politics to the inmates, who, as a rule, appreciate the general situation much better than their husbands or brothers on commando.’

8. Finally, I indignantly and entirely deny the accusations of rough and cruel treatment to women and children who were being brought in from their farms to the camps. Hardships may have been sometimes inseparable from the process, but the Boer women in our hands themselves bear the most eloquent testimony to the kindness and consideration shown to them by our soldiers on all such occasions.9. I enclose a copy of letters which I have just despatched on this subject to Mr. Burger, Mr. Steyn, and to General De Wet, offering to return to them any women who may be willing to rejoin the Boer commandos in the field.’Of Lord Kitchener’s offer, no advantage (or rather disadvantage) was taken. General Botha’s policy in the matter, the policy of driving upon the British the responsibility of looking after the women and children, is confirmed by a letter from Assistant-General Tobias Smuts to the Commandant-General which fell into Lord Kitchener’s hands (Cd. 933).

In connection with the transport of women,’ he wrote, ‘ we took up the same standpoint as a principle, but still I got the order from you to send the women away against their wish; and when I asked you what to do if the English refused to take the women, your answer was that in that case, I had to load them off within the lines of the enemy.’From “The Rights and Wrongs of the Transvaal War” ET Cook (1900)

Colin also wrote, “In my recent post there were a number of people that questioned the reason for the large number of deaths in the camps. Here is an opinion formed by Napier Devitt, who was a chief magistrate. This was written in 1941 and a reaction to “wild statements” made by others. I’d urge the reader to remember who the writer was and where his sympathies lay. These are not my views, I find them interesting. From reading the short work, it appears that Devitt had visited some of the camps to form his opinions. This is from the conclusion of “The Concentration Camps in South Africa”

From all available evidence, it is clear that: 1. The wives and children of the burghers of the two Republics suffered great hardships. Many had to leave their homes, some of which were burned down. 2. The deaths in the camps were principally due to

(a) mismanagement in some camps;

(b) serious and unavoidable shortage of qualified doctors and nurses;

(c) shortage of meat, milk, and other necessaries in some parts during 1901 in particular;

(d) that women and children formed the bulk of the white non-belligerent population. Those residents in towns were not so affected as those living on their farms. The latter, taken suddenly from their simple, warm homes, and ways of life, and crowded into tents which were pitched in confined spaces, all under a system foreign to their former life, made them a ready prey to disease;

(e) the epidemic of measles which raged during certain months in 1901 was aggravated in its effects by its sequelae of pneumonic and bronchial troubles, caused by the cold winds, the canvas tents, and, in the earlier days to some extent by the prejudices against hospital treatment on the part of the Boer women, and also occasionally by the use of certain ‘domestic’ remedies;

(f) the psychological effect of the presence of the dreaded ‘mazes’ in these camps probably accentuated the severity of the attack;

(g) the military policy and strategy of the Boer commanders who forced the hands of the British military and compelled them to take charge of the women and children who were either following the commandos or who were on their farms, unprotected and liable to all manner of risk and dangers. The stated reason was the farm burning. This strategy left the British no choice. The columns collected the people; sent, or took them to stated places where there was either no provision at all for their housing and feeding or insufficient provision. In the words of Miss Hobhouse‘, They were between the Devil and the deep sea’.

3. The presence of enteric fever in some camps was due to conditions over which the camp authorities had little or no control. As the methods of prevention became better understood cases became less in number.

4. In course of time, and with the passing of the epidemic, the population became more accustomed to their surroundings. Supplies and rations improved; and the death rate dropped so much that in March 1902 the population of twelve camps being 44,626, the deaths for that month were 158, or about 3.5 per 1,000; or 42 per 1,000 per annum.

In Middelburg (Transvaal) the following month there were only two deaths; a rate of one in over 2,000 of the population, or the equivalent of 6 per 1,000 of the population per annum. In conclusion, on the facts available to me, I am of the opinion that the Primary Cause of the disaster was the military strategy of the Boer leaders. Neither side foresaw the result. That the chief Secondary Cause was the measles epidemic and its sequelae

Black Refugees, soldiers and ordinary people

Martin Plaut writes about the role of ‘black Boers’, as they refer to black people fighting for the Boer nations, and says that the role of these ‘black Boers’ is captured in this British ditty:

‘Tommy, Tommy, watch your back
There are dusky wolves in cunning Piet’s pack
Sometimes nowhere to be seen
Sometimes up and shooting clean
They’re stealthy lads, stealthy and brave
In darkness they’re awake
Duck, Duck, that bullet isn’t fake.

Chris Pretorius posted a quote about Plaatjies: “In 1932, Solomon Tshekisho (Sol) Plaatje, intellectual, journalist, linguist, politician, translator and writer, born at Doornfontein near Boshof, OFS in 1876, passed away in Soweto at the age of 56. He was (amongst others) court translator for the British during the Siege of Mafeking and diarized his experiences, which was published posthumously.”

Bloemfontein

Boer Warrior

British Soldiers

Louis Botha

Brandwater Basin (Where my great Grandfather surrendered to the British – ABW)

For a detailed treatment on events surrounding the Brandwater Basin, see The Life and Times of Jan W Kok.

British POW’s

Bermuda, Hawkins Island

Boer POW’s

Canadians fighting in the ABW on the side of Britain

Cape Town

Children, Concentration Camps and War

Crossing the River

Colesberg ABW

Concentration Camps

Convoy

Below, Boers Entering Van Rhyndsdorp, Photo supplied by Iain Hayter.

Genl. De la Rey

Gen. De Wet, Christiaan.

The newspaper article is from a 1950’s Sunday Times article. Who is the “Pieter” referred to in the article? There was a Pieter de Villiers Graaff who was known as the Cape Rebel (Kaapse Rebel). He was a cousin of Sir David de Villiers Graaff, who is featured prominently in my work on bacon. Pieter participated in 25 battles in the ABW against the English and on 24 March 1901, he was captured and sent to India as a POW where he remained for the duration of the war. I doubt if the Sunday Times article refers to him. He did, however, have a son, also named Pieter de Villiers Graaff. He was born on December 16, 1911, and passed away on July 11, 1988. He was 76.

(Reference: Sir David Pieter de Villiers-Graaff, https://www.geni.com/people/Pieter-Graaff/6000000013388531529# and https://www.geni.com/people/Pieter-Hendrik-de-Villiers-Graaff/6000000007158098655)

Dutch Volunteers

Diggers during the Gold Rush

District Six

District Six (Afrikaans Distrik Ses) is a former inner-city residential area in Cape Town. Over 60,000 of its inhabitants were forcibly removed during the 1970s by the apartheid regime.

Diyatalawa and Ragama, Ceylon (Diyatalawa is where my great grandfather was a POW – ABW)

 

Dorsland Trek

Duitswes

Eastern Cape

East London

Elandsberg

Farm Life

Football Team

Jason Patrick Hanslo supplied the photos and give the following description. “Kaffir Football team (Basutu XI), Cape Argus, 1899 (The Cape Argus, 10 August 1899, p. 7.) They played 49 games in England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and France in only a 4-month tour. They were captained by Joseph Twayi. They were the first South African football side to tour abroad and for most opposition the first black team they played against. Their team wore blue shorts and orange shirts with blue facings. In June 1899, the Manchester Times reported on the forthcoming tour and wrote ‘the team is said to be strong, the players being of splendid physique. The Scottish Sport noted that they were reportedly ‘big, powerful men, with a “rare turn of speed” and “considerable individual skill”’ and went on to describe them as a ‘determined, fine-built body of men, who have only picked up the game in the last four or five years. The tour was also reported in the Chicago Tribune and Brooklyn Daily Eagle in the United States and the Evening Post in New Zealand. And guess what the Cape Argus said? In 1899 in an article about the Kaffir football tour to the Cape Argus noted: “The whole affair is farcical as it is unsportsmanlike, and smacks very much of hippodrome. Western Province “soccer” enthusiast can scarcely credit the fact that a gang of Kafirs should seriously be expected to give an exhibition worthy of the name, and the British football public will soon realise this fact.”

Free State

Germans fighting for the Boers in the ABW

Housing

Horses

Iain Hayter writes about the remounts at Port Elizabeth. “At the best of times, the unloading facilities with their archaic method of discharging their cargo onto surfboats bobbing next to the transport ship, far at sea, was inefficient. Now there was pandemonium with dozens of vessels of all shapes and sizes riding at anchor in the Bay, patiently waiting to discharge their cargoes. Priority was given as follows: troops, remounts, mules preceded by military hardware, medical equipment, mail and finally coal for the railways.

What became abundantly clear early on in the war was that the mortality rate of the horses was excessive. Instead of addressing the root cause which was not attributable to battlefield casualties but rather due to death at sea arising from starvation and illness and on land due to overwork or ill-treatment, the British scoured the world for horses.

Port Elizabeth was designated as the staging post for remounts. From November 1899, these remounts started arriving from as far afield as Canada, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand. This initial trickle of horses rapidly became a torrent. The rigours of the long slow sea journey claimed many horses. Then in Algoa Bay, they were hoisted from the ship into unstable buckling lighters at sea and then unloaded onto North Jetty to be stabled at the agricultural showground at North End and at Kragga Kamma.

The scale of this remount operation can only be comprehended in terms of the number of remounts transferred from ships in the Bay to dry land at the foot of Jetty Street. According to Neil Orpen in his book on the history of the Prince Alfred’s Guards, this cumbersome laborious process was used no less than 123,000 times between November 1899 and June 1902. In addition to these remounts, the antiquated discharge method also had to cater for 46,000 troops, almost 800,000 tons of military stores as well as thousands of tons of hay. The harbour at Port Elizabeth must have been a hive of activity. One wonders whether this was a 24/7 operation as, without the benefit of modern lighting, proper sources of lighting for nighttime work would have been problematic.

Hermanus

Indigenous Houses

– Used by Boers in the ABW

– Technology in housing before the white settlers arrived

Indigenous People – When the Settlers Came

“Mapoch was the first real leader of the Ndzundza Ndebele who settled up near Dullstroom (as opposed to Mzilikazi’s followers who became the Matebele and the Amanala Ndebele north of Pretoria). Mapoch built the ‘caves’ or fortified settlements at what is now Roossenekal. When he died and his son was too young to succeed, Nyabela became regent. During 1892 – 1893 King Nyabela fought what is known as the Mapoch War against the Boers and was defeated and sentenced to life imprisonment. The Caves were under siege by the Boers for 8 months. When Nyabela eventually surrendered all the fit and able of the clan were divided amongst the farmers as indentured labourers and the old, infirm and very young left to die. He was let out of prison in 1899, then died 1902 years later. This is the tribe that later became the people who are known as the Ndebele, with their colourful home decorations and dress designs. They became a symbolic way for the people to identify themselves to each other and show solidarity.”  (Sarahrichards.co.za)

Irish fighting for the Boers in the ABW

Johannesburg

Kimberley

The Khoi

Jason Patrick Hanslo writes, “

David was born near the Gamtoos River in the Eastern Cape in circa 1773. He was a Khoi chief who fought against Dutch and British colonial rule between 1799 and 1819. He is the only person to have successfully escaped from Robben Island on two occasions. He resisted colonial rule as indigenous people were dispossessed of their land and forced to work on farms. He also opposed the conscription of the Khoi into militias that were created to defend the colony and to attack San and amaXhosa.

In 1809, David was arrested, charged and sent to Robben Island. He was among the first political prisoners on the island. By December 1809, David and a few others were the first to successfully escape from the island. David made it out of the colony and was given refuge amongst the amaXhosa. He was captured during the fifth Xhosa War and put to hard labour on Robben Island. On 9 August 1820, he escaped from Robben Island again. The getaway boat capsized at Blouberg. Makana, another resistance hero, drowned in this event.

On 16 December 1820, David was caught and sent to Robben Island. He was chained to a wall until he could be transported to Australia. He was requested to come to Australia and they lied to him, they told him that his wife and children were waiting for him there. He arrived in Sydney on 22 April 1823. On 22 February 1830, David Stuurman died and was buried. The cemetery where he was buried was later redeveloped for a Sydney Central railway station. His remains have not been located. On 13 June 2017, a traditional ceremony was conducted in Sydney to repatriate the spirit of David Stuurman. A second spiritual repatriation was conducted at the Sarah Baartman Heritage Centre in Hanley to put him to rest. Port Elizabeth International airport has been renamed in his honour.”

Kruger, President

Klipdrift ABW

Timo Kok

Timo Kok is the brother of my grandfather on my mom’s side, Eben Kok. He was held as a POW in the Diyatalawa camp in Sri Lanka. I record the account of his capture and subsequent incarceration in The Castlemaine Bacon Company.

The Lawrence Green Collection

Meat of War

Ndongeni kaXhoki Zulu

Warren Loader replied to the post: Some accounts say that Ndongeni did not complete the epic trip to Grahamstown with Dick King and there has been some controversy on just how far he managed to get. Harry Lugg’s book contains the translation of a 1905 Zulu pamphlet in which Ndongeni tells his story. Ndongeni was apparently born in 1826 in Zululand but his father was killed by Dingane, leaving his mother and he seeks refuge on Dick King’s farm at Isipingo, outside Durban.

He worked as a herd boy for Dick King and accompanied him on trips as the voorloper leading the team of oxen which drew Dick’s wagon. Dick and Ndongeni met Captain Smith’s column at the Umzimkulu river and showed them the road to Durban. He witnessed the Battle of Congella and saw one of the British officers killed. He was later called by Dick and told that he was going to accompany him back to the farm at Isipingo. After nightfall, Dick and Ndongeni went down to the bay, where they found horses and a small boat and were rowed across the bay with the horses swimming along behind.

Ndongeni’s saddle was without stirrups but Dick said it would not matter as they were not going far. The first stop was the kraal of Mnini on the Bluff where the two stopped to ask Mnini to obscure the tracks which they had made. They then moved southwards crossing the rivers they encountered close to their mouths and not at the drifts which the boers had barred. Dick swam the ‘Umlazi’ river clad only in his shirt and Ndongeni, who could not swim, rode across carrying Dick’s clothes on his head. He soon realised that they had bypassed Isipingo and Dick told him that they were going south to the Umzimkulu River. It was only when the pair reached that river was Ndongeni told that the real destination was Grahamstown.

After crossing the river, Ndongeni began to feel very tired because he had been riding without stirrups. Dick lent him his stirrups and he managed to get a new horse and the second pair of stirrups from a military camp [at the mouth of the Mgazi River???]. They rode on but it soon became clear Ndongeni was not able to continue; “..my legs from the hips felt as if they had been severed … powerless and unable to lift them.” Dick told him to go back to Mgazi and watch out on the fourth day thereafter, for a ship passing on the way to relieve the garrison at Durban. Ndongeni did see the ship pass dead on schedule and later walked back to Durban, leaving his horse behind at the camp.

Lugg mentions the rumour to the effect that Ndongeni had only accompanied Dick King as far as the Umkomaas River but he discounts it totally saying that nobody involved in the events, including Dick and his son, ever denied Ndongeni’s contribution to that stirring ride. He mentions that the Natal Government awarded Ndongeni a farm in recognition of his service and that they would not have done so unless the story, as given by him, was substantially true. Ndongeni only received his farm in 1898, which is about as shameful as you can get. But, as I discovered the other day when down at the Point, he has received some further recognition since then.

Sakhile SR Zulu replied to this with great appreciation for the information and added that “there are some rumours that the government of that time didn’t want to praise Ndongeni as an equal contributor and some information was hidden.” Amazing information and a great photo. What a privilege to have Sakhile SR Zulu making the contribution himself.

Original People

Images of the original people of Southern Africa are scarce. Deep thanks to Michael Fortune for supplying me with most of these rare and precious images.

From Wikipedia, John Robert Dunn (1834 – 5 August 1895) was a South African settler, hunter, and diplomat of British descent. Born in Port Alfred in 1834, he spent his childhood in Port Natal/Durban. He was orphaned as a teenager, and lived in native dress on the land near the Tugela River. His conversance with Zulu customs and language allowed his increasing influence among Zulu princes. In addition, he was able to identify and exploit various opportunities for trade. He represented both colonial and Zulu interests, and rose to some influence and power when King Cetshwayo became the Zulu sovereign. He acted as Cetshwayo’s secretary and diplomatic adviser and was rewarded with chieftainship, land, livestock and two Zulu virgins. In the run-up to the Zulu War, he was served with an ultimatum by the British at the same time as Cetshwayo. He had to forgo any position of neutrality and sided with the British. In the aftermath, he was allocated land in a buffer zone between the colony and Zululand. Besides his first wife Catherine, he took many Zulu women as wives and left a large Christian progeny when he died at age 60 or 61.

Varies other photos, all from Michael Fortune.

A set of photos by John Williams follows. Building a traditional Tsonga-Shangaan hut. Circa 2001. Tsonga Kraal Museum, Hans Merensky Nature Reserve, Limpopo Province. Note this is not the Gwembe Valley (Zambia) Tonga people but the Tsonga-Shangaan (Mozambique).

Scorched Earth (Verskroeide aarde)

Stellenbosch

Table Mountain

Photos supplied by Michael Fortune.

Last Voortrekker

Naauwpoort

New Zealand soldiers in the ABW fighting on the side of Britain.

New Zealand troopers from the Sixth Contingent move across open country in South Africa, 1901. This photograph may have been taken by Private William Raynes, a Waikato farmer serving with No. 16 Company.

Much of the conflict took place on open plains known in Afrikaans as veldt. Extreme temperatures made life tough for New Zealand troops. While trekking men would often be forced to endure severe daytime heat, while at night they would sleep out in the open with only an overcoat to keep the freezing cold at bay.
Soldiers on trek often began their day at 4 a.m. and broke camp at 5.30 a.m. before spending up to 12 hours on patrol. To preserve the strength of their mounts, the soldiers alternated between riding and leading their horses on foot. Using this method, they could cover 30 km or more in a day.

The New Zealanders who fought in the South African War were the first soldiers from this country to take part in an overseas conflict. Prompted by Premier Richard Seddon, the First Contingent was rapidly assembled and became the first colonial contingent to reach South Africa.

Between 1899 and 1902 New Zealand sent 10 contingents to South Africa. The men who enlisted came from a variety of backgrounds and from all over New Zealand. Many had prior experience in the Volunteer forces but others were ordinary citizens who were skilled riders and marksmen. The contingents were often made up of companies that had strong regional identities and many were supported by local fundraising.
In addition to the men of the contingent, two small groups of New Zealand women served in South Africa. Hospital-trained nurses helped combat the ever-present threat of disease in the unsanitary conditions of field hospitals in South Africa. New Zealand also sent a contingent of female teachers, dubbed the ‘Learned Eleventh’, to teach Boer refugee children in the schools set up in British-run concentration camps.

(c) Dirk Marais‎

Northern Cape ABW

The Royal Irish Regiment recruited from the counties of Tipperary, Waterford, Wexford and Kilkenny. It served in South Africa with General Hart’s Irish Brigade. Around 30,000 Irishmen saw service with the British Army in South Africa.

Iain Hayter writes, “There were a number of instances where Irish fought Irish in the ABW and many poems poems were written, the Irish being so lyrical………
We are leaving dear old Dublin
The gallant famous fifth;
We’re going to the Transvaal
Where the Boers we mean to shift.
We are the sons of Erin’s Isle –
Modem Musketeers:
The famous Fifth Battalion
Of the Dublin Fusiliers.
Let this conflict be a warning
To all Britannia’s foes;
Not to tease her furious lion
As on his way he goes.
For if they do, they’ll find they’re wrong
And won’t get volunteers
To stand in the face of a Regiment
Like the Dublin Fusiliers

and

On the mountainside the battle raged, there was no stop or stay;
Mackin captured Private Burke and Ensign Michael Shea,
Fitzgerald got Fitzpatrick, Brannigan found O ’Rourke,
Firmigan took a man named Fay – and a couple of lads from Cork.
Sudden they heard McManus shout, ‘Hands up or I’ll run you through.
He thought it was a Yorkshire ‘Tyke’ – ’twas Corporal Donaghue!
McGany took O ’Leary, O ’Brien got McNamee,
That’s how the ’English fought the Dutch’ at the Battle of Dundee.
The sun was sinking slowly, the battle rolled along;
The man that Murphy ‘handed in’, was a cousin of Maud Gonne,
Then Flanagan dropped his rifle, shook hands with Bill McGuire,
For both had carried a piece of turf to light the school-oom fire …
Dicey brought a lad named Welsh; Dooley got McGurk;
Gilligan turned in Fahey’s boy – for his father he used to work.
They had marched to fight the English – but Irish were all they could see –
That’s how the ‘English fought the Dutch’ at the Battle of Dundee.

Railway Workers

Jason Patrick Hanslo writes, “In the 1930’s South African railways were installed by hand. An area in Bellville South then called Moklyn housed the Zulu workers who worked for SARS. They worked at the marshalling yard in Bellville South. The long heavy steel rails were offloaded from the trucks and placed into position. The “Induna” of the team (the leader), was usually an elderly man, would make sure that his team mates were all in the correct position with the lengthy rail at their feet then he would walk up and down the line telling them about their brave forefathers then he would slowly begin to sing an ancient Zulu song, with all the men starting to hum in harmony, then on a certain note the “Induna” would sing out in a loud voice: “Bafowethu nilungile” (My brothers, are you ready?) and the whole team would answer chanting loudly in one voice, “Yebo, wena ohlakaniphileyo omkhulu, sikulungile (Yes O great wise one, we are ready) While still singing, the old man would then sing out “Bese ugoba ubambe induku yensimbi ezothwala ihhashi”, (Then bend down and take hold of the steel rod that will carry the iron horse) and still while chanting the chorus or whatever, the whole team would bend down as one man and grip the steel length of rail, waiting for the final word, but the old Induna was not to be rushed, even the Ganger(white foreman), as he was known on the old South African Railways, did not interfere, he of course knew what the old man and his mates were capable of. The Induna danced up and down the line of waiting teammates, who were also now humming in subdued voices, then all of a sudden the old man would stop and raise his right foot, shouting out in that stunning musical voice “Bofowethu, manje njengoba indoda eyodwa iphakamisa induku yensimbi, iphakamisele esibhakabhakeni” (My brothers, now as one man, lift the iron rod, lift it to the sky,) and as his foot came down and hit the ground he would shout out “PHAKAMISA!!!” (Lift!!!) and while singing back loudly; “ESIBHAKABHAKENI” (To the sky) that heavy steel rail would be lifted by 15 pairs of hands as if it was weightless.Special thanks to Mervyn Mathee who was a train driver in 1979 who shared this story. As a commuter I often said; “hie ko my pa my haal,” and now I know it probably referred to him,

Russians in the ABW

Simons Town POW’s

Spioenkop

President M. T. Steyn

Martinus (or Marthinus) Theunis Steyn (2 October 1857 – 28 November 1916) was a South African lawyer, politician, and statesman. He was the sixth and last president of the independent republic of the Orange Free State from 1896 to 1902.

 

St Helena, Broadbottom Camp, Deadwood Camp.

Jan Smuts

Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts PC, OM, CH, DTD, ED, KC, FRS (24 May 1870 – 11 September 1950) was a South African statesman, military leader, and philosopher. In addition to holding various cabinet posts, he served as prime minister of the Union of South Africa from 1919 until 1924 and from 1939 until 1948. Smuts subsequently lost the 1948 election to hard-line nationalists who institutionalised apartheid. He continued to work for reconciliation and emphasised the British Commonwealth’s positive role until his death in 1950.

In the Second Boer War, Smuts led a Boer commando for the Transvaal. During the First World War, he led the armies of South Africa against Germany, capturing German South-West Africa. He then commanded the British Army in East Africa.

From 1917 to 1919 he was also one of the members of the British Imperial War Cabinet, and he was instrumental in the founding of what became the Royal Air Force (RAF). He was appointed as a field marshal in the British Army in 1941. He was the only person to sign both of the peace treaties ending the First and Second World Wars. A statue to commemorate him was erected in London’s Parliament Square.

A word from The History Society:

Jan Christian Smuts was born on 24 May 1870.

A divisive figure during his lifetime and long after his death, Smuts’ accomplishments and alignments were multifaceted.

He first rose to fame by fighting against the British Empire as a general in the Boer resistance during the South African War (1899-1902). Thereafter he started a long career in South African politics, most notably by playing a leading role in the constitution of the Union of South Africa in 1910. He was Deputy Prime Minister and Prime Minister on and off from this point almost up to his death in 1950.

An international statesman and military strategist, he also played a leading role in both world wars, attaining the rank of Field Marshal in the British Armed Forces. Thereafter he was also instrumental in drafting both the Atlantic Charter that in part inspired the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and later the Preamble to the United Nations Charter.

Toward the end of his life, Smuts was more popular in the international arena than he was in his home country. Afrikaners regarded him as being too cosy with English South Africans and the British Empire, which they regarded as an impediment to their own interests, and non-white South Africans, particularly Indians and blacks, had lost faith in him bringing an end to a system of racial segregation he had a hand in creating.

Had he lived longer and remained in power, South African history might have been different. Smuts rejected the Apartheid policy of the National Party, which came to power two years before his death and identified himself with the Fagan Report, which finally recognised blacks as a permanent feature in “white” South Africa.

Whatever one’s view of Smuts, there can be no denying that he is a figure deserving of study.

Below: Gen Smuts set the pace whilst leading the way during the royal visit of 1947. (own collection, Nico Moolman)

Below supplied by Melanie Von Steen

Stéphan Pretorius supplies the photo below with this comment about Smuts’ sixth sense

Winston Churchill and Field Marshal Jan Smuts accompanied one another just after the D-Day landings to General Sir Bernard Montgomery’s headquarters, 12 June 1944.

Left to right: Lieutenant-General Sir Richard O’Connor, commanding VIII Corps; Churchill; Field Marshal Jan Smuts; Montgomery; Field Marshal Sir Alan Brooke, Chief of the Imperial General Staff. Here these Allied commanders are seen looking up at aircraft activity overhead.

An interesting snippet of history happened during this visit by Smuts and Churchill to Monty’s headquarters. While visiting the headquarters and as senior officers stood outside with the Prime Minister (Churchill), Field Marshal Smuts sniffed the air and said, ‘There are some Germans near us now…I can always tell!’” and low and behold, just two days later, “two fully armed German paratroopers emerged from a nearby Rhododendron bush, where they had been hiding all along (they had become isolated from their unit, seeing that they were unable to rejoin when they chose to surrender). Had they used their guns and grenades on Churchill (and Smuts), everything would have changed.

J. C. Smuts, the son of Jan Smuts, wrote in the biography on his dad, “Jan Christian SMUTS by J.C. Smuts” that “In May 1923, my father scrambled briskly up Skeleton Ravine to the summit of Table Mountain, where he unveiled a memorial at Maclear’s Beacon to those who fell in the First World War. He was in a buoyant mood, as he always was on the mountain tops, with the distant panoramas stretching away into the hazy hinterland, and the mists swirling in the crags below, and the crisp air of the lofty spaces fanning the heated brow. Here, to a group of hardy climbers squatted on the grey rocks around him, he delivered the greatest and most inspired oration of his life. It has been compared to Lincoln’s oration at Gettysburg. I shall quote this speech fully. It came to be known as the “Spirit of the Mountains”.

Those whose memory we honour today lie buried on the battlefields of the Great War, where they fell. But this is undoubtedly the place to commemorate them. Nothing could be more fitting and appropriate than this memorial which the Mountain Club of South Africa erected to the memory of their members who fell in the Great War.

And this, the highest point on Table Mountain, is the place to put the memorial. The sons of the cities are remembered and recorded in the streets and squares of their cities and by memorials placed in their churches and cathedrals. But the mountaineers deserve a loftier pedestal and a more appropriate memorial. To them, the true church where they worshipped was Table Mountain. Table Mountain was their cathedral where they heard a subtler music and saw wider visions and were inspired with a loftier spirit.

Here in life, they breathed the great air; here in death, their memory will fill the upper spaces. And it is fitting that in this cathedral of Table Mountain the lasting memorial of their great sacrifice should be placed. Not down there in the glowing and rich plains, but up here on the bleak and cold mountain tops. As Browning put it:

Here, here's their place,
Where meteors shoot,
Clouds form,
Lightnings are loosened,
Stars come and go.

Here for a thousand years their memory shall blend with these great rock masses and humanise them. The men and women of the coming centuries, who will in ever-increasing numbers seek health and inspiration on this great mountain summit, will find here not only the spirit of Nature, but also the spirit of man blending with it, the spirit of joy in Nature deepened and intensified by the memory of the great sacrifice here recorded.

Geologists tell us that in the abyss of time Table Mountain was much more of a mountain than it is today. Then it was more than 18,000 feet high, of which barely one-fifth remains today. And in another million years no trace may be left of it. Here there is no abiding city, neither is there an abiding mountain. Human life itself may be but a passing phase of the history of this great globe. But as long as human memory lasts, as long as men and women will remember and be interested in the history of their storied past, so long the Great War – perhaps the greatest in human history – will be remembered, and the memory of the great sacrifice here recorded will endure as part of it.

Standing here today as we do on the summit of Table Mountain, may I add a few words in reference to the spirit of the place? The attraction of the mountains for us points to something very significant and deep in our natures. May I illustrate the matter by a little story which is not quite true, but neither is it entirely mythical, and it finds some support in the testimony of science.

Once upon a time, in the far-off beginning of things, the ancestors of the present human race lived far down in deep blue pools of the ocean, amid the slimy ooze from which they had themselves sprung. There they lived and developed a long time, and in the sounds of the sea, in the rhythm of the waters, and of the rising and falling tides they learnt that sense of music which is so mysterious a faculty in us, and which is in a much smaller degree shared by so many marine animals.

The music in a sea shell pressed to our ears carries us back to the very beginnings of life on this planet. It is a far-off echo of our most ancient experience as living things. As our ancestors thrived and developed they gradually found the pressure of the waters too much for them. They felt stifled and longed for more freedom to breathe. And so they rose slowly on to the beaches, and finally emerged into the air on the seashore. What a blessed relief was there! What an unconscious sense of lightness and exaltation! No longer submerged in the stifling depths, but with full lungs expanding in the invigorating air. The rising from the sea was the most glorious advance in the forward march of terrestrial life.

But it was not enough. The same process of development and advance continued on the seashore. In the course of time the heavy air of the sea levels became too much for the ever-forward movement of the forms of life. The pressure on the lungs was too great, and the forward movement seemed to be arrested in a sort of atmospheric morass, in which a great heaviness hung, on the spirit of life. At this stage a new great advance was registered. The rise to higher levels took place. Some animals developed wings with which they could fly upward and for longer or shorter periods remain in the high places and breathe a keener air. And in this rise they shook off their ancient sluggishness and lethargy, and developed a spirit of joy which had hitherto been unknown to them. The skylark, rising in an ecstasy of song high up into the air, is an illustration of the new great advance.

Other forms of life developed other means of locomotion and of ascent from the heavy low levels. As the dull, dead weight was removed from the lungs a new sense of lightness, of progress, of joy and gladness dawned on the ever higher rising forms of life. The great relief was not only of a physical character, but had the most far-reaching and spiritual values. And so it has come about that finally in man all mortal and spiritual values are expressed in terms of altitude. The law expresses degradation, both physical and moral. If we wish to express great intellectual or moral or spiritual attainments we use the language of the altitudes. We speak of men who have risen, of aims and ideals that are lofty, we place the seat of our highest religious ideals in high heaven, and we consign all that is morally base to the nethermost hell. Thus the metaphors embedded in language reflect but the realities of the progress of terrestrial life.

The Mountain is not merely something externally sublime. It has a great historic and spiritual meaning for us. It stands for us as the ladder of life. Nay, more, it is the great ladder of the soul, and in a curious way the source of religion. From it came the Law, from it came the Gospel in the Sermon on the Mount. We may truly say that the highest religion is the Religion of the Mountain.

What is that religion? When we reach the mountain summits we leave behind us all the things that weigh heavily down below on our body and our spirit. We leave behind a feeling of weakness and depression; we feel a new freedom, a great exhilaration, an exaltation of the body no less than of the spirit. We feel a great joy. The Religion of the Mountain is in reality the religion of joy, of the release of the soul from the things that weigh it down and fill it with a sense of weariness, sorrow and defeat. The religion of joy realises the freedom of the soul, the soul’s kinship to the great creative spirit and its dominance over all the things of sense. As the body has escaped from the over-weight and depression of the sea, so the soul must be released from all sense of weariness, weakness and depression arising from the fret, worry and friction of our daily lives. We must feel that we are above it all, that the soul is essentially free, and in freedom realises the joy of living. And when the feeling of lassitude and depression and the sense of defeat advances upon us, we must repel it, and maintain an equal and cheerful temper.

We must fill our daily lives with the spirit of joy and delight. We must carry this spirit into our daily lives and tasks. We must perform our work not grudgingly and as a burden imposed on us, but in a spirit of cheerfulness, goodwill and delight in it. Not only an the mountain summits of life, not only on the heights of success and achievement, but down in the deep valleys of drudgery, of anxiety and defeat, we must cultivate this great spirit of joyous freedom and uplift of the soul.

We must practise the religion of the mountain down in the valleys also. This may sound a hard doctrine, and it may be that only after years of practice are we able to triumph in spirit over the things that weigh and drag us down. But it is the nature of the soul, as of all life, to rise, to overcome, and finally to attain complete freedom and happiness. And if we consistently practise the religion of the mountain we must succeed in the end. To this great end Nature will co-operate with the soul.

The mountains uphold us and the stars beckon to us. The mountains of our lovely land will make a constant appeal to us to live the higher life of joy and freedom. Table Mountain, in particular, will preach this great gospel to the myriads of toilers in the valley below. And those who, whether members of the Mountain Club or not, make a habit of ascending her beautiful slopes in their free moments, will reap a rich reward not only in bodily health and strength, but also in an inner freedom and purity in an habitual spirit of delight, which will be the crowning glory of their lives.

May I express a hope that in the years to come this memorial will draw myriads who live down below to breathe the purer air and become better men and women. Their spirits will join with those up here, and it will make us all purer and nobler in spirit and better citizens of the country…”

My wife and I were so impacted by these words that we made it the basis of our wedding vows. See Our Manuka Bay Wedding.

South Africans in Tanganyika (WW1)

 

Treaty of Vereeniging, signed on 31 May 1902 (end of ABW2)

Van Tonder

Gideon Jacobus van Tonder was born in 1864 in Uitenhage, Eastern Cape (then the Cape Colony). He passed away in 1924 in the Free State. He is buried at the Rustfontein Dam, which is located on the Modder River near Thaba ‘Nchu. He was the owner of the farm Brakfontein in that area. He also resided at 21 Hill Street, Bloemfontein. From 1894 to 1900 he was minister of Agriculture in the Orange Free State Government. Giel Venter from Fauresmith gave me this information. Giel is one of his descendants. If Gideon was still alive we would have spent many days talking about farming and animal husbandry and of course, bacon curing!

When President Steyn was out of the country or on leave, he acted as State President on numerous occasions. When the ABW broke out, he resigned from government after his son, Hansie, was killed at the Battle of Magersfontein. Genl. De Wet wrote about it in his book, Three Years’ War.

De Wet wrote: “I can only remember three instances of anyone being hurt by the shells. A young burgher, while riding behind a ridge and thus quite hidden from the enemy, was hit by a bomb, and both he and his horse were blown to atoms. This youth was a son of Mr Gideon van Tonder, a member of the Executive Council.”

I am planning a visit to Giel, as soon as it is permitted and will update this section with much more information.

Vredefort Concentration Camp ABW

Further Reading

Americans in the Boer War By Michael Headley

Boere Krygsgevangenes in Ceylon

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