The Bethulie Concentration Camp cemetery - a sad part of our history

Bethulie in the southern Free State is one of those places not many people pass through as it's not really on any of the main thoroughfares going south (or north, depending how you look at it).  On my last trip up to Johannesburg I deviated off the normal route to see what this town on the banks of the Orange River is all about.  One of the things I found out was that Bethulie was the site of one of the most notorious concentration camps of the Anglo Boer War of 1899 to 1902.  I was shocked by the size of the Concentration Camp Cemetery Memorial and even more so when I saw all the names on the remembrance wall.

It turns out that even the English called the Bethulie camp "the hell camp" because of the shocking conditions Boer men, women and children were being held in.  The ravages of disease, starvation and extreme temperatures, enhanced by the bad administration of the camp, meant that the camp saw a death toll of 1 737 prisoners among its population of about 5 000 over the 13 months it existed between April 1901 and the end of the war in May 1902.  At one stage about 30 people a day was buried in the camp.  Truly shocking and it literally had me speechless as I stood reading the info around the memorial.  

The original camp and cemetery was located much closer to the river back in the days but all the graves were relocated to this position when the Gariep Dam (called the Hendrik Verwoerd Dam back then) was constructed in the 1960's.

At the top end of the cemetery is an enclosed area containing all the original hand-carved sandstone headstones which were removed from the old cemetery.  They've all been set into three walls and having a closer look at the information on them you suddenly realise how many children were among those who had dies in the camp.  Unfortunately the gate was locked tight so I couldn't get a closer look at all of them,

I drove away deeply touched.  The Anglo Boer War was such a significant event in the history of South Africa and yet so many of us never get to visit sites like this because it's often off the beaten track.  So next time you're on the main drag down to the beach fro your summer holidays, why not set a day aside and take some of the back roads.  You will come away the better for it.

The Gideon Scheepers Monument

Most people visiting the Karoo town of Graaff-Reinet take a drive out to the Valley of Desolation to enjoy the magnificent views  of the town and surrounding Karoo plains as well as the very sheer cliffs and unique Dolerite stone columns of the valley.  I wonder how many people have spotted the monument on the left as you pass the dam just after leaving town.

 

The Gideon Scheepers Monument remembers  Commandant Gideon Scheepers who was a Boer scout and commanding officer during the Anglo-Boer War.  Scheepers and those under his command wrecked trains and burned the farms of those unsympathetic to the Boer cause.  He was captured in October 1901 by the British and found guilty by a British military court on charges of murder and arson.  He was buried at the place of his execution by a firing squad in the veld near Graaff-Reinet.  He was only 23 years old.  That same night his body was apparently exhumed by British troops and reburied at an unknown spot.  Efforts to trace his grave and approaches to the British authorities to reveal its location was unsuccessful.

The Norvalspont Concentration Camp Memorial

The Anglo Boer War (1899 - 1902) is one of the big turning points in South Africa's history along with the arrival of Europeans in the country, the Great Trek, the Apartheid years and a new democratic South Africa.  Okay, so the history is about more than just those five turning points but that is what came to my mind just now.  One of the most significant things that happened during the Anglo Boar War was that it was the first time ever that concentration camps were used anywhere in the world.  During the war thousands of men, women and children were kept in these camps with 4 177 boer women, 22 074 children under sixteen and 1 676 boer men dying in these camps.  That's not even counting the over 14000 deaths in black concentration camps.

 

A couple of years back we spent a holiday at the Gariep Dam and I read about Norvalspont where one of these concentration camps we situated.  I never got a chance to visit the site but driving back from Johannesburg recently I decided to make a stop on my way back towards the coast.  The turnoff was on my route and after about 2 kilometers on a smooth dirt road I came across the site.  No magnificent monument, no fancy visitor centre, no guides hanging around to show visitors around and no tourist trap curio and food stalls.  In actual fact, there wasn't another soul in sight.  Just a big paved area surrounded by a low stone wall and three stone monuments with plaques on them.  From what I can gather its the site of the concentration camp's cemetery.

 

Norvalspont was seen as a model camp and was much better off than most of the other camps even though conditions were still very bad.  It was situated on the banks of the Orange River which meant that there was at least enough water and fire wood available.  It was not that Norvals Pont lacked the problems of the other camps. On the contrary, the measles epidemic struck early and was followed by scarlet fever and diphtheria.  Families also poured in without warning and tents and blankets often ran out.  The camp was one of those visited by Emily Hobhouse in 1901.  At times there were over three thousands people housed at Norvalspont, all housed in tents on the site, while the camp had a total of four hundred and twelve deaths.      

Standing there on a warm winters afternoon without a breath of air moving and only cicadas calling it does become a bit of a profound experience.  One where you realize how much sadness and despair there must have been right there yet there is also a spirit of strong and proud people who supported each other and stood together through this difficult time.  A profound experience indeed.   

For more information on the Norvalspont Concentration Camp have a look at
Anglo Boere Oorlog/Boer War (1899-1902) NORVALSPONT Camp/Kamp
and
Waschbank River Lodge

The view from the Anglo Boer War fort at Uniondale

Uniondale between the Klein Karoo and the Langkloof is famous for it's ghost, but I'm sure most people know very little else about the town.  Visitors will also find a lot of history in the area.  Amongst that is the fact that the town was protected by 6 British Forts during the Anglo Boer War.  One of these have been restored and can be visited on a hill overlooking the town.  I've always looked up at it passing through but on my last visit I decided to go and look for the Geocache located at the fort and made my way up for a closer look. 

British Fort at Cogmans Kloof

On top of the Cogmans Kloof tunnel outside Montagu stands an old English fort built by the British in 1899 during the Anglo Boer War.  The fort has a great view of the approaching road and kloof through the mountains and one can immediately see why the British chose the spot.  To get to the top there is a steep little path from across the road from the parking area and after a couple of minutes of huffing and puffing you get to the top and that awesome view.

Montagu Dried Fruit Route

Visiting the Montagu Dried Fruit factory shop we found out that they have a sightseeing tractor tour of the farm for which we immediately booked.  The tour takes about an hour and a half to two hours and passes the fruit drying area and orchards before heading up the hill behind the farm.  Once you are out of the actually farming area you start ascending the adjacent hill with its typical Karoo vegetation.  The Kidz were obviously very excited about the trip and the first ones onto the trailer when the tractor pulled up.

 

At the top of the hill the tractor stops and visitors are given the opportunity to walk the last bit up to an old English fort.  Along the way you can get a closer look at some of the typical Karoo plants growing next to the path. The fort itself sits right on top of the hill with fantastic views all around.  

Looking around from the fort one can see why this location was selected to build it.  You can see forever all around the valley and across to the town of Montagu lying right in the middle of it, with the gun slits covering every possible approach and sentries being ably to see any movement in the valley.  

Even though its a fairly short tour its advisable to get something to drink (and perhaps snack on) at the factory shop to take along on the ride.

Spioenkop Battlefield

 

The memorial to the British soldiers that fell at Spioenkop 

 KwaZulu Natal is famous for its battlefields which includes battles between the British and Zulus, the Boers and the Zulus (during the Great Trek) and between the British and the Boers (during the Anglo Boer War). One of the famous battles during the latter took place at Spioenkop.  The battle was fought about 38 km south-west of Ladysmith on the hilltop of Spioenkop on 23–24 January 1900.  I haven't had the opportunity to visit many of the battle sites around the province, but on a visit to the Drakensberg I made my way up Spioenkop to have a look around.

 Grave stones and small memorials to fallen British soldiers

The story of the Battle of Spioenkop is quite a complicated one.  I visited the site on my own and not on a tour, so I'm just relating part of the story as I picked it up on Wikipedia afterwards.  The battle was fought between the South African Republic and the Orange Free State on the one hand and British forces during the campaign to relieve Ladysmith.  At that stage the Boers occupied the town and surrounding areas and the British had to devise a plan of attack to relieve Ladysmith.  It was decided that the British army was to launch a two-pronged offensive designed to cross the Tugela River at two points and create a bridgehead.  They would then attack the defensive line that blocked their advance to Ladysmith.

 The trenches became mass graves for the fallen British soldiers

The British climbed up the very steep and very high (I should know because I was standing at the top and you can see forever) hill of Spioenkop at night and in dense mist.  They surprised the small Boer piquet and drove them off the kop (hill) at bayonet point.  As dawn broke, the British discovered that they held only the smaller and lower part of the hilltop, while the Boers occupied higher ground on three sides of the British position.  The British had no direct knowledge of the topography of the summit and the darkness and fog had compounded the problem.  To make matters worse, the British trenches were inadequate for all defensive purposes.  Because the summit of the kop was mostly hard rock, the trenches were at most 40 centimetres (16 in) deep and provided an exceptionally poor defensive position.  The British were sitting ducks and the splinters and fragments of the shells torn and mutilated them. The shallow trenches were choked with dead and wounded.  These trenches became mass graves for the fallen British soldiers.

Graves of unknown Boer soldiers

In the following battle the Rifles cracked the thin Boer line and advanced on the summit.  In the darkness and unknown to the commander, the battle was as good as won, but his nerve was also shattered.  He ordered the brigade to retreat.  When morning came, the Boer Generals were astonished to see two Burghers on the top of Spioenkop, waving their slouch-hats in triumph.  The only British on the Kop were the dead and the dying.  The British retreated back over the Tugela River but the Boers were too weak to follow up their success and four weeks later Ladysmith would be relieved by the British.

A guide leading a group tourists around the Spioenkop Battlefield

During the two days of the battle the British suffered 243 fatalities, many of whom were buried in the trenches where they fell.  Approximately 1,250 British were either wounded or captured.  The Boers suffered 335 casualties of which 68 were dead.  Interestingly, Mahatma Gandhi was a stretcher-bearer at the battle, in the Indian Ambulance Corps he had organised, and was decorated. 

I'm really hoping that next time I visit a site like this that I would be able to do so with one of the many guides that offer tours of the Battlefields.  You get to hear so much more on a guide tour and I wouldn't be relient on generic information off the internet when I post on here. 

Freedom Park Part 1 - S'kumbuto

Freedom Park in Pretoria tells the tale of South Africa in the voice of the South African people.  What makes the place even more special is that it urges us to experience our shared history and heritage as brothers and sisters and hopes to dispel the myths and prejudices that has distorted and concealed the image and achievements of South Africa in the past.  Since its opening in 2009 I've been wanting to visit but every time I got up to that part of the country something seem to come up and thwart my plans.  So on my last visit I made sure to put some time aside and headed to Freedom Park before I had to catch my plane back home.

The main memorial area at Freedom Park has a siSwati name and is called S'khumbuto.  It stands as a testimonial to eight conflicts that have shaped South Africa into what it is today.  These conflicts are the Pre-Colonial Wars, Slavery, Genocide, Wars of Resistance, the South African War (also known as the Anglo Boer War), First World War, Second World War and the Struggle for Liberation.  S'khumbuto is made up of eight different elements.  At the centre of S'khumbuto is a grassed Amphitheatre capable of seating 2,000 people.  At the bottom of the Amphitheatre is the Sanctuary and adjacent to that the Eternal Flame which allows visitors to remember the unknown heroes who lost their lives without their names being recorded in history.

The Amphitheatre is surrounded by the Wall of Names.  697 meters in length, the wall is being inscribed by the names of those people that played during the eight mentioned conflicts.  It has space for 150,000 names and up to now about 75,000 have already been inscribed.  All the names are also kept on a electronic database which is accessible through touch screen technology on site.  The people of South Africa is asked to forwards the names and details of people they know who was involved in any of the conflicts to be added to the database and Wall of Names.

The whole complex is surrounded and edged with the Reeds.  The nearly 200 ascending Reeds, the tallest measuring 32 meters, represents  the rebirth of the South African nation as well as embracing the future.  The Reeds means that Freedom Park is visible from all around most of South Africa's capital city.

Next to the shortest of the Reeds stands the President's Tree.  This African Olive Tree, representing peace, was planted by former president Thabo Mbeki in 2002 when the development of the site was still in its early stages.

As I was the first visitor in that morning, I had a guide all to myself.  Tour guide Gift Mutarini didn't grumble once because he had to show me around on my own and was kept very busy with me shooting off questions, telling my own stories and stopping for photos all the time. He also caught on very quickly when I needed him to keep on walking cause I needed a subject in a photograph.  Walking along this section of the path, the Voortrekker Monument is visible in the background.

Part 2 of my post on Freedom Park will follow tomorrow when I show you the sacred space of Isivivane.

British Troop Train

On the way up the hill to Fort Klapperkop and the SA National Defence Force Memorial outside Pretoria stand an old steam locomotive.  This specific locomotive was amongst others used over 100 years ago during the Anglo Boer War (1899 - 1902) to carry British troops and supplies from the coast to where the war was taking place in the interior of South Africa.

Fort Klapperkop

Sitting on top of the koppies (hills) overlooking Pretoria is a number of forts that was built prior to the Anglo Boer War in the late 1800's.  After the abortive Jameson Raid in 1895, the South African Republic (also known as the Transvaal Republic) had a number of forts built to protect their capital in case of a foreign invasion.  The Pretoria Forts consisted mainly of four forts, three of which was constructed by a German company.  I have on a previous visit to Pretoria visited Fort Schanskop which stands close to the Voortrekker Monument.  This time around I popped into Fort Klapperkop for a quick look.

The three forts are pentagonal reinforced, with more fire range possibilities through numerous facets. Attacks from any direction could be warded off by revolving guns on their ramparts. In January 1899 the fort was manned by 17 troops and by mid year the number of troops was increased to 30. By the end of the year only 16 troops were still stationed at Fort Klapperkop as men and armament were gradually withdrawn and sent elsewhere during the course of the war.

To prevent infantry attacks the forts contained loopholes were built into the walls. Trenches, barbed-wire entanglements and fortified rooms were erected as reinforcements.  Fort Klapperkop was the only one of the forts that had a moat as well as a drawbridge.  Apparently the moat was never filled with water.

The main weapon on the fort was a 155mm Creusot gun, better known as a "Long Tom".

Fort Klapperkop is a Gauteng Provincial Heritage Site and a South African National monument and is run as a military Museum.

Bloemfontein statues

This is my last Bloemfontein post from this trip, I promise.  I was actually very disappointed that I didn't have time to explore the city some more.  I have never been to Bloemfontein before and it has so many places, most of historical value, to see.  The one thing I did notice is that there are many statues around Bloemfontein.  Bloemfontein used to be the capital of the Boer republic of the Orange Free State and many leaders involved in the Anglo Boer War and in the establishment of the Union of South Africa came from here.  Below follows a couple I saw.  Some of them you may have spotted in posts over the last week already.

Standing in front of the Fourth Raadsaal is the imposing figure of General Christiaan de Wet (1854 - 1922). De Wet played a major role in the Anglo Boer War (1899 - 1902) as a general.  During the war he was regarded more and more as the most formidable leader of the Boers in their guerrilla warfare.  In 1902, during peace negotiations after the war, he even acted as State President of the Orange Free State ever so briefly.  For only two days in fact when Presedent Steyn had to leave negotiations due to illness.

Hertzog Square across the road from the Bloemfontein City Hall, stand a statue to James Barry Munnik (JBM) Hertzog (1866 - 1942).  Hertzog rose to the rank of general during the Anglo Boer War, becoming the assistant chief commandant of the military forces of the Orange Free State.  Hertzog became Prime Minister of South Africa in 1924 when his party defeated that of Gen Jan Smuts.  He stayed in office until 1939.

Francis William Reitz (1844 – 1934) had an extremely varied political and judicial career that lasted for over forty-five years and spanned four separate political entities.  Reitz started his political career as a representative on the Cape Colony Parliament.  He was Chief State Justice of the Orange Free State ( 1876 - 1889) before becoming the Boer republic's 5th State President (1889 – 1895).  From 1898 until 1902 he was the State Secretary of the South African Republic (the Boer republic of the Transvaal) before being President of the Senate of the Union of South Africa from 1910 - 1921.

The last statue I want to show is that of President Johannes Henricus Brand (1823 - 1888) in front of the National Afrikaans Literature Museum.  Brand was the 4th State President of the Orange Free State from1864 until his death in 1888. He was such a popular president that the main road in the Bloemfontein city centre was named "President Brand" in his honour.

Graaff Reinet Statues

I still had a couple of odd monument photos from Graaff-Reinet lying around and decided to put them together and do a "Random ..." post for today.

This monument is in memory of Andries Pretorius, one of the Voortrekker leaders. It was erected in 1943 and can be found just outside of town on the way to Middelburg. This is the route to the north and into the interior which the Voortrekkers followed in the 1830's.

In one of the residential areas there is a monument dedicated to Boer soldiers who died during the Anglo Boer War (1899 - 1902) The inscription reads "in memory of the fallen in the struggle for Freedom and Justice".

One of my favorite monuments in Graaff-Reinet is the bronze figure of the "victory Peace Angel", mounted on a high pedestal in front of the town hall. It is dedicated to local citizens, including Die Middellandse Regiment, who lost their lives in WWII.

Horse Memorial Silhouette

For a while now I've wanted to get down to the Horse Memorial here in Port Elizabeth to get a nice silhouette sunset shot. Well, the other night I had my chance. It wasn't the most painted sunset sky, but I love the effect.

Fort Schanskop

Very few visitors to the Voortrekker Monument outside Pretoria takes an extra couple of minutes to visit Fort Schanskop on the opposite hill. The fort was one of three erected around Pretoria in 1896 after the Jameson Raid and was designed by French military engineer Leon Grunberg. In 1895 the friction between the Cape Colony and the Transvaal (South African Republic) under Paul Kruger in the north worsened. An uprising was organised in the Transvaal to accompany a planned invasion by Dr Leander Starr Jameson. The Boers received warning of the attack and the invasion was a failure.

Horse-a-flutter

Spending some time with the FIFA city profile film crew last week gave me the opportunity to observe the camera men very closely which gave me a lot of tips to try with my own photography. One of the spots they filmed at was the Horse Memorial here n Port Elizabeth. There is always lots of pigeons around and the camera man used two loaves of bread to attract them to the monument just to frighten them off again for the shot.

I know both these photos aren't framed perfectly and I didn't want to fiddle with them by trying to crop them, cause I kept on cutting out most of the birds. After looking at the pics I realised that for me the pic is more about the birds than the monument and that the monument is just a good backdrop for the pigeons flying off. Out of the two I prefer the second angled shot more as there seems to be more action in it.