Hofmeyr's pink church

Most Karoo towns have a historic church with a church tower that keeps an eye out over it.  The Karoo Heartland town of Hofmeyr is no different...  or perhaps it is.  Why? Because it has a pink church tower standing out above the town.  The Dutch Reformed Church in Hofmeyr was built in 1875 and at some stage went pink.  It definitely didn't go pink for breast cancer awareness because it happened way before that but whatever the reason it looks very cool.

The Pink Church

What would be one of the most unusual sights you can imagine finding in a little plattelandse (rural) town in the Karoo?  Well, I bet you didn't just think a pink church, but after saying it it would probably be on your list.  Driving into the Karoo town of Hofmeyr, one immediately sees the bell tower and clock towering out above the surrounding town and its difficult not changing direction to check it out.

The Hofmeyr Dutch Reformed Church was built in 1875 and somewhere in its existence the church council decided to have the church painted pink.  A lot of the locals have their own theories of why it was decided on the pink colour, but the real reason I won't divulge. Probably because I don't know it.

One of the features of the church is the antique wind organ which stand high above the pulpit.  Unfortunately there’s only about 50 people that worship here on a Sunday which is largely due to the fact that so many young people move to the cities and the platteland is getting more and more depopulated.  Lets just hope this unusual treasure of the Karoo stays intact for future generations to turn off the main road and stand puzzled at the reasons why they decided to paint it pink.

Karoobos and Hofmeyr Museum

On the corner that the main road makes through the little town of Hofmeyr stands a big green "lady" that beckons you to a building that serves a welcoming ginger beer and koeksister to travellers through the Karoo.  Karoobos is what we would call in Afrikaans a real "plattelandse padstal" (country road stall).  They don't just serve the most delicious meals but also sell jams, homemade products and antiques.

In the back of the building visitors would find the Hofmeyr Museum.  The museum used to be housed somewhere else but had to find a new home due to different circumstances.  The owners of Karoobos at that stage bought some of the museums antiques and then offered the trustees space in the padstal's building to set up the museum in a safe and accessible environment.

The museum showcase a lot of history, antiques and Africana that is part of the town and tells of its history.  Now it may not be the South African Natural History Museum, but it still plays an important part in retaining and conserving the history of the town.

Hofmeyr

A side view of the Hofmeyr Post Office

Hofmeyr is a typical little Karoo town.  Imposing old Dutch Reformed Church keeping an eye over mostly dusty streets and a proud but struggling farming community.  Situated roughly halfway between Cradock and Steynsburg, the town with its less than 2000 people lies at an altitude of 1252 meters and in the heart of a once flourishing sheep farming district.  The town was founded in 1873 and, initially named Maraisburg, renamed Hofmeyr in 1911.  It was named in honour of Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr (Onze Jan), a campaigner for the equal treatment of Afrikaans and English and General Jan Smuts' closet advisor.

The main road through Hofmeyr makes a turn in town and on the corner is a small park containing a couple of monuments.  One of those is a small pyramid that acts as a monument to the people from the district that took part in the Great Trek.

This bell also stands in the park.  I'm not sure if it was a town bell to call people together for meetings and in case of emergency or otherwise a slave or mission bell.  Probable the former.