Exploring (and not ghost hunting) the Somerset East Museum

I struggle to pass by a small town museum if I have time on hand and time on hand I had the last time I visited the Karoo Heartland town of Somerset East.  I immediately headed up to the Somerset East Museum standing in the shadow of the Boschberg Mountain at the top end of Beaufort Street.  I've been here before but it's been a few years so I decided another visit was in order.

The Somerset East Museum is also known as the Old Parsonage Museum as the building used to be the parsonage for the local NG Kerk.  Shortly after Somerset East was establishment in 1825, land on the slopes of the Boschberg Mountain was given to the Wesleyan missionaries for a chapel and graveyard.  The chapel was completed and consecrated in 1828, but a few years later the building and surrounding land were transferred to the Dutch Reformed Church.  In 1835 the chapel was converted into a parsonage and it was used as such for the next 105 years.  In 1971 the building was made available as a museum and opened in 1975 when the town celebrated its 150th anniversary. 

I was met at the door by Keridwyn Frieslaar who has worked at the museum for over 20 years.  She took me on a tour of the old house which has been laid out and furnished as it would have been back in the 1800's.  The museum doesn't just have a very impressive collection of furniture and artifacts, it also has, or so they say, two ghosts.  The first is said to be a Dominee (minister) and a number of people have reported seeing him sit behind the desk in the study.  I did check the photo (in the collage above) but there is no sign of him.  The second ghost belongs to a little boy who has been seen running around or just standing in a corner with a sad expression.  Keridwyn showed me a gravestone under the floorboards in the lounge that belong the the infant son of a Pastor that was buried there (in the collage below).  Him I also didn't see.  I'll just say that I wouldn't want to spend a night in this building if I was given a choice.

The museum's exhibit isn't just confined to the inside of the building.  Around the building there are a number of interesting objects and sights (and sites).  Behind the museum is an old Settlers grave yard with graves dating back to the early 1800's while down a path on the right of the building is the grave of Ma'Dora.  Dora Jacobs died at the age of 122 and was unofficially the oldest person in the world at the time.  The Guinness Book of World Records never recognised her as the oldest person because three authenticated documents were required as proof of age.  Not something that was easy to come by when Ma'Dora was born in a village in the Eastern Cape on 6 May1880.

The museum has a very informative exhibit about the Slagtersnek Rebellion and hanging (which I posted about recently) in an upstairs room.  The exhibit contains the original beam that was used to hang the five men from in 1816 before it was used as support beam in a pigsty and where it was found in the 1940's.

I had a look at the visitors' book when I signed it and it is sad to see how few people actually visit this magnificent museum.  It is essential that everybody in the town promote the museum, especially the guesthouses and B&B's.  Between this museum and the Walter Battiss Art Museum, Somerset East really has something for every history buff and culture vulture (and those who don't see themselves as such) that visit and there really shouldn't be an excuse not to pop in with at least one of the two if you have some time on hand as I did.  On my next visit back in town I may just come a ghost hunting.  Now where did I leave my Electro-magnetic field detector?

Walter Battiss Art Gallery - the home of Fook Island

The Karoo Heartland town of Somerset East is a place full of interesting and quirky attractions.  One of them is the Walter Battiss Art Gallery which also houses the local tourism information office.  Battiss (6 January 1906 – 20 August 1982) was generally considered to be the foremost South African abstract painter but is probably equally as famous as the creator of the quirky Fook Island.  Fook Island was Battiss' "island of the imagination" for which he created a map, imaginary people, plants, animals, a history as well as a set of postage stamps, currency, passports and driver's licences. He also created a Fookian language with a full alphabet.  Apparently Battiss, or "King Ferd the Third", even traveled internationally using his Fookian passport.  You will have to make a little pilgrimage to Fook Island... I mean Somerset East, to see if you can perhaps find some signs of this place of wonder. 

Remembering the Slagtersnek hangings

If you are flying along in a northerly direction through the Karoo Heartland on the N10, the main drag between Port Elizabeth and Cradock, do slow down a bit after you pass the first turnoff to Somerset East and keep a look out on the right hand side of the road for a cenotaph like monument.  Once spotted, do pull over and have a look as this is a very significant spot in the early history of the area.

I'm not going to relate the whole story here, but you can go and read the whole article about Slachter's Nek on the Somerset East website.  In short, the story is about a violent Boer uprising in the area late in 1815.  After most of those involved either surrendered or were arrested, they were charged and either cleared, imprisoned or banished.  Five were sentenced to death by public hanging at Van Aardtspos on 9 March 1816.  The hangman never realised that there were five to be hanged so old rope was used.  Four of the five ropes broke and Landdrost Jacob Culyer (of the Uitenhage district) ordered that they be hanged a second time, this time one by one.  The monument contains the names of the five that was hanged as well as the Bezuidenhout brothers, who were whole reason the uprising started. 

Another interesting link to Slagternek can be found in the Somerset East Museum in town.  The original beam that was used for the hanging is on display in one of the upstairs rooms.  After the hanging the beam was used as a support beam in a farmer's pigsty where it was found in the late 1940's and taken to the Voortrekker Monument.  In 1989 it landed up in the Cape Town Historical Museum before it was eventually returned to Somerset East.  

Somerset East's whiskey bar in a church

I'm not much of a drinker preferring to do the sacrilegious thing of making beer shandy by throwing lemonade into a perfectly good beer.  But I am known to enjoy a good beer or wine tasting so it shouldn't come as a huge surprise that I'm doing a post on a place where you can do a spot of whiskey tasting.  As long as I only need to taste.  But this isn't sommer any place, it's a whiskey bar inside a church and can be found at Angler and Antelope Guesthouse in the Karoo Heartland town of Somerset East.

 

The church building is the town's original Roman Catholic church building and was built in 1906.  Named after St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals, the church was built with funds raised by local Catholics and aided by contributions from the Catholic Diocese of Port Elizabeth.  The presbytery next to the church was built for the first priest of the congregation in 1925 and is used as the guesthouse's family cottage today.  The last Roman Catholic priest to serve in St Francis was Father Michael Scully.  He used to ride around town on his bicycle and was always willing to help others, especially if you happened to have a spot of Irish Whiskey in the house.  I'm sure if Father Scully was still around he would give the pub with its collection of over sixty malt whiskeys his blessing.  The pub isn't open to the public so if you want to try it out you will have to book into Angler and Antelope or at least make a special arrangement with owner Alan Hobson.

 

Just for interest sake, Father Scully grew his congregation in Somerset East during his time here to such an extent, that they outgrew the little church of St Francis.  A second church was built in Paulet Street, but this soon became too small as well.  The new Roman Catholic Church in Beaufort Street was built, but sadly Father Scully died in February 1997 at the ripe old age of 80, and did not see its completion.

 

Thanks to Angler and Antelope for the historic information added to this post.

Moonrise over pink clouds

Not long ago I spent a night at Angler and Antelope Guesthouse in Somerset East.  Coming out of the guesthouse on my way to dinner, the near full moon was rising in the east over clouds painted bright pink by the setting sun behind me.  I rushed back to my room to grab my car keys, dashed to the car to get my camera and by the time I got back to my view spot most of the pink had faded already.  I still just had to snap a pic to share with you.  Oh the beauty of the Karoo skies. #KarooHeartland

Museum lane

Looking up Museum lane to the Somerset East Museum at the foot of the Boschberg.  The museum is at the top of Beaufort Street with the Dutch Reformed Church at the other end.

The Dutch Reformed Church in Somerset East

Somerset East's historic Dutch Reformed Church stand on the main drag through town at the intersection with Beaufort Road.  After the village of Somerset (with the East only being added 30 years later) was established, a need started to arise for a church.  The corner stone of the church was laid in 1830 and it was completed in 1833.  The church in it's current form is the result of extensions made in 1870 with only    a few of the original walls still remaining.  In front of the church stands a statue to Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr who was the dominee (reverend) of the church for over 40 years. 

The town of Somerset East

The town of Somerset East lies in the southern Karoo Heartland at the foot of the Boschberg mountain.  Somerset East was established by Lord Charles Somerset in 1815 as an experimental farm to provide meat and fresh produce to the soldiers on the Eastern Frontier.  The site was chosen over sites in the Gamtoos Valley and Swartkops Valley.  The farm was named Somerset Farm.  Ten years after being established the project was cancelled and a new Drostdy was declared.  The town of Somerset was established with the "East" being added 30 years later to avoid confusion with Somerset West outside Cape Town.  Somerset East is home to a number of historic buildings of note while the surrounding area is great for activities like mountain biking and fly-fishing.

Somerset East's beautiful Beaufort Street

I spent a day in Somerset East recently just driving around town and visiting some of the historic building and attractions.  At first I thought about just doing one post featuring it all, but because there wasn't really a story to my visit (other than the fact that I was actually there for a Karoo Heartland meeting but couldn't help but going sightseeing) I decided to rather do a series on Somerset East featuring a different place or view every post.  The picture in this post is the view from the Somerset East Museum looking along Beaufort Street towards the historic Dutch Reformed Church.

Hart Cottage at Glen Avon Farm

I told you a little bit of the history of Glen Avon Farm and the historic Glen Avon Watermill outside Somerset East in my previous post.  Glen Avon has a number of other old buildings on the property with the oldest being Hart Cottage.  Built around 1817, Hart Cottage is the only remaining of three of the original cottages built on the farm.  It's was painstakingly renovated and is being used as self catering accommodation for visitors to the farm.  In the background on the right is one of the farm's two old homesteads.

The historic Glen Avon Watermill

A week or two three ago I got to spend an evening on the historic Glen Avon Farm at the foot of the Bosberg Mountains outside Somerset East.  A stay at Glen Avon consist of true farm hospitality like you can only get in the Karoo and the B&B's surroundings is just what you need to get away from the city and take in farm life.  The highlight of my stay though, which was way too short, was a visit to the historic Glen Avon Watermill.

 

The history of Glen Avon is closely intertwined with that of Robert Hart.  Hart first came to the Cape in 1795 as an 18 year old private.  He returned there a second time as an officer (and a married man) in 1807 and was stationed in Grahamstown under Colonel John Graham.  Robert Hart was put in charge of the experimental farm which provided supplies to the army.  In 1825 the farm was closed down and the town of Somerset East was laid out on the land.  Hart was given land next to the town where he built a homestead.  The farm was called Glen Avon and it was here where Hart pioneered Marino sheep farming and also grew citrus fruit and grain.  The grain production in the area became so successful that he decided to build a commercial mill to be used for all the neighbouring farms.  

The equipment and machinery for the mill was imported from Leeds in England, brought by ship to Algoa Bay and carted by ox wagon across the Zuurberg Pass to the farm.  Although the mill hasn't worked since the mid 1990's most of it is still in working condition. 

 

The one part of the mill that is in visible need of repair is the chute that funnels the water to the wheel itself.  Unfortunately the floor wasn't replaced properly by the contractor when it was last renovated and have rusted holes throughout the length of it.  How I would have loved to see that old wheel turn. 

 

During our tour around and through the mill I photographed a couple of interesting signs, but I have to say the one that drew the most attention was the one that said "No smoking or spitting".  I imagine it was to make sure nothing unwanted landed in the flour.

 

The mill has three levels inside and Bill Brown, a sixth generation descendent of Robert Hart, explained the whole process that was followed when the mill was in use.  On the last leg of the visit he took us up rickety steps to the top level and you won't believe what we discovered there.  The Bat Cave.  No Batman though.  Needless to so a couple of ladies in the group high tailed back down the steps to get outside at this stage.  Anyhow, Batman or no Batman, the mill was so worth visiting.

Wild Fly Fishing in the Karoo

Fly fishing - An angling method in which an artificial "fly" is used to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. Casting a nearly weightless fly or "lure" requires casting techniques significantly different from other forms of casting.

Karoo - The Karoo (from the KhoiSan word which means Place of Thirst) is a semi-desert region of South Africa. The Karoo covers nearly 400 000km2 of South Africa and is mostly defined partly by its topography, partly its geology but, above all, its low rainfall, arid air, cloudless skies, and extremes of heat and cold,

 

So lets put the two together.  Fly fishing in the Karoo.  Doesn't make sense does it?  But it does.  Alan Hobson of Angler and Antelope Guesthouse in Somerset East runs fly fishing tours doing just that.  Fishing in the Karoo.  The Karoo isn't all arid.  There are some great rivers and streams flowing through the region and the area around Somerset East has some of the best fly fishing spots in the province.  One moment you could be driving through a dry landscape and the next you drop down into a valley with water that could just yield something like this...

 

I've known Alan for a number of years now and by all accounts he must be one of the top fly fishermen in South Africa.  I've been wanting to go fishing with him for a while now and on a whistle stop visit to Somerset East I got to accompany him to a nearby dam for an hour or so before the light faded and we had to pack up.  That hour was more than enough though for him to demonstrate to me how it all works and for me to have a go.  When you see somebody fly fishing on television it looks quite easy.  You just flick the rod forward and back and wait for the fish to bite.... NOT! Its slightly more complicated.  You hold the rod in your one hand and the line in your other.  As you flick you let go of the line little by little to let the fly go further and further.  Its also not just for flicking.  There is a whole scientific technique to it, but after a couple of tries I got it right. Kinda.  At one stage I even got a bite as well but it got away.  I have to tell you though, it must have been the same size as the one Alan is holding above.  That is my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

Back at the ranch guesthouse, Alan went to show me his fly shop.  The fly shop along with the guesthouse's dining room and Alan's malt whiskey collection is situated in what used to be a  Catholic Church on the premises of the guesthouse.  There were flies everywhere and I just couldn't get enough of looking at the different styles and sizes.  I asked Alan how you choose which fly to use and I again found out that science and biology is very much involved in it.  If you really know what you are doing you choose your flies according to the conditions and what you see on the water.  If you see little insects walking around on the water and there is fish movement around them, you choose a fly that looks like those insects.  If there are flying insects, that is what you choose. Hectic! Clearly fly fishing is the total opposite of just sticking a worm on a hook on a line and casting it in just once.  I was back in the fly shop the next morning after breakfast to watch Alan's fly tying assistant at work.  Looking at her work I knew Alan had taught her well and even though I only had an hour or so by the water the previous night I knew he had taught me well too.  Now to find an excuse to go and spend a full day out on the waters with Alan. 

Golden Orb Web Spider

After a recent meeting in Cradock I decided to stop at the Slagtersnek Monument near Cookhouse for a few photos.  While I was there I thought that it may be a good spot to place a Geocache and started looking around for a suitable hiding place.  Walking towards the back of the enclosure around the memorial my eyes were everywhere but looking where I was going and the next moment I walked into the toughest and stickiest spiders web I have every walked into.  Looking up this is what greeted me.  A Common Garden Orb Web Spider.  I had such a fright that I gave up my search for a place to hide the Geocache.  I did keep my wits about me to still grab my camera and snap a couple of photos though.

The Common Garden Orb Web Spider (Argiope australis) is different from the Black Legged Golden Orb Web Spider I have encountered before with the female having distinct yellow and grey stripes on the abdomen and banded legs.  They are normally found in fynbos and long grass (like I encountered it on this visit) and their webs are usually built within one meter of the ground.  The web occupies the aerial passage amongst vegetation in the path of flying insects with the spider sitting on the web waiting for prey to get trapped.  The good news is that they are not poisonous and thus harmless to man.  Still a case of "gogga maak vir baba (or in this case pappa) bang"

The Slagtersnek Monument near Cookhouse

Driving along the N10 between Port Elizabeth and Cradock there is a memorial next to the road near the town of Cookhouse.  Driving back from Cradock the other day I decided to stop and have a closer look.  The Slagtersnek Monument remembers the Slagtersnek Rebellion and the subsequent hanging of 5 of the rebels, an event that changed the area forever and possibly had a big role to play in the start of the Great Trek.  The museum in Somerset East has a great exhibit about the event which includes the beam the rebels were hung from.

 

I got the following information from Somerset East and Blue Crane Tourism

 

In 1815, a farmer from the eastern border of the Cape Colony, Frederik Bezuidenhout, was summoned to appear before a magistrate's court after repeated allegations of his mistreating one of his Khoi labourers.  Bezuidenhout resisted arrest and fled to a cave near his home where he defended himself against the soldiers sent to capture him. When he refused to surrender he was shot dead by one of the soldiers.

One of Bezuidenhout's brothers, Hans Bezuidenhout, swore revenge. Together with a neighbour Hendrik Prinsloo, Hans Bezuidenhout organised an uprising against the British colonial power, believed by them to be hostile towards the Afrikaner farmers. On 18th November 1815, a commando of rebels met an armed force from Landdrost (magistrate) Jacob Cuyler, the military commander on the eastern frontier, at Slachter's Nek. Negotiations failed and the majority of the rebels left without any shots being fired. Twenty rebels surrendered, followed by several more over the following days. However, some of the leaders, among whom was Hans Bezuidenhout, refused to turn themselves over to the British authorities. On 29th November 1815, they were attacked by colonial troops. Everybody but Bezuidenhout surrendered and, like his brother, Hans died while resisting arrest.

The rebels were finally charged at Uitenhage. Some were cleared, others imprisoned or banished. Six were sentenced to death but one of these was pardoned by the Governor, Lord Charles Somerset.   On 9th March 1816 the remaining five were hanged in public at Van Aardtspos. Four of the nooses broke during the procedure as the hangman who came to perform the execution had not realised there were five to be hung, and old ropes had to be used. The four whose ropes broke, as well as the public, pleaded for their lives but Culyer ordered that they be hanged a second time and they were hung one by one. The names of the five who were hanged were Hendrik Prinsloo, Stephanus Bothma, Abraham Bothma, Cornelius Faber and Theunis de Klerk.

 

Sun dials

How many people still wear watches today? I stopped wearing one when I got my first mobile phone and it had the time on it.  But before wrist watches, cuckcoo clocks and grandfather clocks there were clocks that didn't go tick tock.  Sun clocks dials.  And that is the topic of my "Random ... " post today.

Random sun dials.

This sun dial can be seen outside the historic St Peters Anglican Church in Plettenberg Bay

The Klein Karoo gets lots of sun so I'm sure you can check the time just about every day at this sun dial outside CJ Langenhoven's house (now a museum) in Oudtshoorn.  Langenhoven's grave can be seen in the background.

I know I took this picture in Somerset East but for the death of me I can't remember if it was at the Dutch Reformed Church or at the Angler and Antelope Guest House.

The most unusual sun dial in the post comes from the town of Hankey in the Gamtoos River Valley.  It claims to be the biggest sun dial in the Southern Hemisphere and was erected by a local farmer in 1989.  The dial is 36,4 meters across and right next to the main road into the valley.

Up the museum road

Looking up the road and through the gates at the Somerset East Museum

Overgrown grave yard

On visiting the Somerset East Museum recently, I discovered this old overgrown grave yard behind it on the slopes of the Boschberg Mountain. I have a thing for old cemeteries and had a look around. Unfortunately the guy who was going to show us through the museum arrived and cut short my exploration, but next time I'm in town I will definitively head back there for another look.

Victorian Post box

There are a couple of old and historic post boxes around the country that is still in use. I found this old post box dating from the Victorian era just outside the Somerset East Museum in the Eastern Cape town with the same name.

Gill College

In July 1829, Dr. William Gill was appointed District Surgeon of the newly founded town and district of Somerset. Upon his death in 1863, he left the main portion of his estate to found and maintain an institution for higher education in the Eastern Cape. His will stipulated that no portion of the estate was to be spend on the purchase or erection of buildings.

Consequently, Somerset farmers and townsfolk pledged that they would erect the necessary buildings. Gill College was opened on 18 March 1869. Dr Gill’s remains were transferred to the spot where he now lies in front of the College he endowed.

I have been checking the internet to see if the building in the photo is the Gill College Chapel which I think it is. I haven't found much, so that is how I state it till proven otherwise.

Ouma Dora Jacobs

An interesting site I found next to the Somerset East Museum was the grave of Ouma (Grandma) Dora Dotyi Jacobs. Ouma Dora was born in May 1880 and was 122 years old when she died in January 2003. At the time she was the oldest living person in the world.

She was laid to rest in a special place under the trees next to the museum. To get to her grave one has to walk down a path between the trees and the grave is in shaded clearing. Standing there looking at the grave one realises how a peaceful spot and perfect last resting place it made.