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 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

Cradock grave yard track - no Harry Potter unfortunately

On my last visit to Cradock I went in search of the grave of Harry Potter.  Harry Potter, you ask? Well, Cradock's cemetery holds the grave of one Harry Potter who was a ‘beloved husband’ and died on July 27, 1910 at the age of 46.  Was he magical? Who knows?  I unfortunately didn't find him.  I did find this scene of this car track through the grave yard that I especially liked.  Since coming back home I have discovered GPS coordinates for his grave and the Geocacher in me will be back to follow the coordinates even if there isn't a cache with a log sheet to sign at ground zero.  Harry Potter's grave will be enough of a find.

Oudtshoorn graveyard

Regular followers of my blogs would know by now that one of my strange travel quirks is historic cemeteries.  On a recent visit to Oudtshoorn in the Klein Karoo I decided to revisit the Kerk Street Cemetery in the town for a closer look. 

The graveyard is an old one with most graves having disappeared over the years.  In some cases there are headstone that look like they stand in the middle of nowhere and in other places you can see a grave mound but no stone.

From some of the graves I could gather that the graveyard was originally used by the historic Dutch Reformed Church down the road, but most inscriptions you can't really make out.  I've been trying to do some research about the cemetery on the internet but haven't found anything other than a website with pictures of some of the grave stones.  Nothing on its history unfortunately. 

IMy walk through the cemetery had to be cut short because of the thorns pricking me through my slip slops.  I could hear them crunch between the sole and the soil and this is what I saw when I took them off in the parking area. Eish, good thing I didn't go barefoot.

Cemetery fencing

Old cemeteries hold a special place in my heart and I really enjoy exploring them where ever I encounter any.  The old Scottish Cemetery in St Georges Park is probably one of the lesser known cemeteries in Port Elizabeth and some of the graves date back to the mid 1800's.  Unfortunately for explorers like me this particular cemetery is locked most of the time, but I struck it lucky the other day.

Steve Biko's grave

In a small cemetery outside King Williams Town in the Eastern Cape you will find the humble grave of one of South Africa's best known anti-apartheid leaders from the 1960s and 1970s, Banto Stephen (Steve) Biko.  Steve Biko was born on 18 December 1946 and founded the Black Consciousness Movement.  On 18 August 1977 Biko was arrested at a police roadblock under the Terrorism Act No 83 of 1967 and interrogated by officers of the Port Elizabeth security police.  His interrogation included torture and beatings resulting in a coma and major head injury.  On 11 September, police loaded him in the back of a Land Rover, naked and restrained in manacles, and began the 1100 km drive to Pretoria to take him to a prison with hospital facilities.  He died shortly after arrival at the Pretoria prison, on 12 September 1977.

We stopped at the cemetery during the Mini vs Maxi trip on our way from East London and one of my travel companions, Sisa, explained to us why there are a number of stones that were put by people on the grave.  These stones were put there by visitors as a sign of respect to the person buried there, in this case Biko, honoring the deceased person’s memory and sending their soul on the the hereafter.. 

Yesterday was the anniversary of Biko's death which I only realised last night, so I decided to jump ahead on the posts about the Mini vs Maxi trip and do this post today.  Over the years there have been many references to Biko in movies, plays and songs.  There was even a Star Trek star ship called USS Biko.  The following link will take you to one of those songs, Peter Gabriel's song called Biko.

The last picture was taken through the cemetery's gate looking in. 

Day 3 and 4 of the Mini vs Maxi trip

Day 3 of the Mini vs Maxi Adventure Across the Eastern Cape started with a hearty breakfast at the legendary Lavender Blue just outside East London for Team Mini.  Farm style breakfasts with orange juice all around and us intrepid travellers and then we were ready to head towards Grahamstown for our next destination.

Driving through King William's Town we decided to incorporate some history and Xhose culture into our adventure trip and detoured to see the grave of Steve Biko just outside town.  Neil and I was wondering why there were a large number of little stones on the grave and Sisa continued to explain to us, and the video camera capturing our trip, how its part of the process of sending a soul on to the hereafter.

Team Mini made one more stop heading east, pulling our sponsored VW Polo over for a view of the Great Fish River.

Our last destination of the trip was at Bucklands Game Private Reserve about 35 kilometers outside of Grahamstown for a couple of game drives, good food, comfortable accommodation as well as one or two other activities.

After our arrival we barely had time to put our bags down when we were whisked away for a firearm handling session.  Although its not an activity that they offer guests, they decided to give us an extra adventure seeing that both Sisa and myself have never handled a rifle.  We were taken to the reserve's shooting range where we got to handle a pistol as well as two of the rifles used by rangers for conservation and during game walks.

After shooting off a couple of rounds we went out on a game drive during which we had a number of stunning sightings, amongst others a couple of Aardwolfe after dark.  Other species included rhino, giraffe, zebra, kudu, impala and blesbuck (pictured above).

One of the highlights of any afternoon / evening game drive is stopping somewhere with a good view to see a real African sunset with a couple of drinks in hand.  This game drive was no different.

Day 4, our last day on the Mini vs Maxi trip, started with coffee and rusks before we headed out on an early morning game drive.  During the drive we had the fortunate opportunity to walk both giraffe as well as rhino.  By walking I don't mean walk with tame animals.  Walking an animal refers to disembarking a vehicle and approaching an animal in the veld or bush on foot.  The drive was followed by a big late morning breakfast.  After saying our goodbyes we headed back to East London to drop of Sisa before Neil (who has James Blunt tickets in PE for Sunday night) and myself took on the road back to Port Elizabeth.

Over the four days of the trip I just did a basic recap and description of the places we visited and activities we did.  Over the next few week I'm cover the activities we did in more detail and will also show of a number of the photos I have taken.

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. 

Knysna forest graves

What would an expedition into the Knysna forest be without looking for some of the graves that belong to the woodcutters and miners from back in the days?  My map of the forest showed "graves" close to Millwood and I ventured down a short narrow dirt road to have a look.  The small sign at the gate called it the Old English Cemetery and it contained graves of both woodcutters and miners and their families.

On the information board there were 34 names ranging in ages from 1 and 4 days to old age.  The amount of ages in the 20's and 30's was actually astounding which just shows how harsh it was living in the conditions that these people lived in.  The grave yard itself only had three or four graves with grave stones while the rest where nothing more than humps on the ground.

I noticed another spot on the map that had graves that were accessible.  It turned out to be on the property of Forest Edge which is an award winning accommodation establishment.  The land that the property is on was part of the land that were given to some of the woodcutters to settle on after they were moved out of the forest and logging was seized.  They were more than willing to allow me in to go and have a look at the graves which is on the edge of the forest.  Again the graves was unmarked till the owners of Forest Edge marked them with white crosses.  Although there are no records of who were buried here, two elderly ex-woodcutters who live close by have given them some indication of who some of the people may be.

George Rex grave

I recently paid my respects at the grave of George Rex in Knysna, I thought I'll share his story with all of you.  George Rex (29 August 1765 - 3 April 1839) is generally known as the founder of the town of Knysna.  He came to the Cape Colony from Britian in 1797 and held various high ranking positions in Cape Town before settling on the farm Melkhoutkraal, in the Knysna district.  Here he was mainly a timber exporter and trader, but he played a huge roll in the development of the town and surrounding area.  Rex never married, but had but he had four children by a former slave, Johanna Rosina van der Caap, and then nine more children by one of her daughters (Carolina Margaretha Ungerer) by a previous master.

For the last two centuries people have been intrigued by the legend of George Rex and the story that he may have been the illegitimate son of George III, Prince of Wales at the time, and a Quaker girl, Hannah Lightfoot.  The story goes that he was sent to the Cape Colony to avoid a royal embarrassment back in Britain and that was also why he never married as any legitimate descendants would have had a claim on the throne.  Although there are apparent proof to the contrary, the legend still lives on.  It may just be that the true king of England live in this beautiful town as, if the legend is true, George Rex should have been king instead of George IV after George III died in 1820.

South End Angels

I decided to venture away from the Drakensberg area for a day or two just in case you are starting to get a little tired (I hope not cause there is more where that came from) of mountains, streams and waterfalls.  Today I'm doing a Random ... theme post of angels I found around the South End Cemetery here in Port Elizabeth.

This I felt is a sad picture for two reasons.  Its always sad when the angels have to come and fetch a child and secondly because she is missing an arm.  I have a picture of (I think) the same angel which was taken in 2009 where she still has her arm.  See here for picture featured in this post.

 Another "child angel" keeping an eye over the surrounding graves

An "adult angel" in Black and White rounding out the trio of angels for today's post

Sacred

I am posting this for no other reason than the fact that I like the pic

Russell Road Cemetery

No I'm not weird. I just like to explore old cemeteries. I've wanted to go and have a look around the old Russell Road Cemetery for so long and just never made the time. So the other day I decided to put on my Indiana Jones hat and headed over there for another of my grave yard exploration trips. The Russell Road Cemetery is one of the older cemeteries in Port Elizabeth and is situated on the hill side between Central and Richmond Hill. Some of the graves date back to the early part of the 19th Century.

The most significant grave in the cemetery is the white one in the middle of the above picture. It belongs to James Langley Dalton who was a survivor of the Battle of Rorke's Drift and the recipient of a Victoria Cross. (see post here)

Unfortunately due to its age as well as vandalism in the past, there isn't a huge amount of graves still visible in the cemetery. Some time in the past the municipality has taken the grave stones that has fallen over or that was broken off and cemented them flat (horizontally) into place over their graves. At least its one way of stopping the stones to be damaged more.

Grave cross

On a recent exploration of the Russel Road Cemetery here in Port Elizabeth I found this very interesting grave stone cross.  It kinda reminded me of a Celtic cross and probably got its inspiration from the Welsh connection amongst the 1820 British Settlers as the grave dates from the mid 1800's.

Grave yard flowers

I found these flowers growing in St Mary's Cemetery the other day on one of my grave yard exploration trips. I'm not sure what they are, but any passer-by would have been very confused about this dude crawling around between the old graves.

St Mary's Cemetery revisited

I've been exploring the old cemeteries around Port Elizabeth lately and revisited the St Mary's Cemetery for a proper look around. I think my interest in grave yards come from that part of me who wants to be a Indiana Jones type of archaeologist exploring jungles and discovering artifacts in long lost cities My friends were slightly confused when my Facebook status read "... is going for a haunt in St Mary's Cemetery" the other day. Always good to be slightly mysterious, isn't it?

1800's graveyard in Prince Albert

I was walking exploring around the back streets of the Karoo town of Prince Albert and to my delight stumbled on discovered this old cemetery. It belongs to the NG Kerk (Dutch Reformed Church) and the graves date between 1844 and 1884.

Non of the graves really had grave stones, but they were all covered in stone mounds. It was interesting though that there was a couple of graves with small structures built over them towards the back of the grave yard. Those probably belonged to well off people who could afford such a monument back in those days.

Sarah Bartmann's grave

Situated on top of a hill overlooking the Gamtoos Valley just outside Hankey is the grave of Sarah Bartmann (Saartjie Baartman). She was born somewhere in the Gamtoos Valley in 1789 and moved to the Cape as a teenager to find work. From here she was lured to London under false in 1810 and was exhibited around England as the "Hottentot Venus". She was sold to a Frenchman who also exhibited her around France before here death. Sarah died in 1815 at the age of 26 of possibly pneumonia. A mould was made of her body and her skeleton, brain and external private parts were placed on display in Paris until 1974.

In 1995 efforts started to bring her remains back to South Africa, but it wasn't before 2002 that the French government agreed to repatriated her remains to her homeland. She was finally laid to rest on top of Vergaderingskop overlooking a beautiful section the fertile Gamtoos Valley on Women's Day (9 August 2002). There are still plans to erect a proper monument on the sight as well as a museum in the town.

If you want to read Sarah Baartman's whole story, visit Wikipedia or Kouga Tourism.

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.