By Liz Clarke
Durban - A stone farmhouse with thick walls is haunted, say the locals. You can hear strange noises in the dead of night – and 160 years of history is probably a good enough reason. So too is the fact that the Wellington family who arrived in Rosetta and apparently built the homestead nearly two centuries ago were convinced it was the right place to plant vines, and left disillusioned when frost destroyed their crops.
Whether the story is true and whether Wellington in the Cape has anything to do with this pioneering family doesn’t matter because romance, myth and history seem to intermingle in this part of KwaZulu-Natal where dairy farming and trout fishing rule and where unsung gems of old Natal history pop up at the most unexpected places.
A single carriage bridge might go unnoticed if you weren’t aware of its age and history. You’ll find it as you travel along the country lanes to Rosetta having taken the turn-off from Nottingham Road.
A well-worn, barely legible lichen-clad plaque just above road level reads: Meshlyn Bridge opened by the Hon TK Murray CMG Minister of Lands and Works, 16th December, 1896, at a cost of 1 675 pounds.
Dig a little further into this history and you’ll find that the same gentlemen three years later formed the Murray’s Horse and the Colonial Scouts to thwart any attempt the Boer army had of crossing the Mooi River and taking over Natal.
Murray was so passionate about his mission, “ready to die if necessary”, that Colonel Redvers Buller, in charge of the British forces, mentioned him in dispatches, thanking him for his assistance in the relief of Ladysmith and for patrolling and protecting a wide district around the Mooi River. His diligence and constant patrolling, wrote Buller, made the Boers believe the area was better protected than it was.
Murray, who put together a voluntary group of riders carrying rations for the British soldiers on route to relieve Ladysmith, was subsequently created a KCMG (The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George) awarded to men and women who render extraordinary or important non-military service in a foreign country).
He was also a generous fellow, so the early records inform us. He gave his brother Freddy a large silver salver and a quilt big enough for a king-sized bed as a wedding present.
The area, once the first route to the Transvaal, was dominated by the Rosetta Farm, granted by the Crown in 1861. The village possibly resulted from the colonial farm pioneering boom that took place at the time in Natal.
A quaint theory for the village’s naming is that the local Mooi River, when in flood, reminded pioneering farmers of the Rosetta branch of the Nile, where the mighty river divides north of Cairo.
A good reason to come to Rosetta is to see the dramatic views of the Drakensberg. The hillsides come alive in spring and summer with abundant wild flowers; the cold autumns are an array of burnt orange and amber; and crisp, chilly winters offer a frost-laden air with snow-capped peaks in the distance and sometimes snow on the ground.
Another good reason for heading west is to visit Café Bloom in nearby Nottingham Road for breakfast or lunch. Think countryside Provence and you’ll get the vibe, handmade pottery, a kitchen garden producing fresh fresh produce and items on the menu with no fancy names. You’ll also get a friendly country-style greeting from owners Mike Haigh, (the potter) and his wife Sally, whose vegetarian preferences give new meaning to non-meat dishes.
Also within striking distance is the Kamberg Nature Reserve, along the Kamberg Road from Rosetta. Birdlife is the main attraction, including waterside birds at close range.
A secret gem you might miss unless you ask around is KZN’s first stationmaster’s house at Lion’s River, also close by, built more than a century-and-a-half ago by the British. Enter the front door and you’ll find yourself immersed in history, relics, collectors’ items from an age gone by – everything from the first telephone in the area to a crimson station lamp, porcelain figurines and original cutlery and tea sets.
The doors and windows are still the original and work perfectly. There are ghosts there too, even the faint sound of a steam train, some say, can be heard in the middle of the night. - Sunday Tribune