Durban - Walking along part of the old wagon trail between Ladysmith and Newcastle, which a century ago led ultimately to Johannesburg, had me all fired up. Higher up the hillside, beyond thick bush, the sound of traffic on the modern-day tar road did not mar the moment.
Apparently, at one stage, there were as many as 17 inns located along this section of the trail; because the river often flooded, stranding travellers for days.
Crossing low-lying causeways over the river added to the atmosphere. Then there was a pool, surrounded by tangled brush, with lichened rocks jutting out of the water. This, I was told by Herta Mitchell-Innes – whose husband George owns Fodo Farm – was the setting for Percy Fitzpatrick’s short story The Pool, which entailed an unsolved murder.
A rash of goosebumps started to prickle my arms...
Tourists wishing to stop over on Fodo Farm (an ideal spot for visiting the Elandslaagte battlefield), have the option of staying in a charming cottage in a large garden filled with trees, birdsong, and a couple of cows acting as lawnmowers; or at Mawelawela Lodge a few kilometres away – in a large self-catering cottage located on the edge of a trout dam, in a 1 500 hectare reserve.
The garden cottage was my home for the night. Christmas came early. Herta, who arrived in this country from Austria many years ago, and worked as a nursing sister with the Mariannhill Mission hospitals (including ones in Ixopo and St Apollinaris at Centocow) before marrying George, had baked some delicious cookies. “Normally, in Austria, such cookies are only baked at Christmas,” Herta explained. Sweets and fruit also found their way on to my welcoming tray.
Later we took coffee at the nearby Platberg Trading Post, which used to serve the Platberg Newcastle Colliery before it was decommissioned. “Before the railway line arrived in 1892, coal was transported to Estcourt by oxwagon, from where it was sent by rail to Durban,” said Herta.
The Mitchell-Innes family own the land on which the mine was located, but not the mineral rights.
At one stage the trading post was run by a Norwegian couple. He, with braces holding up his pants, handled the adjoining butchery, while she ruled the store with an iron rod.
The original shelves are still stacked with all sorts of items, and several customers making their purchases added to the scene, while a cheerful rocking horse held sway. Apparently, those who crafted these children’s play pieces, sometimes concealed things in the wooden horse’s hollow stomach.
According to the man managing the trading post, some people knock on the horse’s belly to see if there is something inside.
Herta also took me to the village which once housed the families of managers at the colliery. They had a great social life, and the mine community hall, dating back to those days, is now being converted by Walter (George and Herta’s youngest son) and his fiancee, Bianca, into a venue for weddings or other functions .
George’s ancestors on his mother’s side, the Krogmans, arrived in the area in 1849. On his father’s side, the Mitchell-Innes’ bought the farm in 1865.
We sat down to a delicious dinner that night. The traditional dumplings in the soup were an absolute treat.
For me, the highlight was George’s museum, which spills over two rooms in the main house. One of the fascinating paintings shows the 5th Irish Lancers, the Gordon Highlanders, the Manchesters, the Devons, the Imperial Light Horse, and Field Artillery in full dress regalia. Although this was not what they wore at the Battle of Elandslaagte, on October 21, 1899, George explained that this depiction by military artist Caton Woodville, made it easier for the observer to work out the positions of the troops, fighting against the Boers.
He mentioned that it was fairly common for the works of newspaper artists, who were present at actual battles, to be repainted by military artists. Both are evocative – those at the battle are stirringly dramatic, while the repainted version, gives more detail.
Another painting was of the gunners at the Battle of Colenso, who stood to attention beside their field artillery, which they were not allowed to abandon until horses were sent to tow the guns away.
There are dozens of paintings, cuttings from newspapers, fascinating books. A tin of the chocolates, which Queen Victoria sent to her troops, still contains its now-ancient contents. George is full of fascinating tales of incidents during the Anglo Boer War, the kind of snippets which the average member of the public would never hear, such as a journalist who had been drinking in Ladysmith. He asked the way to where the Battle of Dundee (Talana) was unfolding, but was directed to the wrong mountain by an old man.
George points out a painting of a famous bugler boy; and another showing the special slot on the Lancers’ saddles in which their lances were placed when at rest. He explains how Fort Mistake got its name, and how the makers of Bovril had a great marketing ploy. Members of the public were given coupons when buying their product. These could be exchanged (once sufficient were collected) for prints of famous battles, such as the Relief of Ladysmith and Lord Kitchener’s homecoming.
George has about 700 glass slides, along with a Magic Lantern to view them, of many battle scenes. His museum also covers the Crimean War; and has British cigarette cards covering battles dating back to Gibraltar in 1770, and ending here in 1900.
“The Anglo Boer War caused many divisions in families,” said George. “My grandfather on my mother’s side, Gert Krogman, fought on the side of the Boers, as a member of the Harrismith Kommando. He was sent to Ceylon as a prisoner of war.”
Early the next morning, gazing out across the veld, and then walking across an abandoned steel bridge nearby – which was the focus of Boer gunners during the war – it was easy to imagine the drama of the battle unfolding. - Sunday Tribune
l Contact: George on 083 332 1360 or Herta on 083 259 6394. E-mail: [email protected]