The Little Karoo

MATJIESFONTEIN

...is a charming Victorian village that was developed around a railway halt in the Karoo by a Scotsman, Jimmy Logan. In the early days of rail travel in South Africa, trains did not have dining carriages, and in 1844 Logan obtained the concession to open a refreshment room at Matjiesfontein. Within a few years, Logan’s village had become a popular health and holiday resort, as well as the headquarters of his business enterprises.

Famous visitors to Matjiesfontein included Cecil John Rhodes, Lord Randolph Churchill (father of Winston Churchill) and the author Olive Schreiner, who lived for some time in a cottage now known as Olive Schreiner Cottage. During the South African War, 10 000 British troops and 20 000 horses were quartered in a military camp established on the outskirts of the village. Matjiesfontein’s famous hotel 1, with its towers and ornate cast ironwork, was built during the early stages of the war.

The hotel served as a military hospital, while the central turret became a lookout post. Among the many other fine Victorian buildings lining the main street are the Masonic Hotel (now the Losieshuis), Post Office, Village Office and the Laird’s Arms, a Victorian country pub. After Logan’s death in 1920, the village sank into obscurity, and declined even further when the new national road, built at the end of World War II, bypassed the village.

In 1968, however, the entire village was bought by the well-known hotelier David Rawdon, and after careful restoration the Lord Milner Hotel was reopened two years later. The Marie Rawdon Museum contains a fine collection of Victorian and Edwardian domestic articles and furniture, as well as a collection of costumes and dresses.

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MATJIESFONTEIN CEMETERY

...lies a few kilometres to the west of the village against a hillside dominated by an obelisk erected in memory of Major-General Andrew Wauchope, the Commander of the Highland Brigade at the Battle of Magersfontein, which took place on 11 December 1899. Wauchope was killed in the early stages of the battle and was buried the following day in the Modder River cemetery near Magersfontein.

At Jimmy Logan’s request, Wauchope’s remains were exhumed for reinterment at the Matjiesfontein cemetery. Also buried here are Jimmy Logan, his wife Emma, their son and George Lohmann, one of England’s greatest cricketers.

TWEEDSIDE

The cast-iron entrance gates and avenue of eucalyptus trees mark the location of the farm bought by Jimmy Logan in the early 1880s. The enterprising Logan sank numerous boreholes, planted pine and eucalyptus trees and established extensive orchards, which supplied fresh fruit to the markets in Kimberley, then abuzz with diamond fever. Tweedside even had its own private railway siding.

WITBERGE

To the unsuspecting traveller, the valley bounded by the Witberge to the north and Suurkloof se Berg to the south is surprisingly lush, in sharp contrast to the arid Karoo plains. With an abundance of runoff from the mountains after rain, the fertile valley is a patchwork of waving wheatlands, fields of lupins and orchards. In spring, the uncultivated land is covered in a profusion of daisies and mesembs (vygies).

SWARTBERG MOUNTAINS [ALSO KNOWN AS KLEIN SWARTBERGE]

This range forms the western extremity of the Swartberg range, and merges with the Anysberg to the southwest and the Matjiesgoed Mountains to the west, while the Elandsberg lies to the north. Seven Weeks Peak (2326 m) is the highest point in the Swartberg range, but the dominant feature is without doubt the twin peaks of Toorkop (also spelt Towerkop), which rise 2203 m above sea level. The name means ‘magic hill’, and is said to have been given because the mountain changes its shape when viewed from different angles.

Legend also has it that the two peaks were created when a witch struck the summit, splitting it in two. Endemic to the range is the Ladismith protea (Protea aristata), which has magnificent crimson flowers in summer.

LADISMITH

...at the southern foot of the Klein Swartberge, was established in 1852 on the farm Elandsvlei. It was initially named Lady Smith after Lady Juana Smith, the wife of the Cape governor, Sir Harry Smith. In 1879, however, the name was changed to Ladismith to avoid confusion with Ladysmith in Natal, founded in 1850. The town is a centre for the district’s ostrich industry, and wine, fruit and lucerne are also produced.

Ladismith is also famous for its dairy products, named after the peak which overlooks the town. In addition to the historic Dutch Reformed Church, dating back to 1873, there are numerous beautiful Victorian-style dwellings in the town.