OLD JAIL BECOMES GUESTHOUSE

An enterprising couple has turned an 1850 jail into a guesthouse. Weltevreden Guest Farm, near Nieu-Bethesda, belongs to Howard and Judi SHEARD. The sheep and cattle farm is also home to their children James, Jessica and Kate. Judi runs the guesthouse, as well as producing sauces, relishes, jams and jellies under the label Karoo Moon. She also runs a wool spinning, dying and knitting business known as Knotty Kraft.

The farm is situated in an area that was originally known as Achter-op-Sneeuberg. It was first leased out under the quitrent system, where the farmer paid an annual rent but did not own the land. The first lease was granted to Jan COETZE in October 1770. Ownership of the farm, under title deed, was first granted in 1848. In 1878 Lorenz Peter PETERSEN bought the farm and lived there until he sold it in 1882. He probably missed his farm, as in 1885 he bought it again.

He built a jail to house convicts, giving him free labour. As this is a cold region, he built a fireplace for the convicts. During the night, they would climb out the chimney and ride the horses and mules, tiring them out so that they would not do much work the next day! Lorenz eventually figured out this scheme, and the fireplace was torn down. When the jail was later expanded, an extra window needed steel bars, but steel was in short supply, so one bar was made from an ox-wagon’s wheel. The other bar came from the barrel of a double-barrelled shotgun, and the third from the barrel of a single-barrel gun.

In 1891 Lorenz sold the farm to Frederick Liesching McCABE, who sold it to Philippus Arnoldus DU PLESSIS in 1896. Howard’s great-grandfather, Andrew CADLE, moved to the area from Port Elizabeth with his wife Anne, and bought the farm from Philippus in 1903.

The front of the present main house is thought to date back to 1842. The house was originally thatched with mantjiegoed, reeds unique to this area. The farm has an old working water mill built in the 1850s. Surrounding farmers would spent a day there doing their own grinding. For this they paid half-a-crown and were served lunch.

There are some old graves nearby. The inscriptions are covered with lichen, but one date can be still be seen, 1793. As there used to be an old transport riders’ route through the area, it is thought that these graves are of transport riders who died along the route.

The old jail transformed into a guest cottage

Sources

Mortgage Bond DOC 4/1/166 Ref. 96 & 97, Lorenz Peter PETERSEN, 1885
Mortgage Bond DOC 4/1/285 Ref, 1924, Frederick Leisching (Liesching) McCABE, 1891
Mortgage Bond DOC 4/1/501 Ref. 4228, Philippus Arnoldus DU PLESSIS, 1896
Mortgage Bond DOC 4/1/906 Ref. 710, Andrew CADLE, 1903                                                

GARDEN DEPICTS HISTORY

Edward NYAMBI (60) tells South Africa's history in a unique manner. For the past 10 years, Edward has been using his garden to tell tourists our history. He is a bus driver from Zanghoma village, near Tzaneen, but his garden might benefit from the 2010 Soccer World Cup. The garden depicts major historical events, from the arrival of Jan van Riebeeck in 1652 to the inauguration of Nelson Mandela as president in 1994. The Great Trek, the Battle of Blood River, and the 1976 Soweto riots are also depicted. Edward used river stones, which he mixed with cement, to create the scenes. Tourists pay a small fee to enter his home, and he acts as tour guide.

FEATHERBED RESERVE SOLD

Knysna‘s Featherbed Nature Reserve has been sold to Port Elizabeth-based mining magnate Kobus SMIT. Ecologists are now worried about the reserve's future, which was previously owned by mathematician William SMITH. The 150 hectare reserve is one of the last undeveloped coastal sites along the Garden Route and gets 200 000 visitors annually. William decided to sell as his three daughters would not be interested in running. William's father, ichthyologist and author Prof. James Leonard Brierley SMITH of coelacanth fame, bought the reserve in 1954. Kobus SMIT is a major shareholder in mining company Umcebo, and is also planning to develop upmarket properties near Van Stadens Bridge, outside Port Elizabeth.

BRENTHURST GARDEN TOURS

Mrs. Strilli OPPENHEIMER is planning an Insect Route on her family's estate in Parktown, Johannesburg. The estate, Brenthurst, is already part of the Diamond Birdwatching Route. Brenthurst has been in the family's possession since 1922, when Sir Ernest OPPENHEIMER bought the Herbert Baker designed house. His son, Harry, lived there until his death in 2001. Strilli is married to Nicky OPPENHEIMER, and lives at Little Brenthurst, also on the estate. She's responsible for the estate's gardens, with help from Dawid KLOPPER. They have changed the once formal and Victorian garden into a more wild one. As a result, there are more than 30 types of butterflies and 73 types of birds on the estate. Guided tours of the Brenthurst gardens can be booked through (011) 646 4122

BLOEMFONTEIN ZOO UNDER THREAT

The Bloemfontein Zoo was opened in 1906. It now faces possible closure or relocation because of new developments in the area. The local council must make a decision soon. Naval Hill has been mooted as a possible site should relocation be chosen. More than 4000 residents have signed a petition protesting against the closure/relocation. About 65 000 children visit the zoo annually.

FLORENCE BLOOM BIRD RESERVE

The Florence Bloom Bird Reserve in Delta Park, Johannesburg, has been cleaned up. It is one of the oldest bird reserves in Johannesburg. Johannesburg City Parks and the Delta Park Environmental Centre worked together in the clean-up. About R150 000 was raised for the project, which included replacing the the fence around the 7,5 ha reserve. It was declared a bird reserve in 1975 and was named after Florence BLOOM, a successful Johannesburg woman who was also a nature lover. She died in 1971. Her three sons, Harry, David and Norman, each donated a bird bath in their mother's memory to three Johannesburg parks - The Wilds, Melville Koppies and Delta Park. In 1975 their father, Norman, began the conversion of a derelict building in Delta Park on the Braamfontein Spruit, into the South African Nature Conservation Centre.

CANGO CAVES SAVED BY PUBLIC PRESSURE

Here's a story that proves public action can change things. The mining company, Born Free Investments, in Pretoria, announced earlier this month that it would drop its application to mine limestone in the Cango Caves area, citing public pressure. The company had applied to prospect on three farms - De Cango, Matjiesrivier and Voorbedagt. The Cango Caves are the jewel of the tourism industry in the southern Cape, with 300 000 visitors per year and generating R10 million. Michael SCHULTZ, town clerk of Oudtshoorn from 1959 to 1995 said that previous mining applications in 1966 and 1972 had failed.