town. As I said in one of my previous posts, she has become an expert in the
history of Hanover. She knows some of the most amazing stories of the town and
the town is small enough for her to have a story for nearly every house in the
town.
The walk was not that easy due to the weather conditions. The area is
extremely exposed to the elements so when a cold front comes through you get to
feel the full force of it. We got to feel the start of a cold front with huge
gusts of wind and we were sandblasted because the area is very dry.
The first thing that Beryl showed us was the Leiwater in the Leivoortjies.
That is the water that caries from “The Eye”, a natural fountain about ½km
outside of the town, to all the houses in the original town. This water was used
to irrigate all the gardens. When the houses were originally built the original
owners were granted large properties of land where they had to build their
houses next to the roads with their back gardens leading away from the road. So
once the Leivoortjies were built the water ran through various canals into the
town and then on certain days certain areas of the town got water and they would
flood their gardens and that is how they watered their gardens. Even today there
are certain houses that use this water and the local sports club uses the water
to water their lawn bowls greens.
The story doesn’t end there. Since the houses had to be built on the one side
of the road leading away from the road, there was not much space for the houses
to grow towards the roads. In due course porches and patios came into fashion
and the towns’ folk wanted to be up to date with fashion so they built porches.
The town council said that the area that these porches were built on belonged to
the town and not to the home owners so they charged them 1 penny a year to rent
the land. Apparently this tax still exists and it has gone up to R14 a year.
What have the above stories done to the town? The first thing is that it has
created a latticework of canals that have not been looked after so most of them
are blocked and water doesn’t flow through them. They are not all blocked by
nature, some of the home owners find them a nuisance and have blocked them. So
now the town looks like it has a mess of gutters. The second thing is that there
is a house design which they call Karoo Cape Dutch houses. I am not an architect
but you can see what they look like from the photos. A third thing is that the
first magistrate of the town, a certain Charles Beere, was a forward thinking
man for his time and one of the things that he forced the town to do was plant
trees. He said that people needed trees to get shade and protest the inhabitants
from the harsh karoo sun. So now you will see beautiful trees outlining the
streets.
The trees are beautiful but they are slowly being killed off and not by man
but by nature. Every year a huge flock of lesser kestrels come from Europe and
settle in the town. We were not in the town at the right time of year so we did
not see them but we hear that if they fly over you there are so many that they
eclipse the sun. The birds have a habit of choosing the same couple of trees to
roost on when they come until the tree eventually dies. The tree dies due to the
acidity of the birds guano that eventually poisons the ground and kills the
tree. This takes a couple of years but when the tree dies the birds move onto
the next tree. The locals do not do anything to protect the trees or help the
land recover below the trees when the birds are not around. So now you will find
areas with beautiful contorted trunks and branches of dead trees.
but by nature. Every year a huge flock of lesser kestrels come from Europe and
settle in the town. We were not in the town at the right time of year so we did
not see them but we hear that if they fly over you there are so many that they
eclipse the sun. The birds have a habit of choosing the same couple of trees to
roost on when they come until the tree eventually dies. The tree dies due to the
acidity of the birds guano that eventually poisons the ground and kills the
tree. This takes a couple of years but when the tree dies the birds move onto
the next tree. The locals do not do anything to protect the trees or help the
land recover below the trees when the birds are not around. So now you will find
areas with beautiful contorted trunks and branches of dead trees.
Eventually we reached a hill, now called Trappieskop. Once again Beere is
influential in the fame of this hill. As magistrate he had access to the
criminals of the area and used them to build a staircase from the bottom of the
mountain to the top of the mountain where today you see a pyramid built in his
honour in 1881. Apparently he loved the karoo landscape and used to spend a lot
of time on Trappieskop just admiring the view. I must admit that I agree with
him. Firstly you can see the whole cite, then you can see the new highways of
the N9 and N10 (which he didn’t get to see) and there is a sand road that was
constructed for the repair work that they have done and are still going to do on
the other highways. These roads give you the impression that they are going
nowhere, maybe even leading off the face of the earth.
Next to Trappieskop is another hill and on top of the hill is a reservoir of
water for the town and there is an old British bunker or foxhole that they used
during the Anglo Boer War. During the Anglo Boer War the town was in British
possession. The British knew that “The Oog” was the only source of water for
miles around the area so they built a wall around the natural spring, a military
camp around it the new construction and then kept a lookout in the foxhole on
top of the hill.
water for the town and there is an old British bunker or foxhole that they used
during the Anglo Boer War. During the Anglo Boer War the town was in British
possession. The British knew that “The Oog” was the only source of water for
miles around the area so they built a wall around the natural spring, a military
camp around it the new construction and then kept a lookout in the foxhole on
top of the hill.
From the top of Trappieskop you have a magnificent view of the church and the
whole town. You can see the original layout of the town. Originally each block
belonged to an individual owner who had one house and loads of land. Some of the
properties are still like that but the majority of the landowners have divided
the land and either sold it or built on the land. At the top of the hill you can
see a pyramid that has been dedicated to Magistrate Beere. It is quite a
magnificent spectacle but has not been well kept. If someone does not look after
it the structure will collapse. There is also a huge cross that has been there
for quite a while. Eddie got permission and put lights on the cross so now tired
travellers can see it from miles away as they approach Hanover at night. The
last things to look at are the hundreds of cactuses. These cactuses grow huge
stems with a flower on top of it. The cactus flowers only once before it
dies.
We were soon lead from the top of the hill back into town and straight to the
original homestead of Pietervalei. The house has become a museum but there is no
curator or historian to run the place. Beryl has been given the keys and she
looks after it but she does not have time give to look after the place properly.
Another problem is that most of the town do not really care about it. They use
it as a place to dump there old rubbish. It is something convenient to have but
it is someone else’s problem. Due to this fact the one wall has collapsed on the
inside and there has only been a hasty repair job done to close the gap. Even
though it is not looked after there are still some interesting artefacts. There
are clothes used during the Boer wars, interesting radios, clocks, books and a
really funny looking hairdryer. I enjoyed the museum but due to its state I
didn’t want to stay there for too long.
original homestead of Pietervalei. The house has become a museum but there is no
curator or historian to run the place. Beryl has been given the keys and she
looks after it but she does not have time give to look after the place properly.
Another problem is that most of the town do not really care about it. They use
it as a place to dump there old rubbish. It is something convenient to have but
it is someone else’s problem. Due to this fact the one wall has collapsed on the
inside and there has only been a hasty repair job done to close the gap. Even
though it is not looked after there are still some interesting artefacts. There
are clothes used during the Boer wars, interesting radios, clocks, books and a
really funny looking hairdryer. I enjoyed the museum but due to its state I
didn’t want to stay there for too long.
is in a far better condition due to the fact that someone lives in it but also
due to that reason we could not just go stomping through their house.
From there we walked to the outskirts of town. This land is communal land
where the original inhabitants could take their farm animals to pasture, the
land it still communal and is still used by some of the inhabitants for the same
reason but most people in the town do not have farm animals and if they do the
animals are on their farms and not in the town.
Right on the outskirts of town there are two very interesting buildings. They
are interesting due to the inhabitants of the buildings. The one is a tall
double story house. The bottom floor used to be closed in and used to be used
for cattle. During the Boer war the Boer commandos would sneak into the house
and eat and drink at the expense of the owner, at the same time the owner used
to give the British commanders tea on the top floor of the house. We were lead
to believe that neither side knew what was going on. The other house is very run
down and not inhabited but it used to be a sort of jail for Olive Schreiner who
used to live there and the British soldiers put her in house arrest due to the
fact that she was a pacifist and also stood up for the Boers rights. She was an
interesting character in her own right and deserved a blog written just about
her.
From there we were taken on a tour of the sports club. Apparently the locals
meet there on Wednesdays and Sundays to play bowls. There is a Leivoortjies that
leads the Leiwater into the sports grounds to irrigate the greens. Sometimes to
the detriment of the greens since it occasionally gets forgotten and floods the
greens. This usually happens on a Tuesday and the next day the local bowlers
cannot play and just spend their time complaining and drinking whilst they look
at the mess.
Unfortunately all things come to an end. We were soon back at the hotel and
we joined up with the rest of the group. From here on we only did things that
the whole group wanted to do. So what did they want to do? Play games and party.
There are a lot more things to do in Hanover and I will be back to visit Eddie
and Beryl, and see the rest of the town.
