Cecil John Rhodes Archives

A STEP BACK IN TIME – MATJIESFONTEIN

Matjiesfontein owes its existence to one single person who had the vision and mission to create something from nothing in the middle of nowhere. This man was James Douglas Logan, a Scot, born in 1857 and arrived by accident in South Africa when his ship was wrecked near Simonstown in the Cape Peninsula. He found work as a porter at the Cape Town Railway Station and later became district superintendent. He married Emma Haylett and bought in farm in the Karoo, called Tweedside, sunk some boreholes and planted fruit trees, against the advice of some local farmers, and made a huge success of it. At the same time Logan was involved in developing Matjiesfontein as a recuperating facility for suffers of respiratory problems. But this was not the end of Logan; he had some more plans up his sleeve! He was also the proud owner of the longest private telephone… Read more >

THE BIG HOLE @ KIMBERLEY, SOUTH AFRICA

by Inge Triegaardt Upon entering Kimberley, one might find that the capital of the Northern Cape Province of South Africa, is just another dull, dusty town with heat waves in summer and cold, winter nights with temperatures below zero degrees Celsius. The impression one gets when driving down the streets of this once “rich” town, is definitely not one of glamour and shiny diamonds. Being the host city of the De Beers Mining Company HQ, Kimberley still preserves the rich history that made this town one of the most sought after places to be during the early 1900’s. One might think that visiting a big hole in the ground should be nothing spectacular these days, given that we have seen comets create big craters all over the world. So what makes the Big Hole in Kimberley so special that one will pay to take a selfie in front of a… Read more >

‘n BESOEK AAN OUDSTHOORN

Vandag moes ek weer ‘n paar uur in die Klein Karoo spandeer en het ek my ma in die ouetehuis gaan haal om die dorp te gaan verken. My roete vat my eers tot by die Rooms Katolieke Katedraal net so ‘n entjie vanaf Nostalgie en Gotland Huis. In vergelyking met die glorieryke standsteen geboue is die katedraal wat in 1964 gebou is nie baie indrukwekkend nie. (Ek het vandag eers uitgevind daar is ‘n Rooms Katolieke Katedraal op die dorp). Ek het begin oplees oor die geskiedenis van Oudtshoorn en vind toe uit dat daar ongeveer 100 Joodse gesinne in 1877 hierheen gevlug het tydens die Russies-Turkse oorlog – meestal vanuit Lithuania wat op daardie stadium ‘n Russiese provinsie was. Vandaar dat die sinagoge in Baron van Reedestraat in 1881 opgerig is met die hulp van die Afrikaanssprekende gemeenskap van Oudsthoorn. Die sinagoge is vandag nog in gebruik en… Read more >

Tag Archive: Cecil John Rhodes

A STEP BACK IN TIME – MATJIESFONTEIN

THE BIG HOLE @ KIMBERLEY, SOUTH AFRICA

‘n BESOEK AAN OUDSTHOORN