We took the gravel road up the historic Montagu Pass. –  It is one of the four passes that traverse the Outeniqua mountains. You will stumble upon the old Toll House.  The gravel road leads up the 8km long pass and is signposted from the N12 towards Oudtshoorn.  Starting from the George side and travelling up the incline, it is the first and only building that you come across.

Until the building of the Outeniqua pass as we know it today, the Montagu pass was the main route between Cape Town and Grahamstown.

The Toll House dates back to the year 1855.  According to old records the toll was as follow:

During the winter of July 1855 the toll house was all but destroyed in a forest fire.  It was later repaired, and its thatched roof was replaced with corrugated iron. The corrugated iron is still visible today.   However over the years the stone work started to show its age. The Friends of the Old Toll House stepped in, got a stone mason, and restored it to what it is today.

On Saturday mornings The Friends of the Old Toll House sell pancakes and coffee to raise some much needed funds. The funds goes towards the upkeep and ongoing restoration of the old building and to preserve history.  Make the effort and stop for a traditional pancake and at the same time support a good cause!

—oOo—

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Dan 100 jaar later in 1911 word daar op die hoek van Mark- en Hiberniastrate, ‘n gedenksaal opgerig wat vandag die Ingenieurs Departement van die George Munisipaliteit huisves.

Ek kruis die straat en stap na die witgeverfde Poskantoor met sy mooi houtdeure en kenmerkende rooi posbusse.  Nie net is dit in 1948 voltooi, maar spog ook met ‘n hout kloktoring.

Dan verder op in die straat kry ek onverwags, agter mooi ysterhekke in ‘n lowergroen tuin, ‘n glimps van die statige Bishops Lea, huis van die Diocese of George. Iets wat ek dink nie baie Georgiete van bewus is nie is dat die huis deur die bekende Sir Herbert Baker ontwerp is.

Die koffie geure van Beans about Coffee in Van Kervel Huis lok jou na binne.  Hier kan jy kies uit ‘n verskeidenheid koffiebone wat vars gemaal word terwyl jy wag.  Die geur oorreed my onmiddellik om een van die vele blends wat beskikbaar is te probeer.  Met lande van oorsprong soos Kenyia, Ethiopie en nog vele meer is dit maar moeilik om die lekkerste een te kies.

Maar ek stap aan.  Volgens geskrifte arriveer juf Christina van Niekerk in 1877 in  George met die visie van ‘n skool vir die omgewing.  Charles Bullock, wat ook baie van die sandsteen geboue in Oudtshoorn ontwerp het, dra sy deel in 1905 by tot die argitektoniese beeld van George en ontwerp die koshuis van die meisieskool wat ons sedert 1969 as die  Arts Theatre ken.

Reg langs hom is Oorskotjie wat deel van die skool kompleks gevorm het en dan volg Hurteria House wat as skool gedien het.  Ek verpoos ‘n oomblik in die koelte van die statige ou akkerbome op die sypaadjie.  Heerlik.

My draaipunt is aan die bopunt van Yorkstraat by die Drostdy wat in 1812 gebou is onder toesig van landdros Van Kervel.   In 1826 het die gebou egter afgebrand, maar in 1831 het dit tweede lewe gekry  toe William Hollet dit herstel het as sy privaat woning.   In die 19de eeu gryp Alex Fotheringham in om die gebou verder te laat herleef as die Victoria Hotel totdat die Munisipaliteit dit in 1972 gekoop het en as museum ingerig het.

Ek neem die pad aan die linkerkant van Yorkstraat af (rigting see se kant toe) verby die Landdroshof.  Voor die Toerisme Buro (ook die werk van ou Charles Bullock) staan ‘n ou slaweboom in die tuin.  As jy mooi kyk sal jy nog ‘n ketting aan die boom se stam sien.  Dit is op die dorp se eerste tennisbane opgerig.

Die volgende imposante plek wat my oog vang is Lache Huis by 120 Yorkstraat.  Dokter Charles Owen-Snow het in 1903 die mediese praktyk gekoop.  Hy word toe later ook die distriksgeneesheer en was die trotse eienaar van die eerste motor wat in George geloop het.  Vandag word die perseel onder andere as advokate kamers gebruik.

Weggesteek op die volgende hoek is die ou klip katedraal van St Marks wat deur die bekende Sophy Gray ontwerp is.  Die katedraal het ‘n ryke geskiedenis.  Dit is gebou deur drie klip skrynwerkers met klip wat aangery is vanaf Victoria Hoogte en in net 13 maande voltooi.  Soos so baie kerke in ons land is die deure van die katedraal ook vandag gesluit vir die publiek, maar agter die kerkie is daar ‘n ou begraafplaas met  ‘n paar interessante grafte.  Henry Fancourt White, die bouer van die Montagu pas,  is seker heel tevrede om hier ‘n laaste lêplek te kon vind.  Ook Koning Elizabeth het tydens haar staatsbesoek in 1948 hier ‘n draai afgelê.

Ek eindig by die Standard Bank gebou op die hoek van York- en Hiberniastraat  wat klaarblyklik in 1879 sy eerste tak hier geopen het na gerugte dat goud in die omgewing gevind is.  Hierdie gebou dateer uit 1939 en het opknappingswerk in 1978 en 1983 ondergaan.

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Arriving over the lunch hour on a sunny day I found the gardener attending to the lawn with love and care.  He only gave me a quick glance and carried on with his tasks at hand.

Today the little stone church stood out against the blue sky with picture opportunities aplenty.

This is another one of the legendary Sophy Gray churches. The design of the cathedral is based on the Littlemore Church near Oxford in England which was designed by Henry Jones Underwood.  Three stonemasons were used to build the cathedral and it was completed in only 13 months.  Without the modern technology and tools available that is not a bad accomplishment at all.

I could not take nice pictures of the stained windows, but it might be the oldest in South Africa as it dates back to before Van Riebeeck arrived in the Cape of Good Hope. This was apparently recovered from a church in Germany during the French Revolution, brought to England and then found its way to South Africa.

Wandering through the graveyard at the back of the cathedral I saw a number of historic graves; Bishop Sidwell, Henry Fancourt White – the builder of the Montagu Pass who died in 1866 – and Major H D Warden who founded Bloemfontein while serving as British Resident of the land beyond the Orange River.

Sophy Gray, who designed and built 53 churches in South Africa, was buried at St Saviour’s in Claremont.  This half an hour visit enriched my life as I learned something about our beautiful town which I can share with all of you out there.

After this visit I can tick another Gray church from my list!

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