April 2008
Phone 044-620-3338
Fax 044-620-3176
New email: gbrmuseum@
gmail.com
Contributions by Ina Stofberg
Editor Rene’ de Kock
Dear Friends
Issue 4 of 2008
Remember the Transnet museum commemorated the 100 year opening of the railway
passenger service from Mossel Bay to George last September. Organised by Allen Duff of
the George historical society, Allen put together a collection of historic train photographs
which have been on display at our two local provincial museums. These photographs are
now on show in the Great Brak River Museum and will be there for the next month.
Come and see the many interesting historic train photographs.
Copies may be ordered from Allen.
The Great Brak
River Information
Office
P O Box 20,
Great Brak River,
6525
Tel: (044) 620-3338
Fax :(044) 620-3176
[email protected]
Due to the excessive amount of spam being received on our ‘intekom’ address, the info
office and museum have changed their email addresses to:
[email protected]
[email protected]
The existing email addresses are still in operation for the next month but will be phased
out to speed up our service. If you have already been provided with a different email
address such as [email protected], please continue to use it.
The Great Brak River Craft Workshop who provide hands on training in the creation
and manufacture of crafts such that one may eventually open a business, is urgently
looking for material off cuts in cotton, both plain and patterned for their patch work
project. Please contact the museum on 044-620-3338 or Hope de Kock on 083-3781232 and we will arrange for collection.
Next month is the “Eden Wolwedans Festival” which takes place from the 1st to the 4th of
May 2008. Various activities will take place in the courtyard of the historic Alhambra House
(Post Office) and on the “Voorentoe” school sports field. This event will now take place
annually in May.
Great Brak River has revived the Conservancy which will bode well with our estuary.
Anthony Wise was unanimously elected the new chairman by a large number of local
residents. Anthony may be contacted on 044-620-2336.
OUTENIQUA CHOO TJOE STEAMS AHEAD
The Outeniqua Choo Tjoe - an icon of tourism in the Southern Cape - continues to run a
daily schedule between George and Mossel Bay.
“Recent reports seem to have created a perception that the Choo Tjoe has stopped
operating altogether - but this is incorrect,” said Mossel Bay Tourism’s chairman, Louis
Cook.
VISITORS, HAVE
YOU VISITED ANY
OF OUR LOCAL
RESTAURANTS?
Trans Karoo
1 Morrison Road,
Great Brak River.
Variety restaurant with
good food.
Phone 044-620-4163
Specialities are
pork shanks and
various fish
dishes served in
a delightful
historic setting
Whispering
Waves
in Beach Boulevard.
Dias Beach
Small & intimate.
Phone 044-692-8600
He added that, although feasibility studies were currently under way to decide whether it
would be possible to reopen the George-Knysna line (the train’s traditional route - which
was damaged by the floods of 2006), the Outeniqua Choo Tjoe was nevertheless definitely
still in operation.
Mossel Bay has a proud tradition of steam. The presence of the harbour provided the
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impetus for the opening of the line to George in 1906 and the Voorbaai Yards, just east of
the town, remain the public sector’s only steam maintenance facility.
The Outeniqua Choo Tjoe is South Africa’s last scheduled steam passenger service. It now
offers a unique, scenic, 52-km (two hour) journey through the farmlands outside George,
across trestle bridges on the Gwaing and Malgate rivers, past the Outeniqua siding and
down to the seaside near Glentana. On request the train will stop at Great Brak river.
From here, the train follows the coast to Voorbaai and Mossel Bay - and passengers are
often lucky enough to see whales and dolphins from the comfort of its old-fashioned
carriages.
“The beauty of the scenery and the novelty of travelling on a steam train create an
enormous attraction - but the added value of the fact that the George-Mossel Bay line
links two of the biggest museums in the Western Cape provides a unique opportunity for
exploring the history of transport in South Africa,” said Mr. Cook.
“We call this the Outeniqua Choo Tjoe’s Museum-to-Museum Tour.”
The tour begins at the Outeniqua Transport Museum in George, which houses an
important collection of old cars, buses, horse-drawn carriages and trains - including 13
locomotives, a coach from the White Train (used by the British royal family for their tour of
the country in 1947) and Paul Kruger’s personal coach and private saloons from the South
African War.
In Mossel Bay, the train ends its journey at the Dias Museum Complex Station, which lies
directly alongside the beach at Munro’s Bay and across the line from the Complex itself.
The Dias Museum Complex includes a maritime museum (which houses a modern-day
replica of the caravel in which, in 1488, Bartolomeu Dias became the first European to
touch South African shores), a shell museum, a Braille trail, an ethno-botanical garden and
the famous Post Office Tree under which sailors of the 16th century left written messages
for one another.
For passengers wishing to return to George by train, the Choo Tjoe has a Two-hour layover in Mossel Bay, which allows sufficient time to explore the Museums and, perhaps,
enjoy a dip in the ocean or lunch at one of the local restaurants.
Stonehill
in Little Brak River for
exceptional dining.
Phone 044-696-6501
For upscale
gourmet cuisine
Vaaljapie
At the station,
Little Brak River.
A Dining Experience
Phone 044-696-5878
Booking Essential
FOR LIGHT MEALS,
COFFEE & TEA
SHOPS?
Pepper Tree
Long Street,
Great Brak River.
Coffee Shop and light
meals.
Phone 044-620-3081
De Katte
NYARU
An African Bush
Experience
082-715-1933
BONNIEVALE
Holiday Farm
De Dekke extension, off
the R 102,
Great Brak River.
Coffee Shop and light
meals.
Phone 044-620-2230
Tafeltjie Dek
Long Street,
Great Brak River.
Deli and light meals.
Phone 044-620-3778
044-695-3175
THIS MONTH’S EVENTS
Hope’s Hands on Crafts Workshop will be on Tuesday 15th April @ 9.30 am. The class will be doing “Still to be
advised”. Please bring your tool box and scissors. Contact Hope at 044-620-5124 or 083-378-1232.
5 April 2008: Great Brak Outspan Market from 8:00 am – 13:00 opposite Spar in Great Brak River. Contact: Paula:
Mobile: 082 788 2461
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Building on the enormous success of the inaugural “GARDEN ROUTE HOMEMAKERS EXPO in 2007, this year’s event
takes place from 3 to 6 April 2008 at the Outeniqua Transport Museum in George, the economic powerhouse of the
Southern Cape. Showcasing the latest trends in home improvement and home enhancement, the Expo promises to
inspire all home lovers in the area.
Exhibits range from basic home improvement products to innovative décor ideas for the home and garden. One of
the great benefits is that the Expo offers a vast array of products and services under one roof. The Outeniqua
Transport Museum will again be transformed into an outstanding exhibition venue, offering visitors the biggest
selection of home improvement products and ideas. The Expo will be open from 10:00 to 20:00 Thursday to Saturday,
and from 10:00 to 18:00 on Sunday. Entrance is R30 for adults, pensioners pay only R20 and children under the age
of twelve enter free of charge. For more information, phone (021) 465 2200 or log on to
www.homemakersfaircape.co.za.
13 April 2008: also 27 April 2008: "WILDERNESS CRAFT MARKET, on the banks of the Touw River, Sunday
........., 9.30 - 2pm. Food galore, plants, slippers, glass, bead, leather and wood work. Jams, pickles, sauces,
authentic jewelry, Oil Paintings, water color and more. Bonsai, dried and fresh fruit, Ceramics, Fabric painted items of
the very highest quality, easy access from Highway, in view of the beach. Contact Van Rensburgs, 044 343 1303, 083
363 1211, 083 325 9897."
25 April 2008: Petronel Baard @ TISK - ‘n vertoning met musiek van Laurika Rauch om 19:30 by Vaaljapie in Klein
Brakrivier. Bespreek by 044 696 5878
25 - 28. April 2008: The Prince Albert Town and Olive Festival: "Makietie en kaskenades" ten bate Hoërskool
Zwartberg. Afrikaanse Musiek .26ste April 2008, 19:00 uur in die saal van Hoërskool Zwartberg. Toegang: R 20.00 p.p
Bier van die vat, "Bergwater" wyn en alle ander drankies beskikbaar en Fanie se lekker spitbraai! Musiek: "Prince
Albert Kieliebeentjies"en spesiale gaste! Kom vier fees, lag, eet, drink, dans en sing saam met ons! Tel. & Faks: 023
5411330
Future Events
1-3 May 2008: GREAT BRAK RIVERS “Eden Wolwedans Festival”. For any enquiries contact Dora Harttingh at
0827845885
1-3 Mei 2008: GROOT BRAKRIVIER “Eden Wolwedans Festival”. Vir enige navrae kontak Dora Harttingh by
0827845885
1-3 May 2008: Garden Route Wedding Expo: The Garden Route's premier wedding industry event will once
again showcase the best the region has to offer. Anything from photographers, venues to flowers and jewelry...and
much more. Daily shows with live entertainment, models and top designers. Join us as the Garden Route Mall.
For exhibition and event information, please contact Terra Firma on 044 874 2015
2nd - 7th October 2008: Sasol Wilderness Birding experience. A special birding event has been planned for the
Southern Cape region under the auspices of the S.Cape Honorary Rangers and the generous support of SASOL and
GLENDOWER. The event takes place at the EBB and FLOW rest camp of the WILDERNESS NATIONAL PARK. All fixed
accommodation has been reserved for the event and will be allocated on a first come first served basis. The event is
planned on a full catering basis and participants will be treated to Audio-Visual presentations on a daily basis, as well
as being accompanied by qualified guides to all 5 biomes available in the area, viz . Karoo scrub, Forest, Mountain
Fynbos , Inland Water, and Coastal Birds. Further details of full programme and costs available from the following::
J.J. van Rensburg, 044 343 1303, 083 325 9897, e-mail. natalco@ iafrica.com; David Kingwill 044 874 6436, 082
853 1804, e-mail: [email protected]
Tourism Snippets
Warnings are issued that a recession in the West could hit the global Tourism industry, but S A may suffer less as
the profile of tourists suggests that their wealth will cushion them. Plus the fall in the rand makes SA an attractive
destination.
The government’s latest scheme to extract more tax from citizens involves a plan to make motor vehicle
roadworthy tests compulsory every 2 years.
The World Travel & Tourism Council will name the winners of the 2008 Awards in Dubai in April
(Among the local finalists are Grootbosch Nature Reserve & Fair Trade in Tourism )
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MORE ……
FIFA has decided to appoint ‘authorized tour operators’ for 2010. They plan to select about 160 operators who will be
given allocated match tickets and permitted to sell Fifa World Cup ticket-inclusive travel packages.
A special quality mark featuring the official 2010 emblem with the words “ Authorized Travel packages “ will ensure
soccer fans purchasing genuine travel arrangements with valid tickets.
Interested tour operators are requested to register online at :
http://www.touroperator.match-ag.com
Quotes for April
THIS MAN IS HAVING BIG FUN;
YOU CAN READ IT ON
Half the work that is done in this world is to make things
appear what they are not. - E. R. Beadle
>->->->->->
Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.
Albert Einstein
-
HIS FACE!!!
[LOOK OUT FOR NEXT
MONTH’S FACE!!]
The unreal is more powerful than the real, because nothing is
as perfect as you can imagine it, because its only intangible
ideas, concepts, beliefs, fantasies that last. Stone crumbles.
Wood rots. People, well, they die, but things as fragile as a
thought, a dream, a legend, they can go on and on.”
A Fairy Tale
“Dad! Dad Who are thoes people in the street riding donkeys and mules and dressed like policeman?”
“One has a lantern. There is also a woman in the group who talks non-stop. She is wearing a yellow overall with
the words ‘Mobile Global Positioning System’ on her back.”
“My son, those are the electricity police. We are only allowed two hours of electricity per night. By the way, our
candle is almost burned out. Better get another while you can still see.”
“Dad, we read in history class about a time when there were lots of electricity and water, a time when all the
cities were ablaze with light at night. Is it true?”
“Yes, my son. Long ago there was a time when we had all the power we needed.”
“When we returned home after work we cou:ld switch on all the lights, the TV and even the stove all at once.
We could even fill the kettle with water from a bent pipe called a tap.”
“Oh, come on Dad. This is hard to believe.”
“I know it sounds like something from a science-fiction movie. But sadly it is true. It was called the period of
enlightment. Before the dark ages decended upon us.”
“So what happened, Dad?”
“Who can say? At one stage people governed us who did not want other people to see the mistakes they made.
Whenever they made a blunder – like badly built houses, poorly maintained hospitals, potholes in the roads and
a dilapidated water infrastructure – they put out the lights.”
“Did nobody warn them?”
“Yes. I remember we had a strange guy as president once.”
“He had a crooked finger which he often waved in the air as he warned us about the “swart gevaar”. Nobody
realised he was talking about Eskom.”
Now blow out the candle, son it is time to go to bed.”
“Will you tell me another fairy tale tomorrow night?”
Tributed to Fred Boshoff
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SA ’s HERITAGE & MUSEUM THEFTS
The theft of artifacts and heritage objects from Museums, galleries, tourist attractions and churches in SA
has increased and is reason for great concern.
The Minister of Arts and Culture, Dr Pallo Jordan says they do not have figures on how many heritage
objects and artifacts have been stolen as thefts are directly reported to the SA Police Service and they
cannot report it otherwise as these thefts are not recorded separately. The Department has a list of
missing, lost and stolen items from Heritage sites. They include many military artifacts from the two world
wars and earlier.
“Many of these ceremonial swords, daggers and medals are invaluable and have international currency and
can be traded anywhere in the world”. Jordan says many items have not been recovered and objects vary
vastly in value. For example: the cheapest item is a tray cloth worth R30 that was stolen from the Northern
Flagship Museum in 1995. A replica of Chief Albert Luthuli’s wristwatch which was stolen in 2004 was
recovered later that year.
The South African Heritage Resource Agency (SAHRA) is conducting an audit of heritage assets but they do
not know when this will be finished.
In what Jordan considers a “noteworthy development”, a forum has been established “of several
stakeholders, including the S A Police Service (SAPS), the Department of Arts and Culture (DAC) South
African Heritage Resource Agency (SAHRA) and Interpol. Its purpose is to “wage war against crime
syndicates and other people who engage in theft of heritage objects and artifacts”.
Did You Know?
[ANIMAL & OTHER FACTS]
A baby oyster is called a spat.
9 out of 10 of all living things on earth live in the ocean
More work gets done on Tuesdays than any other day of the week.
Mosquitoes are more attracted to the colour blue than any other colour
The tongue print is as unique as the fingerprint.
The tongue is the fastest healing part of the body.
An ostrich’s eye is the size of a tennis ball and bigger than its brain
A giraffe can clean its ears with its 50 cm tongue
A blue whale’s heart only beats 9 times per minute
A polar bear can smell a human 32 km away.
1 kg of lemons contain more sugar than 1kg of strawberries
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THE GBR CRAFT WORKSHOP
The crafts workshop has purchased its first sewing machine and is well on the way with assembling their patch work
projects.
Do come and
visit the
museum where
some of their
work will be on
display.
The ‘Great Brak
River Craft
workshop’ is a
poverty
alleviation
program that
assists up to
twenty young
benefactors at a
time to obtain
grounding in the
creation and
manufacture of
crafts. The
program does
not only provide
a daily stipend
but assists those
that are keen to
obtain the
credentials to
eventually create and start their own business. Where benefactors show
promise, we are able to send them on special courses to enhance their
capabilities. These courses come with credits towards studying for a higher
qualification.
Benefactors must be less than thirty
five years old and have an interest
and aptitude for ‘crafts’. We are also
obliged to cater for several
handicapped persons and at present
we have already reached our quota.
Patrick Williams
Project Manager
The first group of benefactors have
already completed their induction
and training in embroidery and
sewing and are earning good money. Hope de Kock - Crafts Facilitator
We have opened a list for the next twelve students.
As soon as space becomes available, we will start filling the next training
batch. Various project works will be undertaken depending on the interest
shown.
If you believe you have craft potential, are interested but unemployed,
would you please contact Patrick Williams on phone number 083-967-7440.
Monika Randell – Assistant Facilitator
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OUR NEW NATURE CORNER
Photographs by Sally Adam
IF you have a citrus tree of any sort in your garden you've probably had the big yellow and black Citrus
Swallowtail butterflies as regular visitors. Check the leaves in summer for their larvae - the early larvae bear
an amazing resemblance to birds' droppings, while the older larvae are fat and handsome beasts. They
possess a curious organ called an osmeterium, which is
thrust out and waggled around if the caterpillar is
threatened, frightening predators with its bright colour
and pungent smell.
Reference source: Butterflies of Southern Africa,
Ivor Migdoll
The adult butterfly (Photo Wikipedia)
The Fulgorid family (Cicida) of planthoppers is
characterized by some bizarre features including wavy
filamentous tails and elaborate head protuberances.
Probably the most famous fulgorid is the Lantern Bug
of the tropics. Although its sizable head protuberance
produces no light as the name suggests, the
Amazonian Indians believe the insect to be everything
from deadly poisonous to a potent aphrodisiac.
In reality, the fulgorids are avid plant juice suckers and
lack the fanciful qualities man has invented for them.
Did you Guess what this is? A local Fulgorid Bug
They are very colorful and several countries have
depicted them on their postage stamps.
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THE CURATOR’S CORNER
by Nisde Mc Robert
ONE OF THE FIRST CAUSEWAYS BUILT IN GREAT BRAK RIVER
When the Cape Government Road Board was established it was decided to complete an unfinished
causeway over the Great Brak River known as the Moodie Bridge.
It was named after the
then Acting Civil
Commissioner of
George, Donald
Moodie. (1794-1861)
On the left a beam
can be seen whilst
the right beam
appears underwater.
The two rows of
stone hold the
beams in place
Moodie wanted the
causeway to be
constructed of
indigenous timbers. The
tender called for the
best Blackwood and
real Yellowwood
(opregte) beams
measuring 9 inches
square (228.6mm square), 15ft long(4.57m) and 20ft long (6.09m)
On the left another
bridge beam. The item
on the right is possibly
a support. The white
part is metal which has
been corroded away.
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The bridge was completed in 1844; however, reports
were soon received of the causeway’s dangerous and
insecure state. In the December of 1849 some years
before Great Brak River became a village, 193 wagons
and 30 carts crossed the causeway, which gives an
indication of the amount of traffic passing through the
valleys between Mossel Bay and George.
Take note how the stretcher beam is packed
solidly between the stones.
During the floods of 21st to 23rd of November 2007 two
rows of wooden beams became exposed on the lower
side of the Charles Searle Bridge. These beams are
weathered and have marine worm. The beams have
been packed tightly and firmly between stones and
cement joins of the beams.
According to the files in the Great Brak River Museum
they could be the foundations of the Moodie Bridge that
has been exposed. It is difficult to obtain full details as
the beams are nearly always under water but upon
measuring these beams it was found to be 9 inches
square (228.6mm) and 20ft. long (6.09m).
In 1850, a new causeway was built and stands where the Charles Searle bridge is today. The present day
bridge was built on the existing foundations of the 1850 causeway. When widening the road to the bridge,
the beautiful old toll house was removed. A request was made to rebuild the toll house on the adjacent
“Outspan” but this was refused as the “Outspan” was considered public property. How different things
would have been today.
The new bridge whilst adequate for
the local traffic restricts the flow of
water during a flood causing the
residential and business area above
the bridge to become flooded.
The remains of a weathered
beam showing the worm holes.
Photographs by Jannie Hough.
Part information from Margret
Franklins book “The History of Great
Brak River” and other museum files.
© The content of this newsletter is copyright and it may only be reprinted by request from
the Great Brak River Museum Association.
Compiled & Distributed by the Great Brak River Museum.
The Museum Association cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies or omissions in the text.
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with the word “unsubscribe” in the subject box.
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