South Africa: Eastern Cape: A brief history of Middelburg, Rosmead, Schoombee, Steynsburg, Nieu-Bethesda and Noupoort

Middelburg
Middelburg was founded in 1852 as a halfway point between the towns of Cradock, Colesberg, Richmond and Hofmeyr. Graaff-Reinet was founded in 1786 and the Cape Government proclaimed the district of Colesberg in 1837 and with the distance of 130 miles (nearly 200km) between Colesberg and Graaff-Reinet, it was decided that a town must be formed between the two towns. The Dutch Reformed Church then gave permission for the establishment of a new congregation and the Middelburg Dutch Reformed Church started on 19 May 1852. The town was established after the church and consisted of the three farms that were purchased for the town – Grootfontein, Driefontein and Kleinfontein. The first school started in 1880.

Middelburg and surrounding areas are rich in history from the Anglo Boer War. A pump station was built in 1904 (located in Grootfontein grounds) where water was pumped for British soldiers. Grootfontein started in 1913 and one of the oldest buildings in Middelburg (now the PW Vorster museum) is also on the grounds.

A flood occurred during March 1974, and many houses were damaged.

Many talented people, such as Athol Fugard, who became a drama and play writer, were born in Middelburg (Athol was born in 1932).

Rosmead
First known as the Middelburg Road, this settlement was built around the railway line in 1879 to 1880. Chinese labourers were brought into the area in order to build the line. Rosmead is named after Sir Hercules Robinson Rosmead, a former governor of the Cape Colony.

Schoombee
The remains of blockhouses from the Anglo Boer War can be found between the two areas (Rosmead and Steynsburg), and an Anglo Boer War camp can be seen at the Hillston farm.

Thirty kilometres beyond Schoombee towards Steynsburg on the R56, stand two classic shaped South African flat-topped koppies, known as teebus and koffiebus (tea caddy and coffee caddy). Its here that the 82,8km long tunnel from the Gariep Dam, part of the Orange River Water Scheme, has its outlet and pours water into the Teebus River, which carries it southwards to irrigate the Fish and Sundays river valleys.

Orange River Water Scheme
The Orange River (Now called the Gariep) and its major tributary, the Vaal River, convey nearly 23 % of the total surface water of South Africa. Considering the generally dry climatic conditions characterizing the sub-continent, it is essential for this fresh water resource to be utilized to the greatest benefit of the country and its people, including those of Namibia.

The pioneer in the development of the water resources of the Orange River was Dr AD Lewis, one of the first administrative heads of the then Department of Irrigation (now the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry). As a result of recurring droughts in the Eastern Cape, Lewis, as early as 1928, broached the idea of building a tunnel from a point near Bethulie underneath the Suurberg Plateau to convey Orange River water via the Teebusspruit and the Brak River to eventually reach the Great Fish River valley.

This concept was followed up in 1944 when field surveys and drilling were initiated. This resulted in a report to the Government in 1948 which proposed a project comprising amongst others, a diversion dam on the Orange River as well as a diversion canal and tunnel underneath the divide to the Great Fish River valley, with a branch canal to the Sundays River valley. The first White Paper on the project was tabled in Parliament in 1951 and the actual development was started soon thereafter.

This was done as a result of the population explosion and accompanying development, which are continually increasing

A project initially referred to as the Orange River Project was developed to utilize the water of the Orange River for extensive irrigation schemes, for the generation of hydro-electric power and for urban supply, thus providing for the increasing demand for water and food. The developments that have taken place in the Orange River basin are now so complex and inter-dependent that the term Orange River Project is no longer used, although much of the earlier documentation and White Papers still refer to it.

The original main aims of the ORP were:-
to make provision for new irrigation development along the Orange River and various other areas within reach of the river;
to stabilize the water supply to existing irrigation schemes;
to afford new life to the fertile but water-deficient Great Fish River and Sundays River valleys;
to supply water to various urban centres; and
· generate hydro-electric power.

The project would thus:-
increase the value of the South African agricultural production;
make provision for the establishment of a large number of irrigation farms;
stimulate the production of meat, wool, milk, lucerne, cotton, wheat, raisins, dried beans and peas, both in the Orange River basin and elsewhere;
promote economic activity and development in the areas directly involved;
counteract the migration of the rural population to the cities by creating stable farming communities;
create recreation facilities in the centre of the interior and promote tourism;
level off moderate flood peaks in the course of the river and in the process safeguard riparian communities and irrigation schemes downstream.
Since 1961, the objectives and the planning of the project have been reviewed from time to time due to the changing circumstances and priorities within the Orange River basin and surrounding catchments. Such replanning is normal for a large project of this nature which is developed over a number of decades.

Further planning of the ORP was undertaken to evaluate the water requirements and available resources in the Orange River as well as the impact of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project on these resources. In this regard, a full system analysis of the Orange River was started in 1987 and completed in 1993. This initial study was called the Orange River System Analysis was subsequently updated by the Orange River Replanning Study which was started in 1994 and completed in 1998. Further studies are continually being carried out to investigate specific development options in a continuous effort to plan the efficient use of Orange River water. The quantity of water available for development in the orange River is constantly being assessed and other aspects such as the influences of further developments on the water quality and environment are also being analyzed. For more information on the Orange River Water Scheme and related projects see www.dwaf.gov.za/orange/Mid_Orange/overview.htm

Steynsburg
The town was founded in 1872, on the farm Bulhoek. It was owned by Douw Steyn, the grandfather of President Paul Kruger of the Zuid-Afrikaanse Republiek. The municipality was formed in 1892. The original farmhouse, where Paul Kruger was born, has been renovated and preserved as a national monument

Nieu-Bethesda
The attractive and interesting little town of Nieu-Bethesda lies in the Southern Foothills of the Sneeuberge and is dominated by the highest peak of the range, the 2 502m high Kompasberg, so named in 1778 when Governor Joachim van Plettenberg and Colonel Jacob Gordon examined the area and considered that from the summit of this mountain they could encompass a panoramic view of the whole countryside.

In the arid setting of the Karoo, the site of the future town was generously watered by perennial streams flowing down the mountains. On the inspiration of Andrew Murray, the renowned parson of Graaff-Reinet, the Dutch Reformed Church founded a village there in 1875. On giving the place the biblical name of Bethesda (place of flowing waters) from John 5: verse 2-4, he used the words in Dutch ‘Laten sy dese plaats nu Bethesda noemen’ (Let us now name the place Bethesda). In later years a mistake in translation turned the nu (now) into nieu (new) and this incorrect form is still used today.

Nieu-Bethesda is a delightful place to visit. The atmosphere is amiable and it is a pleasure to walk through the streets and find a place so unspoilt by modern development. Maybe the most extraordinary feature of Nieu-Bethesda is the Owl House of thel ate Helen Martins.

Owl House of the late Helen Martins
Helen Martins was born in December 1897 and grew up in Nieu-Bethesda as the youngest of six children. She obtained a teachers diploma in nearby Graaff-Reinet and, around that time, married Johannes Pienaar; a teacher, dramatist and in later years a politician. The marriage did not last long and knowledge about her activities in the years that followed is sketchy and often contradictory. She certainly spent time in the Transvaal (now Gauteng), Cape Town and Port Elizabeth.

Helen returned to Nieu-Bethesda in the nineteen-thirties to care for her ailing and elderly parents. Her mother, who had long been an invalid, passed away in 1941. 'Oom Piet' Martins died in 1945, and Helen Martins was left alone, with few prospects, in this remote Karoo village. It was some time after this, somewhere in her late forties or early fifties that 'Miss Helen', as she became known, was to begin to transform her surroundings.

It is certain that Miss Helen sought praise and attention through her work but as time progressed, and derision and suspicion grew within the village, she became increasingly reclusive. Miss Helen was notorious for not taking care of herself and as time, arthritis, and the arduous nature of her undertaking took its toll on her physique, she became increasingly shy of her appearance and took great pains to avoid seeing people in the street. The friends that she had however described her as an intensely passionate person who became particularly animated and excited when discussing the latest ideas for her beloved creation.

In order to pursue her vision, Miss Helen had successfully managed to endure great physical and emotional hardship. That is, until her eyesight began to fail her. On a cold winters' morning in 1976, at the age of seventy-eight, Helen Martins took her own life by swallowing caustic soda. It was her wish that her creation be preserved as a museum. And her desire to be recognized as an artist is magnificently realized in the attention accorded to the Owl House and the fact that her artwork, once an object of derision and embarrassment, has become the most important asset of the village of Nieu-Bethesda.

To accomplish the transformation of her environment, Helen Martins hired the services of local workmen. First Mr. Jonas Adams, and then Mr. Piet van der Merwe were employed to do structural modifications to the interior of the house - mostly replacing original windows with the vast panes of glass that would bathe Miss Helens' home in multi-coloured hues of light. And when Miss Helen turned her attention to the outside of her house, she asked Piet van der Merwe to help transform her ideas into reality. An early cement owl constructed by Piet remains in the Camel Yard today.

Around this time, Helen Martins employed itinerant sheepshearer and builder Koos Malgas. Koos also tried his hand at manufacturing cement and glass sculptures, and very quickly developed techniques for working with these difficult materials. Miss Helen obviously appreciated his ability to interpret her ideas and before long he was regularly employed on the creation of the Owl House. Every sculpture would be discussed beforehand, usually over early morning coffee in the kitchen, and although Miss Helen seldom did any of the physical work they would together engineer each new inspiration into being. This process developed into a uniquely symbiotic creative relationship that clearly defines Koos's integral part in the creation of the Owl House. Koos Malgas passed away in Graaff-Reinet on 20 November 2000. He was in his early sixties.

In all, Koos spent twelve years working with Helen Martins on the Camel Yard, until her death in 1976. He stayed on in the district for a further two years, until he relocated to Worcester. In 1991 he was persuaded to return to Nieu-Bethesda where he was employed on restoration work to the Owl House until he retired in 1996. For more information see www.owlhouse.co.za

Noupoort
Noupoort was founded in 1884 when the railway reached the area. It then became the central place between many other towns, with its existence entirely dominated by the continual passage of trains. Originally spelt and pronounced as Nauwpoort, which was too much of a tongue twister for the English, it’s name had to change to Noupoort.

As railway activities dwindled over time, the town became quieter and more dilapidated. Today it presents a quaint up and coming tourist destination, with relatively cheap property prices.


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