Remembering Jan Biesjes Kraal
Milnerton was once part of an extensive farm dating back to at least the end of the 18th Century. The location of Jan Biesyes Kraal is indicated on a chart of Table Bay as it looked in 1786. The farm was named in honour of a former Khoekhoe headman of the district. Biesjes is the Dutch word for rushes or reeds, which are found in abundance on the lagoon banks, and were used in the construction of Khoekhoe huts and kraals.
On 14 April 1804, the earliest South African newspaper, the Kaapsche Courant, carried an advertisement of a public auction to be held at Jan Biesjes Kraal a week later. It was evidently a thriving dairy farm.
Cattle from Jan Biesjes Kraal grazing along the banks of the lagoon
After the Battle of Blaauwberg (now spelled Blouberg) in January 1806, a dairy named Riet Valley (which was situated next to the Rietvlei salt pans and may have formed part of Jan Biesjes Kraal) was used as a makeshift hospital to treat the wounded. The Revd Henry Martyn, Chaplain to the Honourable East India Company, recorded his experiences thus: "Some farm houses, which had been in the rear of the enemy's army, had been converted into a hospital for the wounded whom they were bringing from all quarters. The surgeon told me that there were already in the houses two hundred, some of whom were Dutch."
From this description, it is evident that there were several farm buildings at Riet Valley. The VOC had established an outpost there in about 1660. The outpost included a residence, a lave house and a dairy, operated on behalf of the Cape Governors, with a subterranean milk room. Wolraad Woltemade, a VOC dairyman better known for his heroic rescue and death, is believed to have been employed in this dairy.
This map was submitted by Admiral Sir Home Popham, together with his report on the Battle of Blaauwberg. It shows the locations of both Jan Biesjes Kraal and Riet Valley.
Jan Biesjes Kraal was in the news again when a major earthquake struck the area on the evening of 4 December 1809. A visitor to the Cape, Baron von Buchenroder, went to survey the damage and wrote: "The house at the Kraal in question (the residence of a Mr Bantjes) I found to have suffered so much that it was not habitable, and consequently had been evacuated."
The farmhouse, which was later repaired, was situated in what is now Unitas Park in Milnerton, directly above the geological fault line known as The Milnerton Fault.
In this enlarged section of the original plans for Milnerton, the location of the Jan Biesjes Kraal residence is in the centre of the image.
This is the only known photograph of Jan Biesjes Kraal. It is the house on the left. The troops are members of the Cape Peninsula Rifles Pioneers and Band. They were photographed marching up Knysna Road in 1914. Note the train at the station and the lagoon in the background. Note, too, the roads laid out on the "island", which was later overgrown with Port Jacksons until they were cleared to make way for the Woodbridge Island housing development.
The farm changed hands repeatedly over the years until 1897 when the Cape Argus of 25 October carried an historic item in its advertising columns:
Still surviving is a copy of the original plans drawn up by Charles Marais, showing a startlingly ambitious project, extending from the north bank of the Salt River, along the sea front, to the banks of Rietvlei. Most of the planned southern section was later separated from Milnerton, becoming part of present-day Paarden Island.
The first Station Master of Milnerton, Mr McLeod, was appointed c. 1907 and received £11 a month. He was granted permission to occupy Jan Biesjes Kraal homestead, which was no longer being used as a farmhouse. Two rooms, however, were to be furnished by the Company and reserved for the use of directors. A few years later, as a measure of economy, Mr McLeod also served as the first postmaster of Milnerton.
Sadly, the homestead was demolished when the park was extended, but not before one of my dad's parishioners, Mrs Winnie McPherson, had preserved an image of the first home in Milnerton for posterity.
I have been unable to ascertain exactly when the homestead was demolished, but I have a vivid memory of having accompanied my father when he visited an elderly parishioner who lived there (or in a house that was remarkably similar). I clearly remember the deep veranda and the model of a 1926 Bentley in British racing green, which was kept in a glass case in the lounge. After the old man had died, my friend Russell Sheldon and I climbed the steps and entered the attic, where we found discarded medicine bottles. We had hoped to find the discarded racing car or a ghost, at least! That would have been in the early 1960s, so perhaps the house was still standing then.
As far as I have been able to ascertain, the only current use of the old farm's name is on the label of a Sauvignon Blanc named Biesjes Craal, produced by the Durbanville Hills wine estate.
It is a pity that there are so few tangible reminders of those bygone days when Milnerton was a farm called Jan Biesjes Kraal and cattle grazed along the banks of the lagoon.
On 14 April 1804, the earliest South African newspaper, the Kaapsche Courant, carried an advertisement of a public auction to be held at Jan Biesjes Kraal a week later. It was evidently a thriving dairy farm.
After the Battle of Blaauwberg (now spelled Blouberg) in January 1806, a dairy named Riet Valley (which was situated next to the Rietvlei salt pans and may have formed part of Jan Biesjes Kraal) was used as a makeshift hospital to treat the wounded. The Revd Henry Martyn, Chaplain to the Honourable East India Company, recorded his experiences thus: "Some farm houses, which had been in the rear of the enemy's army, had been converted into a hospital for the wounded whom they were bringing from all quarters. The surgeon told me that there were already in the houses two hundred, some of whom were Dutch."
From this description, it is evident that there were several farm buildings at Riet Valley. The VOC had established an outpost there in about 1660. The outpost included a residence, a lave house and a dairy, operated on behalf of the Cape Governors, with a subterranean milk room. Wolraad Woltemade, a VOC dairyman better known for his heroic rescue and death, is believed to have been employed in this dairy.
Jan Biesjes Kraal was in the news again when a major earthquake struck the area on the evening of 4 December 1809. A visitor to the Cape, Baron von Buchenroder, went to survey the damage and wrote: "The house at the Kraal in question (the residence of a Mr Bantjes) I found to have suffered so much that it was not habitable, and consequently had been evacuated."
The farmhouse, which was later repaired, was situated in what is now Unitas Park in Milnerton, directly above the geological fault line known as The Milnerton Fault.
The farm changed hands repeatedly over the years until 1897 when the Cape Argus of 25 October carried an historic item in its advertising columns:
MILNERTON ESTATES COMPANY LIMITED
Notify that they have bought Paarden Eiland
and Jan Biesje's Kraal
for a Township
and intend connecting it with a Railway.
Still surviving is a copy of the original plans drawn up by Charles Marais, showing a startlingly ambitious project, extending from the north bank of the Salt River, along the sea front, to the banks of Rietvlei. Most of the planned southern section was later separated from Milnerton, becoming part of present-day Paarden Island.
The first Station Master of Milnerton, Mr McLeod, was appointed c. 1907 and received £11 a month. He was granted permission to occupy Jan Biesjes Kraal homestead, which was no longer being used as a farmhouse. Two rooms, however, were to be furnished by the Company and reserved for the use of directors. A few years later, as a measure of economy, Mr McLeod also served as the first postmaster of Milnerton.
Sadly, the homestead was demolished when the park was extended, but not before one of my dad's parishioners, Mrs Winnie McPherson, had preserved an image of the first home in Milnerton for posterity.
I have been unable to ascertain exactly when the homestead was demolished, but I have a vivid memory of having accompanied my father when he visited an elderly parishioner who lived there (or in a house that was remarkably similar). I clearly remember the deep veranda and the model of a 1926 Bentley in British racing green, which was kept in a glass case in the lounge. After the old man had died, my friend Russell Sheldon and I climbed the steps and entered the attic, where we found discarded medicine bottles. We had hoped to find the discarded racing car or a ghost, at least! That would have been in the early 1960s, so perhaps the house was still standing then.
As far as I have been able to ascertain, the only current use of the old farm's name is on the label of a Sauvignon Blanc named Biesjes Craal, produced by the Durbanville Hills wine estate.
It is a pity that there are so few tangible reminders of those bygone days when Milnerton was a farm called Jan Biesjes Kraal and cattle grazed along the banks of the lagoon.
Comments
Post a Comment