Springbok. I was there many years ago. Arid, steeped in history too... :) those settlers were a hardy lot. Long read to......I was delighted to find the old synagogue there, now a museum...... many tales told to me in the pub, (yeah) were about the skebengas who roamed there looking for diamonds. The following description of early life in Springbok and the establishment of a public village appears in John M Smalbergers fascinating book A History of Copper Mining in Namaqualand. The photograph above was taken around 1880 (J. F. Goch Album, South African Library, Cape Town). Enjoy... In 1852 when operations by Phillips & King [mining company] began in earnest, Springbokfontein consisted of one mud cabin and a few mat huts. By 1854 A.G. Bain noted that the nucleus of a rapidly rising village already existed. The growth of the village was directly related to the opening up of the mine, so that by 1857 when operations were well under way, Springbokfontein had already become a large mining station with substantial buildings such as officers and workmens houses, mess rooms, stores, wagon-makers and blacksmiths shops, stables, forage stores; and scattered about were to be found all the amenities necessary for an extensive mine. There was also a post office, a small church, and a prison, ... a thing not altogether to be dispensed with, even in the best regulated communities. As in any mining camp the prison was a very necessary requirement. In 1855, the newly appointed resident Magistrate, Josiah Rivers, had requested, in the absence of a gaol, the purchase of a set of stocks for the detainment of prisoners. After the construction of the prison it seems to have been kept fairly full. The choice of Sprinbokfontein as the seat of the magistracy in 1855 had been made through the offer of accommodation and provision of supplies by Phillips & King, and, were it not for this, the village would have soon become deserted since the mine was worked out within a few years. E. A. Judge, who arrived in 1861, in order to take up the post of Relieving Resident Magistrate from Anthing who was engaged upon a tour of the northern districts, described the village: I found there was a small hotel there at which I was put up. It was a long low building with no second floor. In fact there was not a single two storeyed building in the place, nor where there more than about 20 separate buildings altogether... It was the headquarters of the Copper Company and was not much more than a mining camp. There was a copper mine which was worked from a drive into one of the hills at the back of the village, but this mine was nearly worked out and was abandoned not long afterwards. ...Springbok was a very small village. I dont think the inhabitants numbered more than 100 persons. The Copper Cos staff consisted of a manager and 3 or 4 clerks and a few miners, none of them with their wives, then there was a doctor and his wife with a family of small children, there were two shops giving employment to perhaps 8 or 10 persons and a small hotel accommodating not more than about 14 people including servants. There was no church and no clergyman of any denomination. My own staff consisted of one clerk and a chief constable and a gaoler and 4 or 5 constables. Only shortly before the arrival of Judge, Anthing had engaged in an extensive correspondence concerning the removal of the seat of magistracy from Springbokfontein. He advised removal because in his estimation there was not sufficient water to meet the requirements of the village but, even if there were, he considered that Springbokfontein was not the most suitable site for a permanent seat of magistracy. The reason for this was the position of the magistrate vis a vis Phillips & King, a position which Anthing considered neither dignified nor independent. The Magistrate was dependent upon the Company for his every requirement. Furthermore, since the village was a private and not a public one, only those people of whom Phillips & King approved could remain overnight as all accommodation was supplied by the Company. Apparently: Parties having business to transact at the court, if they are not liked by the manager are not allowed to shelter on the place. They may not tarry. They can receive no shelter, no refreshments for man or beast. They must be off, it matters not at what amount of inconvenience. There is no place in the vicinity where such parties can go for accommodation. The consequence is that frequently people have been put to the greatest possible inconvenience. I know of instances in which parties after riding long distances to transact business at the court have been obliged to ride back under a burning sun, their horses and themselves literally knocked up from want of refreshment and shelter. There were also few women in residence at Springbokfontein, since the Company had ... set their faces against married men settling. Thus although the community was in urgent need of an attorney, a secretary for the Divisional Council, and a surveyor, none could be found who were bachelors, and the district had to do without these men, and without any additions to refined society. But in fact the magistracy was not moved. Instead it was decided to create a public village, and in 1862 Patrick Fletcher, a surveyor, laid out the town. An auction was held on October 28, 1862, when plots to the value of £6 260 were sold. The creation of a public village allowed for the establishment of a church, and in 1866 the first clergyman, one Rev. Morris, arrived. The mid-sixties saw the growth of a lively social life in Springbokfontein with the holding of race meetings and balls.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Jul 2014 07:48:43 +0000
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