The Diary of Iris Vaughan “We came over a great red bridge into Adelaide. The river had great trees hanging in the water. It is the Koonap. We saw the Dutch Church pop says it is looking like Westminster abby with a big stone tower. We passed Mr Goldis shop a fine shop with a house joined on it. It has shining green bowls and red hanging on chains on the veranda.” Adelaide was originally Fort Adelaide, after a military encampment established in 1834 and named after the wife of King William IV. There had been an earlier military post soon after the British occupation of 1806, which later became the farm Haddon. The ruins of the fort can apparently still be seen on the farm. Approaching Adelaide from Bedford, one crosses the Koonap River (picture 2; Koonap being a corruption of the San ‘Gonappe’). There are still some of the weeping willows left, with their branches “hanging in the water”, as Iris observes (picture 3). The red iron bridge into Adelaide (picture 1) has been replaced by a modern concrete structure, although many of the older inhabitants I interviewed could still remember the red bridge. I could only find this black and white, out-of-focus picture. The Adelaide Dutch Reformed Church is a magnificent building. Its tall tower (picture 4) dominates the landscape and is visible from almost everywhere, although to compare it to Westminster Abbey is perhaps a tad exaggerated! “Mr Goldis” shop was right at the entrance of the town; nothing remains of it or the red and green bowls – presumably oil lamps (picture 5) that were lit after dark to identify the shop even at night – hanging from the veranda. I wish I had a better picture. A lone tennis court has been built on the site (picture 6). Tomorrow we’ll talk more about Mr Goldi and his family.
Posted on: Sat, 26 Jul 2014 17:03:18 +0000
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