Egoli

Michael - (Swapping with Kwei)

Old Johannesburg

Johannesburg is an unusual city. Almost all cities get their start in life because of a useful geographic feature—on the sea with a good natural harbor, on a navigable river, on a lake offering potable water and communication, a high outlook for defense, surrounded by rich farmland and plentiful water. Johannesburg has none of these. The only river is the Braamfontein Spruit, which is more like a stream. The location is more than 200 miles from the sea. Apart from the nearby Magaliesberg hills, it’s flat and uninteresting terrain.

In the nineteenth century, the site where Johannesburg now stands was a triangle between farms that formed part of the Transvaal Republic—an independent Afrikaner republic. Britain, the colonial power in the Cape, had little interest in it. Britain had Cape Town, the lush coast of Natal to the east, and the Kimberley diamond mines to the west. If anything, it was convenient having the feisty Afrikaners out of their hair and buffering the black nations to the north.

All that changed when gold was discovered.

Collage of pictures of Johannesburg 1889

Johannesburg wasn’t the first place where gold was found in South Africa. In the first half of the nineteenth century people had successfully panned for gold in the Barbeton and Pilgrims Rest areas north-east of Johannesburg and there were even some small mining operations there. True, there were rumors of a mother lode somewhere in the Transvaal, but there are always rumors. In those days, prospecting for precious metals was more akin to gambling than to science.

Pilgrims Rest mining

The actual history of the Johannesburg find is rather vague, but one thing is sure: the discovery of the Witwatersrand gold reef caused a lot of trouble.

Even the question of who was responsible for the first gold was controversial.  Today, it’s believed that JH Davis was the first discoverer, finding a substantial amount of gold that he sold to the Transvaal treasury for ₤600—a very substantial sum at the time. But there was a sting in the tail. He was told to leave the area immediately. The authorities weren't keen on having their country full of prospectors and their hangers-on. He took the money and ran.

Statue of Harrison

Thirty years later in 1886, George Harrison staked a claim on the farm Langlaagte. Harrison was an Australian who had come to South Africa to try his luck. His luck was good. He found significant outcropping gold and also sold some to the treasury. The Transvaal Republic was now faced with a dilemma. Clearly, gold was about, and that meant money. That was good. But now the Transvaal Republic had something others wanted. That was bad. It attracted the attention of Cecil Rhodes, who was soon buying up gold claims and the gold itself—reputedly ₤3,000 worth. As for Harrison, he sold his claim for ₤10 and disappeared, apparently to return to Australia. Really? ₤10?

Gold rush

Carbon leader gold vein

It’s important to understand that identifying the gold in the Witwatersrand took considerable expertise. The gold doesn’t occur as obvious nuggets, but is included as small particles in the host rock. You need to spot the vein and know how to separate the gold from it. Harrison apparently knew all this. Why then would he sell a claim possibly worth millions for ₤10? Furthermore, there is no record that he ever returned to Australia. It’s now believed that he was murdered. Just who was responsible and how he met his fate has never been discovered. It seems like a wonderful premise for a historical mystery…

But this was only the start of the trouble. The Transvaal Republic watched in horror as more and more uitlanders (outsiders) came into the republic and settled in Johannesburg and the gold fields. The town rapidly grew to be the largest inland settlement in southern Africa. More and more laws were passed restricting the outlanders and their path to citizenship. The republic was founded to be a country for Afrikaners to farm and follow their Calvinist religion and culture, but the character of the population was rapidly changing. And Cecil Rhodes, who had become premier of the Cape Colony, eyed the developments with avarice. After all, wasn't the discoverer a British citizen? Matters came to a head when Rhodes joined up with a group a plotters under Jameson and mounted a raid. The idea was that a well-armed expedition from the Cape would easily be able to knock out the volunteer militia of the Transvaal with their scrappy uniforms and light armaments, claim the area for the Cape colony, and settle down to enjoying some serious money. The miners in Johannesburg would rise and take over the town. The idea was not a success. Bad intelligence and the Afrikaner home ground led to the soldiers being either killed or captured, and the rising didn't happen. The British government was deeply embarrassed. Jameson was sentenced to a prison term, and Rhodes slunk off after resigning as premier.

But it wasn’t the end of the story, it was the curtain raiser. The Boer Wars followed, with the full might of the British army held off by the Boers for more than two years. It was a strange war. The Afrikaners were fighting for their land and independence; the British believed they were fighting for Queen and Country. As in so many political instances where economics is involved, a useful if simplistic rule of thumb is “follow the money”.

After the war ended and the Union of South Africa was declared, fortunes were made and lost in the gold fields of South Africa, and the country became the world’s largest producer for many years. The later mines went down several miles and mining was costly and dangerous, but labor and life was cheap. Ironically, it was the initially unwanted gold riches that supported the Afrikaner Nationalist government for many years.

Today the Johannesburg gold fields are more or less exhausted, although there is still substantial gold mining in the broader area of the Witwatersrand basin. The city that got its start from what was below the ground rather than what was above it, is now the commercial and industrial hub of the country, and the heart of its richest province. Money is now mined in Johannesburg instead of the precious metal.

But the city’s nickname remains Egoli – the place of gold.

What's in a name?

Michael - Thursday

I’ve just completed the road trip back from Knysna to Johannesburg over two days. It’s about twelve hours of driving, so one has plenty of time to let one’s mind wander (but hopefully not too far off the road). From time to time one approaches (and usually avoids) a town which appears suddenly in the the dry Karoo in the middle of nowhere. Often these towns have intriguing names and I promised myself I would look up the stories behind some of them. Of course, the same is true in any country, but South Africa’s settlement names spread across a variety of languages. I chose to concentrate on the ones where I knew what they meant. Inevitably, I speculated about the stories behind the names as I drove. For example Eenbekerpan means ‘one cup water point’. One can imagine the thirsty travelers arriving on horseback and being faced with a nearly dry pan with just one cup of water to share between them. A colorful story to tell as one drives past, but maybe a mortal disappointment to the trekkers in the arid Northern Cape.

 Anyway, as I drove I made up some of my own stories of how the names originated. Then I checked on Google to get the real story (if it had one). Here’s a selection of towns with both. You choose which is the true one.

Johannesburg

Johannesburg with mine dump in the foreground

Johannesburg owes its existence to the rich gold reef discovered in 1886. Before that, it was just a collection of farms. The discovery was made by a father and son prospecting team - Johannes Willem Nel and his son Johannes Pieter Nel. They tried to keep the find secret, but word soon got out starting one of the huge gold rushes of the nineteenth century. The sprawling settlement of miners was named after the two discoverers.

OR

Johannes is a very common Afrikaans boy’s name – equivalent to John. Since the land was in an Afrikaner republic at the time, many of the people involved had Johannes as at least one of their names. Even the famous Paul Kruger, who was president of the said republic at the time, had it as a middle name, so some believe the new town was named after him. Others say that it was named after people involved in the layout of the town.

Baardskeerderbos

Baardskeederbos. Pretty spot nowadays

This translates to beard cutter’s forest. It’s named after a barber who had run foul of the Dutch administration in Cape Town and took himself out of town to a location where he could practice his trade in peace. In due course, he made his peace with Simon van der Stel (then the governor) and returned to the town.

OR

The forest is named after a spider which was believed to run at high speed chasing people and even snipping men’s beards for its nest. Since it is very common in the area, the town is named after it. Watch out for your beard!

Coffee Bay

A beach at Coffee Bay

As a result of a ship wreck, a mass of coffee beans were scattered on the fertile shore. They grew into coffee bushes, giving the town its name.

OR

The Nenga River flows into the sea with a large lagoon at Coffee Bay exiting into a sheltered cove. The brackish water from the river has a brown hue which colors the bay after a flood. The brown bay gave the town its name.

Bandelierkop

Maybe its the design over the bar of the Bandelierkop Hotel?

This means bandolier hill. The town takes its name from a boer commando that camped on the hill overnight. After breaking camp and heading down to the surrounding plane, one man discovered that he’d left his bandolier behind. His unsympathetic commander made him return for it while the others rode on.

OR

The hill has an interesting cliff face which has eroded vertical pock marks over the eons. A fanciful person might claim that they look like a bandolier straddling the hillside.

Soweto

Soweto as it is today

This huge sprawling township to the south of Johannesburg was initially populated by the Southern Sotho people. Bantu languages often insert ‘we’ into the tribal name to indicate home. So the name means ‘home of the Sotho people’.

OR

The name is an acronym for South Western Townships.

Benoni

Did I mention it has a lake?

The name comes from the Hebrew word meaning ‘younger son’. It was a later development than Johannesburg, but nearby, so in that sense it is the offspring.

OR

The town was hard to lay out because of technical problems with the deeds, so it’s named after Rachel’s son – ‘son of my sorrow’ because she had a difficult time giving birth to him.

Pofadder

With a name like that, you have to do something to attract tourists

This is the Afrikaans word for a puff adder – a deadly local snake. The town is situated in an arid part of the Cape where the snake is particularly common.

OR

Klaas Pofadder was a local chieftain of the Koi Koi people and the town was named after him.

Anyone have any favorite town names and the stories (truth or fiction) behind them?

Choo Choo

Stanley - Thursday

I love trains.  And have done so ever since my family took a train – steam engine, of course – from Johannesburg to Durban sometime in the early 1950s.

Whenever I can, I take a train in preference to flying or driving.  When I fly, which is often, I have to put up with lines, security, and uncomfortable seats.  When I drive, I have to concentrate on what I am doing.

With a train, security is minimal, the seats are comfortable, there’s time to think, reflect, and read, and there are people to meet and talk to if one wants to.  The only occasional discomfort is a bed too short.

However . . .

Unless you live in Europe, punctuality is often variable.  I use the Empire Builder from Minneapolis to Chicago whenever I can.  The problem?  Freight (and oil) traffic has priority in North Dakota, so the poor train is sometimes 8 hours late arriving in Minneapolis (actually St. Paul).  And even though a European fast train would take no longer than three hours to reach Chicago, the Empire Builder takes eight.

So, it’s important not to have pressing engagements at the other end.

My latest trip was last week, when I took the Shosholoza Meyl train from Cape Town to Johannesburg to work with Michael on our new book.  

It’s an overnight trip of about 1400 kms.  It gets its name from a great African song – Shosholoza – which is often thought of as South Africa’s second anthem.  The song is about long-distance rail trips to work on the mines.

Click here for a terrific rendering of it by the Soweto Gospel Choir.

My train

The train potters along on relatively narrow-gauge tracks, starting in the scenic Western Cape with its spectacular mountains and vineyards, then ambles through the Great Karoo – a vast semi-arid area which is home to South Africa’s sheep farms.  After a stop in Kimberely with its famous hand-dug Big Hole – where diamonds were found 150 years ago – it heads for the Highveld (altitude 1500 to 1600 metres) and ends in Johannesburg.

Train starts in Cape Town 

My train set off at 0905 last Tuesday with an anticipated arrival in Johannesburg at 1100 the following morning.  Perfect!  A sleeping compartment to myself, meals included, and decent wines available at the bar.  A day of pleasure to look forward to.

I admit I was puzzled by the Train Manager’s welcoming speech in the lounge before embarking.  He said that we should regard the 1100 arrival time as a printing error.  One o’clock is the actual time.  Then he went on to describe the service and amenities, and ended with a comment about how the train is sometimes late and could arrive at four.

Little did I know.

The first twelve hours were spectacular, climbing through the first range of mountains to the Worcester area, then through the stunning Hex River Valley with its wall-to-wall vineyards and rugged mountains, then up through a long tunnel to Touws River at the beginning of the Karoo, which is one of my favorite parts of the country.  But then I prefer deserts to forests. 

Western Cape approaching Paarl

Paarl derives from the Dutch for pearl - a granite pearl

Western Cape winter wheat fields

Climbing up through the first mountain range

The Karoo is a vast area of about over 300,000 sq. kms - a third again the size of the UK; eight times the size of Denmark (sans Greenland); and half again the size of Illinois.  It lies about 1000 to 1300 metres above sea level.  At best, it enjoys 25 cms of rain per year, with many parts considerably less.

As in many places in the world, trains have fallen out of favour, so many of the small stations, once used to service the farms, have become derelict.  It was sad watching abandoned houses and station buildings, with difficult-to-read signs.  When I was young, this was a vibrant route.

In the middle of the Karoo

Abandoned

Station sign

Lamp post leaning in De Aar

Karoo scene

Karoo scene

Karoo scene

Karoo scene

Abandoned stone sheep pen

Oasis

Karoo scene

Karoo scene

Karoo scene

Karoo scene

Karoo scene

We enjoyed a delicious five-course dinner at about 1900 and had just settled in the lounge for a medicinal brandy, when the train stopped – in the middle of the Karoo – no towns in sight.  Sheep on the rails, maybe?  Another train coming in the other direction, perhaps?  There was plenty of brandy, so I wasn’t worried.  And I particularly like KWV 10-year Old.

No shortage of liquid 

Good company from England and Germany

After about five hours in the same place, a dozen or so tourists had moved through their stress of going to miss their flights home, to slightly inebriated acceptance, having rebooked for the following day.

It was late when we all went to our cabins to sleep.

When we awoke, we were still in the same place, now twelve hours late.  I didn’t mind.  Good company, good food and wine.  And a good book.  A pleasure.

The view from where we stopped

Taking a break from the train

Eventually, after nineteen hours of being motionless, the train started up.  Apparently, the overhead power line for the electric engine had broken and was difficult to repair.  Nineteen hours difficult!

Anyway, to cut a long story short, we arrived in Johannesburg at eight o’clock on Thursday morning instead of eleven o’clock on Wednesday.  Twenty-one hours late.

Green grass approaching Johannesburg

This one never made it!

Typical Johannesburg mine dump - from mine tailings

Approaching Johannesburg station

I do have to compliment the train’s staff.  Somehow, they managed to add two extra meals, and maintain their humour in the face of some increasingly restless passengers.  Overall, the passengers were also fine once the uncertainty of knowing whether they would make their original flights disappeared.  Then everyone sat down to enjoy the experience.

I have been asked numerous times whether I would go on the Shosholoza Meyl again.  Absolutely, I would.  But I would ensure I had no pressing appointments at the other end.