The long drive up to the 'Gelykwater'
(meaning 'Level Water' in Afrikaans) farmhouse is a delight with indigenous
wooly creatures scuttling out of the way of the car, and hundreds of
birds swooping at meals hidden in the long African grass. Their excited
song expresses delight at each new stolen morsel.
Originally built in 1896, the enormous
farmhouse that once served as a school, a Red Cross hospital proclaimed
by A G Dannhauser himself, headquarters for General Louis Botha as well
as a homestead to the de Jager family, exudes a rich history. Her huge
stone frontage and wrap around 'stoep' or verandah with its breathtaking
vista over the hills of Babanango has endured the footsteps of families,
soldiers, scholars and the wounded for more than a century.Ben van Rensburgs mother, Gertie,
was a girl of 5 when war came to the peaceful Zululand hills. We are
privileged to be able to glean a glimpse of life in the majestic old
house, as well as her time spent in an English concentration camp in
Durban, Natal through her memoirs."A child of 5 years old cannot
be relied on to give a clear description but certain incidences clearly
stand out," she wrote in her clear, bold hand shortly before her
death. The year was 1901, and the Anglo Boer war was in full thrust
although little Gertina 'Gertie' Anna de Jager and her siblings felt
safe and secure in their sturdy farmhouse surrounded by acres of lush
and yielding land. Her parents Geesje and Lodewyk worked hard to make
the farm productive and provide for their large family. They had experienced
much disruption to their serene if hard working lives before the war.
Right now, the house served as a makeshift Red Cross hospital for wounded
soldiers, and Ma (mother) Geesje and two of her daughters, Siena and
Johanna did the housework and assisted the doctors and nursing staff
by collecting and disposing of bloodied bandages, providing clean bedding
and despite the poverty experienced during times of war, wholesome food
for all.Times were hard and the resolute
Boer women had what it took to not only endure the dearth of foodstuffs,
but make the most of what they had. Gertie remembered the Austrian doctor,
Dr. Albrecht, walking into the kitchen and peering into the steaming
pots. In pot number one 'stamp mielies' (dried corn) boiled, pot number
two held 'mielies' (corn on the cob) and in the third pot he found a
half cooked 'mielie brood' (corn bread). Shaking his head, all the man
could say was 'Good Lord!'It all ended with the arrival of
two open wagons guarded by British soldiers. The family was loaded on
in just the clothes they wore, their travelling companions, two wounded
Boer soldiers, both recent amputees, unceremoniously taken from their
hospital beds. Bare to the wintery elements, the sad group was taken
to a neighbouring farm to await more prisoners. It was from there that
little Gertie remembered seeing the thin ribbon of black smoke and realised
that their home was being burnt down. Little did the family know then,
but the proud Gelykwater farmhouse was only prepared to forsake weak
bricks, mortar and tin. Her sturdy stone façade stayed erect
and would later form the front of the new homestead.Joined by more prisoners of war,
and still in open wagons, the family was taken to a prisoner of war
camp in Eshowe where they stayed for 2 months, enduring meagre meals
of weevil infested mielie pap (corn porridge). Little Gertie was struck
down by 'maagkoers' or diarrhea but miraculously she survived. It took
2 months before those afflicted by the outbreak of diarrhea had recovered
sufficiently enough to travel, and they were transported to a large
concentration camp in Merebank, Durban which was to become their home
for the next 9 months.The de Jager family survived the
war and their term in the concentration camp. They returned to their
beloved Gelykwater and rebuilt their home around the stone façade
that had withstood the fire. Gertie grew up and married, giving birth
to five children including Ben. She died in 1985 and was buried along
with her husband in the family graveyard situated a short distance from
the main house, joining the remains of 15 Boer soldiers who had died
during the battle of Itala as well as the 21 'burghers' (Afrikaans pioneers)
also buried there.
In 1955 Ben married Dawn Kuhn and
settled down happily in the old farm house where Dawn gave birth to
three daughters, Christa, Annette and Guida. Tea in the sprawling farmhouse
is a delight, with no trace of the scarcity of food once experienced
by her much loved mother-in-law. The tea table is laden with delicious
home-baked cake, koeksusters (twists of plaited dough, deep fried and
dunked in a sugar syrup, served cold) and other delectable tit-bits.
When asked for a recipe, Dawn didn't hesitate for a second before answering
'Mielie bread!' and we both chuckled, remembering Dr. Albrechts horror
at three pots, all filled with different variations of corn!
©
