Barberton

I slept badly last night; the wind stirred and two large tall trees scraped against each other, making a creepy noise. It seemed that at one point one of the two would come down while I was a little further away in my little tent. I make a cup of coffee and just minutes later I’m invited by the local white neighbor for a new cup of coffee and a sandwich with figs. He does a project about the gold fever stages in the region and knows a lot about the political arena that the country is currently in.

The two white ladies, who work at the reception, advise me to order a portion of "flappy chips" at the mobile cart that is in the parking lot. When I see the plate with 7RAND, I am forced to try a bag of local fries. It turns out that the dark boy does it the old-fashioned way; peel potatoes and then fry - so fresh and good. Before I walk to the center (with the young white girl who lives at the campsite) I first take a look at the steam locomotive in front of the parking lot of the campsite; this seems to have been built in 1898.

On the information board I read that the railway line between Kaapmuiden and Barberton in 1896 was taken into use and that this type of locomotives were used. On the way to the center I ask the girl why she lives in a chalet on the campsite. It becomes clear that life in SA is a daily challenge and you should always be on guard against a robbery - I remember that the man from yesterday evening said that he was not less than 9x robbed of which once with 6 or 7 stab wounds in z ' n shoulder and back. It is a miracle that the man is still there. Together we walk to the center which is beautifully situated against the hills.

Barberton seems to have been founded during the golden fever days and immediately grew out of seams when gold was found nearby. It was here that the first national stock exchange was held. When gold was found at Jo'burg, most miners left the city again. You could even visit a working gold mine, but I do not feel like it with my form of claustrophobia. The girl drops me at the information center when I walk in and thank her for the good care.

After sitting on the terrace (and internet) it is time to discover Barbeton on cultural terrain. First I visit the museum which is fortunately free. Within 45 minutes I am armed again with a brochure about the memory walk where, among other things, the steam locomotive and the museum are also part of it. Directly from the museum you can follow the in Heritage walk. I start at the "Fernlea House" which was built in 1890. It lies against the hills at the very end of the village and has a small bridge.

It feels authentic here in the late 20th century. I walk across the bridge and look at the old farmer's barn that is full of antique agricultural tools and an ox cart. Today an exhibition will be held inside. I see the sign of the turbine but decide to skip it. I turn around and walk back to the block house which is further up the corner. At first I thought it was an electricity house with the high walls, but it is a fort dating from 1901. It is a good example of the first "log house" of the English in South Africa. During the Boer Wars the English built this as a defense position against the (Dutch) Boers (farmers). It was manned by the "Barberton city defense" which consisted of local volunteers.

Across the street is the Belhaven House Museum - again a beautiful old wooden house built in 1904. It is build in a late Victorian style and here lived a wealthy middle class family. It has a beautiful English garden and a nice terrace balcony. I follow the signs of the route and walk past some beautiful old houses in a very quiet street with tall trees and beautiful large gardens; it seems as if I'm in a movie set because there is no one on the street and no car to see. The last house I see is the Stopforth House which was rebuilt in 1892 after being set up a few years earlier.

I walk up the path and see that it has been retreated in the same style or has been put back as when it was occupied at the stage 1892 and 1914. It states that you can not take pictures and that the entrance is 20R. I take a photo from the threshold and sneak back into the street. At the town hall and opposite, I see another sign and I scan the brochure; You can still visit the Lodge of St John in the South which was first a church, the Anglican church, the Cape Stock Exchange, The Globe (tavern), Phoenix (hotel) and the Lewis & Marks building but I think I’ve seen enough of this.

I actually want to go back and do some shopping at Pick 'n Pay and maybe go to the cemetery if it is not too far. I do some shopping and see a specialty store in billtong which is really a South African thing. I decide to go inside and see what they have. There are two white women inside and they are delighted to let me taste, explain and show something.

I make it immediately clear that I'm not going to buy anything because I do not have the money for that, but I want to taste it. I taste dry sausage, kalahari (this is seasoned) and two more pieces; I do not think it’s quite nice but have to admit it's not dirty either. I would still be interested in the prices of those goodies. 

The cemetery is a bit further than the campsite and I come in a street with large houses with high fences; some with electric fence wire, others with barbed wire or point decks. There is no one on the street and no car is parked on the street. Right at the end I see the walls of the cemetery. I am the only one and see an unencumbered place with several picking digs. It seems that this cemetery has graves from the beginning of the creation of Barberton. Later I would hear from our local camper that cemeteries are not maintained at all in South Africa except those of the Muslims.

I walk straight to the memorial, which is in the middle of the memory garden in the cemetery. It is for the 216 deceased (especially children) who did not make it when they were imprisoned in the concentration camps during the Boer War here. I walk to the historic graves and see a tuft of Jewish graves and Christian graves. Then it is time to go, even though I realize that this is not far from being an army camp during WWII.