WAGON BRIDGES of the EASTERN CAPE, C.1840
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
WAGON BRIDGES OF THE EASTERN CAPE, c.1840 – 1900 THE CONTRIBUTION OF ENGINEERING TO INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY of RHODES UNIVERSITY by DENNIS E. WALTERS January 2018 Supervisor: Prof. Gary Baines ABSTRACT This thesis examines an aspect of economic and technological history which has been little explored in South African history. It argues that the military subjugation and the economic development of the Cape Colony, and particularly of the Eastern Cape, were contingent upon good transportation. The geography of the country, which included relatively impassable mountains and numerous often flooded rivers, necessitated bridges as well as roads. Both were expensive. As a leader in industrial technology, Britain was well placed to extend bridge-building skills to its colonies. This thesis examines the processes by which a small and undeveloped colony strove to create an efficient technological infrastructure. As wagon traffic increased through progress, delays in crossing rivers became a hindrance leading to agitation for bridges. It will be shown that the construction of wagon bridges over the numerous rivers encountered in the Eastern Cape Colony was imperative for the initial free flow of military forces and for later commercial expansion as new towns were established. The eastward expansion was led by the military during the frontier wars followed by the Royal Engineers who built roads and bridges along the eastern frontier. The new Colonial Secretary John Montagu, who arrived in 1843, boosted the colonial finances by overhauling the administration. He established the Central Road Board, an organisation that would drive the building of mountain passes, roads and bridges. The Public Works Department succeeded the Central Road Board and with the financial intervention of the Crown Agents for the Colonies, carried on with an extensive programme of road and bridge building. From the 1870s wagon bridge building lagged behind the huge railway building enterprise in response to the opening up of the diamond and gold mines. The final quarter of the 19th century saw increased bridge building activity in the Eastern Cape with the construction of many iron lattice girder, stone masonry arch and timber trestle bridges. The surviving bridges remain as mute testimony to the skill and expertise of British engineers such as Lewis, Woodifield, Robinson, Fforde, Wakefield, Berkley, Grier, Newey, Westhoven and others. i TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................................... i ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................................. vii PREFACE ............................................................................................................................................. x CHAPTER ONE – INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................................ 4 CHAPTER TWO – COLONIAL EXPANSION AND THE BUILDING OF ROADS AND INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE CAPE COLONY ................................................................................. 10 THE DUTCH OCCUPATION OF THE CAPE AND THE BEGINNING OF ROAD CONSTRUCTION c.1652-1825 ............................................................................................................. 11 COLONIAL EXPANSION AND THE ENSUING MILITARY CONFLICTS c.1803-1819 ................. 16 THE ARRIVAL OF THE 1820 BRITISH SETTLERS .......................................................................... 19 FURTHER amaXHOSA DISPOSSESSION AND EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT ............................. 21 EASTERN CAPE COLONY TRADE AND INDUSTRY ...................................................................... 29 THE OX WAGON TRANSPORT INDUSTRY ...................................................................................... 35 TRANSPORT DELAYS AFFECTING TRADE ..................................................................................... 42 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................................... 44 CHAPTER THREE - THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE ROYAL ENGINEERS TO ROAD AND BRIDGE BUILDING IN THE CAPE COLONY .................................................................................. 45 ROYAL ENGINEERS AT THE CAPE COLONY ................................................................................. 47 THE LEWIS REPORT AND THE QUEEN’S ROAD ........................................................................... 57 KAT RIVER BRIDGE AT FORT BEAUFORT ...................................................................................... 64 FORT BROWN BRIDGE ........................................................................................................................ 69 KOONAP RIVER BRIDGE ..................................................................................................................... 72 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................................... 74 CHAPTER FOUR – ROAD BUILDING AND THE CENTRAL ROAD BOARD AT THE CAPE COLONY, c. 1843-58 ......................................................................................................................... 75 ROAD BUILDING PRIOR TO THE CENTRAL ROAD BOARD ........................................................ 76 SEPARATISM AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE EASTERN CAPE COLONY ........................ 77 THE CENTRAL ROAD BOARD............................................................................................................. 82 DIVISIONAL COUNCILS ........................................................................................................................ 93 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................................... 95 CHAPTER FIVE – THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT OF THE CAPE COLONY AND ITS PREDECESSORS ............................................................................................................................. 97 THE SURVEYOR GENERAL’S OFFICE ............................................................................................. 97 PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT 1872-1900 ................................................................................... 104 CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................................... 109 ii CHAPTER SIX –THE CROWN AGENTS FOR THE COLONIES AND THE FUNDING OF ROADS AND BRIDGES .................................................................................................................. 111 FUNDING OF INFRASTRUCTURE .................................................................................................... 111 CROWN AGENTS FOR THE COLONIES ......................................................................................... 116 APPOINTMENT OF THE CAPE COLONY’S AGENT GENERAL .................................................. 124 CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................................... 127 CHAPTER SEVEN – BRITISH BRIDGE BUILDING TECHNOLOGY AND THE CIVIL ENGINEERING PROFESSION ....................................................................................................... 130 EARLY METHODS OF DESIGN ......................................................................................................... 130 THE THEORY OF STRUCTURES...................................................................................................... 132 THE BRITISH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION ...................................................................................... 136 THE ENGINEERING PROFESSION .................................................................................................. 140 LATTICE GIRDER BRIDGES .............................................................................................................. 146 CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................................... 153 CHAPTER EIGHT – EASTERN CAPE BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION DURING THE PERIOD 1860-1899 ........................................................................................................................................ 154 THE GREAT FLOOD OF DECEMBER 1874 .................................................................................... 160 DESIGN DEFICIENCIES ...................................................................................................................... 169 NEW BRIDGE BUILDING PROJECTS .............................................................................................. 169 THE RECESSION OF THE 1880s ...................................................................................................... 177 THE RESUMPTION OF BRIDGE BUILDING ...................................................................................