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The History of Lovers Walk

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The History of Lovers Walk THE HISTORY OF LOVERS WALK Irma Jordaan Lovers Walk in Montagu is a charming 500 metre long walk which is also known as Mayor’s Walk, and takes one along the Keisie River banks. It is nestled below Kanonkop and forms part of the Badskloof Trail. The question not frequently asked is, who were the people responsible for building this well-loved landmark in Montagu? The answer I recently found when I came across an old framed sepia-tinted photograph in the Montagu Archives. The picture depicts six very grim-looking men posing with shovels and pickaxes. In the background one sees the figure of a person dressed in a uniform and holding a rife: clearly someone keeping a watch over the workmen. It would appear that the photograph was taken in 1900 during the Anglo-Boer War. The six were actually part of a group of eight local farmers who were incarcerated for not reporting knowledge of, or the whereabouts of, Boer soldiers in the Montagu district. They were sentenced to hard labour and were put to work by the British to construct Lovers Walk. Part of the work party Town Guard rear left: Daantjie Beets L/R: Dawid Burger, Josua Joubert, Muisvoël, G.(Giepie) Joubert, John en Boy du Toit. Picture: Montagu Museum During the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902) Montagu was part of the Cape Colony and thus under British rule. A British Garrison occupied the town and the soldiers were billeted where the current industrial area is located today. Once Bloemfontein and Pretoria had fallen to the British, the Boer Generals had decided to continue the War by despatching commandos to the Cape Colony to muster support and recruit volunteers. When this happened the whole of the Cape Colony was placed under Martial Law. To prevent, or at least curtail, enemy movement, the British erected various forts around the perimeter of Montagu to monitor and prevent Boer Commando movement. The citizens were also obligated to immediately report sight of, or knowledge of, the presence of any Boers in the area to the British. Despite the declaration of Martial Law and the erection of a system of blockhouses throughout the Colony, Generals Jan Smuts and Manie Maritz, Captain Danie Theron, and Commandants Gideon Scheepers, Schalk Pyper, Piet van der Merwe and Hans Lötter led the British forces a merry dance across the region. It is a well-known fact that some of them passed through the outskirts of Montagu. It was towards the end of 1900 that the eight farmers from the Montagu district were taken into custody and sentenced to hard labour. Their crime was that they failed to report the fact that they had seen, assisted or been aware of Boer Commando activities in the district. The story of why these farmers were sentenced to hard labour is related in an article that appeared in Die Burger of 12 June 1999. It tells the story of Mr G.J. (Giepie) Joubert, who at the time of the Anglo- Boer War was a young man of 19 years of age. He was living with his parents on Allermorgensfontein in the Montagu district. Allermorgensfontein is situated approximately 72 kms outside Montagu towards Laingsburg. Giepie leaves a legacy Picture/Article: Montagu Museum Giepie relates how one day in early September 1900 a few Boer soldiers arrived on their farm, rapidly followed by a column of approximately 400 men under the command of Commandant Van der Merwe. The men demanded food and his mother handed them the 40-50 dozen eggs she had just packed for selling to one of the shops in town. 2 After spending the night on the farm, the troops left at sunrise the next morning. A week later Commandant Danie Theron arrived with a commando of 400 Boers on Allermorgensfontein. Again the men were fed and sheltered overnight on the farm. The following week Giepie and his father, together with 6 farmers of the neighbouring farms, were taken into custody by the English soldiers and summoned to appear in front of the Military Tribunal in Montagu. Their charge was that they had failed to report the presence of Boer soldiers to the British Authorities. Their case was referred to Lord Kitchener in Pretoria, who decided that they should all be sentenced to three months hard labour together with a fine of £50. Failing to pay the fine would result in an additional month of hard labour. On a weekend when all the farmers from the outlying districts were in Montagu to attend Nagmaal (Communion), the townsfolk of Montagu were summoned by trumpet call to congregate at the then Church Square and to be present whilst the British Commanding officer read out the sentence to these eight farmers. It is also noted in the article that during the Second Anglo-Boer War Allermorgensfontein suffered heavy losses when the British ‘Tommies’ passed through the farm, cutting all the fences. As a result their 300 ostriches disappeared into the hills, never to be seen again. Also approximately 400 of Giepie’s father’s sheep were bayonetted to death by the British soldiers, with only the hindquarters taken as food. The carcasses where left to rot where they lay. However, the financial loss the Joubert family of Allermorgensfontein suffered, pales into insignificance compared to what the two Republics had to endure at that time. Transnet Heritage Library Photo Collection When you next take a walk along Lovers Walk, spare a thought for these men, and those times in Montagu which could not have been easy. 8 3.
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