History Webs

For the Drakenstein Valley

Acknowledgement

Bainskloof's legend lingers, by Marguerite Lombard appeared in the Paarl Post of 25 September 2008.

Quote

Andrew Geddes Bain described the Bainskloof landscape as "savagely grand".

Overview

Work on Bainskloof Pass started in 1849, using a small construction village at Eerste Tol as a base. Follow this link for an overview of the construction process.

Gawie se Water

In 1880 Gawie Retief built a furrow - today referred to as "Gawie se Water" -to channel water from the Witterivier across the watershed into the Kromrivier to provide irrigation water to the his fellow Bovlei farmers.

Bainskloof's Scotty Smith legend still lingers

Scotty Smith is one of Bainskloof Pass’ most enduring legends. He was said to be a convict working on Bainskloof Pass in the mid 1800s. The legend describes him as a colourful con artist with an almost Houdini like ability to escape from prisons. As was his habit, he tried to escape from the Bainskloof camp and hid in a farmhouse. The farmer’s wife unwittingly gave him shelter while her husband was out looking for the escaped convict.
    Not so, says Hans Nieuwmeyer, one of the Friends of the Bainskloof Pass, during an informative walk through the historic Bainskloof Pass. We had just started our walk and were gathered at Eerste Tol near Andrew Geddes Bain’s base camp.
    “In fact, Scotty Smith never even worked on the Bainskloof Pass. True, he was once in jail but worked on the Mitchell’s Pass. I found his convict number and convict records. I could find no official record of his escape, and in fact his behaviour was described as exceptionally good. What is more, he was discharged a few months before the convicts were moved from Mitchell’s Pass to Wellington.”
    The legend is difficult to explain. “They kept maticulous records of all the convicts. Weekly reports were sent to the department of justice detailing the work their work, their daily routine and behaviour. Similar reports were drawn up on a monthly basis for every constable and supervisor.
    “That is why we know that the convicts were not chained to the rocks. In fact the rings one sees in the rocks were used to anchor cranes. Those cranes needed anchoring to be able to lift rocks into position.” Some of the larger rocks would have weighed between 8 and 10 tons.
    He estimates that Bain used 15 t of gunpowder to build the pass and spent three and a half years blasting.
This was dangerous work, but interestingly enough only three people were killed during the construction period. Two were constables and one was a convict. The other people buried in the graveyard on the mountain all died of natural causes.
    “We know this because every time a convict died, a full autopsy had to be performed, and the records of all the deaths and causes of death were recorded.”
    The convicts had job descriptions like labourer, hammer man, blaster or stone mason, and they got paid separately according to their work skills. The money they earned was paid into a savings account and paid out when they finished their sentences. The stone masons were always in demand, and the camp’s superintendent had a list of people who wanted to employ the masons the moment they were discharged.
    The convicts were all well cared for. At the base camp there was a hospital, a school, library and church services were held regularly. The convicts did not do their own cooking and washing, and contractors provided the provisions. Their prescribed diets were also recorded: one and a half pounds of meat a day, a certain amount of rice. We also know how much tobacco they received, and how often they received new clothing.
    The stone buildings at Eerste Tol were not built during this period. All their buildings were made of wood, and the structures were made in such a way that made it possible to move the camp. The rule of thumb was that the camp should never be more than one mile from where the convicts were working.
    Most of the convicts walked about quite freely, but a few did try and escape - but never more than half a dozen a year. Convicts were then sent out to find them, and those who did, received a remission of sentence.
    There is another unlikely legend - of the wagon full of brandy buried under tons of rocks in Bain’s caved in tunnel. “This is probably also not true. A wagon would not have been able to travel beyond the base camp at Eerste Tol, and the brandy would certainly not have been destined for the convicts or constables.
    “The base camp was a jail, and no liquor would have been permitted on the site. In fact a guard’s wife was heavily fined when she returned with a bottle of brandy after shopping expedition to Wellington.”