Philippolis, a little town with a big history, celebrates its bicentenary this year. It is the oldest town in the Free State and it has much to celebrate. The San, Griqua, Sotho, Tswana, Xhosa, English, Dutch, and Jews all left their mark here. The town lies in the Southern Free State in a geographical region of dry scrub that transforms into grassland when it rains. Initially, it was referred to as South Transorangia, however, it is now known as the False Karoo. Before the coming of the N1 national highway Philippolis lay on the main road from Johannesburg to Cape Town but then the road was rerouted via Gariep Dam and Springfontein and this completely cut off the town. While it affected the economy, it was not totally a bad thing, because it allowed the town to develop in peace and tranquility.
The Philippolis story begins way back to when the early mission stations were being set up along the Orange River.
The town’s name honours Dr. John Philip, superintendent of the London Missionary Society (LMS) from 1819 to 1849. It has a rich cultural and architectural heritage, as well as a dramatic history linked to the missions. A special logo has been designed to mark this milestone and pay tribute to this rich heritage. It features matted houses to celebrate the history of the San, Griqua, Khoi, Sotho, and Xhosa people; an old church to salute the role of the mission station and the heritage of Dutch, English, and Afrikaans Christians who settled there from 1861. The road signifies the path between the Cape and the Free State, and the stars acknowledge the clear night skies.
TIME CAPSULE
The town survives in a capsule of architectural heritage. Many of its original buildings still stand. It has a fine mix of unspoiled Cape Dutch, pitched-roof Victorian, and typical Karoo flat-roof houses with moulded cornices,”broekie lace” and verandas trimmed with ornamental woodwork. Some buildings have been neatly restored, while others exist in varying states of disrepair. Many were donated to the town.
Philippolis is also the birthplace of some iconic South Africans. One is a renowned author, intellectual, farmer, soldier, educator, journalist, humanitarian, philosopher, explorer, and conservationist, Sir Laurens Jan van der Post. An advisor to King Charles III, Emperor Haile Selassie of Abyssinia, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and other Heads of State, he was also godfather to Prince William. He is an interesting, but controversial man, noted for his interest in Jungianism, the Kalahari Bushmen, and his war experiences. Another notable is actress Brȕmilda van Rensberg, a popular actress who teaches drama, undertakes motivational speaking assignments and has hosted her own talk show on Punt radio. She developed a popular range of clothing under her own name, has vast dance training experience, has produced several plays for arts festivals, and directed some items for the SABC.
Yet another icon with links to Philippolis is Jan Adriaan Strauss, a former South African professional rugby union player who played first-class rugby between 2005 and 2018. He played in 66 international test matches for South Africa and also featured in three non-test internationals. He is considered one of South Africa’s greatest hookers, recognized as a person of integrity and a great leader on and off the field. His superb play in both international test matches and the Super Rugby League has resulted in him being hailed as one of South Africa’s greatest players.
POWERFUL HISTORY
The beauty of this area drew well-known artist Chris Haw to town and inspired a collection of powerful works by local artist Rina Coetzee. Two mission posts under the nominal supervision of the LMS at Griquatown were established in the early 1800s – Toornberg in 1814 and Hephzibah in 1816. In that year Andries Pretorius and a Nama convert Piet Sabba began teaching at Ramah, north of the Orange River and two Khoe converts, Kruisman and David, were placed at Koonah to the south of the river.
In time these missionaries attracted quite large numbers of San, but in 1817, their efforts were thwarted by Governor Lord Charles Somerset. While some farmers supported the missions and even attended Sunday services, others wanted the stations closed as they feared too many San were moving into the area. Somerset ordered the closure of the Toornberg mission in March 1817 and, upon receipt of these governmental orders, the missionaries were recalled, bringing work to an abrupt halt almost as soon as it had begun.
START OF PHILIPPOLIS
Late in 1822 a Coloured teacher, Jan Goeyman, moved into the area north of the Orange River around present-day Philippolis. He began preaching in 1823 and gathered quite a following. In 1825, after he spent a night in the church with another man’s wife and deacons were reluctant to accept his explanation that the night had been spent in prayer, and was succeeded by James Clarke. “None of these teachers, however, seem to have received much help from the Society, states Karel Schoeman in an article in the SA Historic Journal of 1993.
The Philippolis mission attracted about 60 San, but soon the Bergenaars – a rebel offshoot of the Griquas – began to raid the station for cattle. Also, the Griquas, who occupied the springs, harassed the San when they came for water. Further problems arose when the migrant farmers began moving into the area and also started harassing the San. By 1825 there were between 700 and 800 farmers in the area. Attacks on the San then came from the Sotho and Tswana who attacked Boesmansfontein, an outstation of the mission in May 1826. They drove off sheep and cattle donated to the San saying these had been stolen from their farms. They razed the mission buildings to the ground and about 30 people were burned or assegaaied to death as they fled from their dwellings.
CLARK MOVES
After the attack, an alarmed James Clark approached the government for an alternative location. He was granted permission to start a station for the San at what now is Bethulie. Then Dr Philip had decided to allow Adam Kok II and his Griquas rather than the San to occupy the land on which the main Philippolis mission stood if he promised to protect the San who had lingered at the station. He did, but he was not able to honour this undertaking.
At this time Kok and his followers were alienated from the main Griqua settlement at Griquatown, where Andries Waterboer was the captain, In time Philippolis became the capital of a wide area under Griqua control, but it soon attracted desperado Bergenaar and Koranna groups as well as the Ndebele under Mzilikazi. By then, however, the Griquas, a considerable force, were able to resist them. The Griqua Republic stretched from the Orange River in the south to the Riet River, about 50 km south of Bloemfontein.
Within a year of the Griqua take over deadly commandos rode out against the San. This totally violated the LMS agreement as the San were driven away from the station. Over time, Griquas farms were rented or purchased by migrating Voortrekkers, and this undermined the fragile community. Eventually, they set off on an epic trek to Griqualand East where they established Kokstad as the capital.
Griqua properties were later sold to white farmers, and the little town was incorporated into the Orange River Sovereignty. It lasted only six years because the British did not have the financial resources to maintain it. The British withdrew and recognized the Free State as a Voortrekker Republic (which excluded the Griqua kingdom in the south; this area was only incorporated into the Free State Republic in 1861).
THE WINDS OF WAR
Almost all men in the hinterland could ride and shoot. However, at the outbreak of the Anglo-Boer War regular shooting competitions were held in small towns to ensure military preparedness. Philippolis competed with the Seekoeirivier Ward. Also, all men between the ages of 16 and 60 were expected to do commando service. At the start of the war, the Philippolis commando consisted of 209 men in two wards (veld-cornetcies). The westerly commando, Knapzakrivier, was led by Commandant Johannes Albertus Munnik (JAM) Hertzog (brother of Judge JBM Hertzog). In the early stages of the war, this commando fought along the western front, including Magersfontein. The more easterly commando, Dwarsrivier, was led by Commandant J H du Toit.
As news of the disaster at Paardeberg spread in early March, the Philippolis commando on the western front joined a frantic Boer retreat from the frontier areas, trying to prevent the fall of Bloemfontein. The commandos – about 300 burgers – regrouped on the farm Rondefontein, 2 km west of Springfontein with commandant Dawid Lubbe, from of Jacobsdal, commandant Jan Jacobs and C W H van der Post of Fauresmith. From an ox-wagon, the latter informed the men that Bloemfontein had been captured, that the enemy was advancing from the south along the railway line, and that they were in imminent danger of being surrounded.
With the fall of Bloemfontein most Boers, including the highly respected General ER Grobler, commander of the southern districts, were prepared to call it a day and quit, so the next morning, most burghers saddled up their horses and rode home, despite fervent protests from Commandant Lubbe. (His eye was still bandaged because of a recent wound). These burgers buried a great deal of ammunition on Rondefontein, which General De Wet dug up in January 1901, when he invaded the Cape. But the war is far from over.
IMPRESSING THE LOCALS
Throughout the war, there was a great deal of activity in and around the Philippolis. Commandos and columns crisscrossed the region in some exciting chases. The British Army arranged a northward march to “impress locals” with the might of Imperial power and so ensure acceptance of British rule. At various times both sides marched through the town
On Sunday, March 25, a whole British column – more than 7 000 men – ceremonially marched through the town. The procession took more than three hours to pass the Town Hall. Each of the four regiments had a band. The locals were astonished. They had never seen such a large force before and as a result, Commandant du Toit surrendered.
The pro-British Philippolis people were glad to see these columns, however, a number of Cape rebels were arrested, and this caused much resentment. All the local Burghers had to give up their firearms. They did this reluctantly. Major-General Clements then summoned everyone into the Town Hall, where he read Lord Roberts’ proclamations of the terms of surrender. The Burghers who took an oath of neutrality would not be made prisoners of war, he said but should remain quietly on their farms. If they assisted the enemy, they would be treated as spies and could be liable to be charged with treason. The burghers then took an oath of neutrality in a most impressive ceremonial event. On May 16, the British installed a new Magistrate, Mr. Gostling, and, with his assistant, Lieutenant Tonkin, he immediately started a house-to-house for guns and ammunition.
In early October, the newly constituted Boer commandos crisscrossed the countryside in the vicinity of the town. On October 11, General JBM Hertzog was involved in heavy fighting near Philippolis, and from October 18 -24, 1900, Commandant Scheepers attacked Philippolis with 60 men. Just before Christmas 1900, Driscoll’s Scouts destroyed and burnt almost all the provisions in Philippolis, to prevent them from falling into the hands of the commandos. Several houses, including the Dutch Reformed Church parsonage, were burnt down. The scouts then left and various Burgher units arrived and looted shops. Only on December 26 did Commandant Bothma manage to restore some order. For the story of Philippolis during the Anglo-Boer War this website site includes information on the Colesberg Campaign, Bethulie’s battles, Philippolis being ruined, black people in the war, the railways, concentration camps, ambulances and hospitals, personalities, the regiments, interesting locals and prisoners of war.
MANY MONUMENTS AND MUSEUMS
Among the town’s many national monuments and museums are:
The Transgariep Museum was created in a house that once belonged to Volksraad representative E R Grobler. It portrays the Griqua history, the work of Dr Philip, and the London Missionary Society in this area. On display is a book written by Dr Philip in 1862. Other rooms focus on the life of Griqua captain Adam Kok. These include the bedroom, living room and kitchen which are furnished as they would have been Adam Kok’s time.
The museum also has a small exhibit of items made by girls of the Emily Hobhouse Spinning and Weaving School which opened in March 1905. It was the first “test case” started by British activist and humanitarian Emily Hobhouse to teach Boer women to spin and weave to make a living. The school lasted for several years. A memorial was erected in honour of Emily Hobhouse and a garden of remembrance was created.
There is also a complete stable with yellowwood beams, a horse mill, and a still functioning stookketel (distilling kettle / a still) where, not too long ago, witblits was made, and a bakoond, an open-air oven. On the koppie behind the museum are two rust-mottled naval cannons, which were donated to the Griquas by the Cape Colony in 1840. They were once used for the defense of the town. The cannons are now fired during the town’s Witblits festival held in April each year.
Adam Kok House
Griqua leader Adam Kok II’s original green-doored house is opposite is the Emily Hobhouse memorial which salutes this Anglo-Boer War indomitable welfare campaigner and the central role the town played when it was captured by the British and came under siege in 1900 while Boer commandos’ struggle to liberate it.
Dutch Reformed Church
The elegant Dutch Reformed Church, which was consecrated in 1871 on the site of a Griqua church, has a beautifully polished pulpit that was hand-carved from wild olive wood and skillfully joined without nails or bolts. Its towering organ has been declared one of the finest in the land. A one-time bell ringer was also the town barman.
Van der Post Memorial Garden
Laurens Jan van der Post was born in Philippolis on December 13, 1906. The thirteenth of fifteen children, he was a celebrated polymath: war hero, writer, explorer, mystic, Jungian, behind-the-scenes diplomat, and sage. He led an extraordinary and eventful life both in peacetime and in war. In his childhood home, a dignified house, built in 1874, this great man, a passionate conservationist and authority on San culture, lived and wrote. Philippolis was his home and also his final resting place when he died in 1996.
His biographer, J D F Jones states that Van der Post should be famous for one skill: storytelling. “His books and stories of the bushmen of the Kalahari, of his friendship with Jung, his diplomatic importance may be inspiring, but they are also largely fabricated.” Jones’s account reveals Van der Post as enchanting, ambiguous, inspiring, complex, misleading, admirable, often risible – and sometimes as a shockingly culpable fabulist and liar.
“After his death doubts soon began to spread as to whether this story presented a true picture. Was his knowledge of the Kalahari Bushmen, whom he prized as the last example of all that is untainted in humanity, as extensive as he led us to believe, and did the Bushman stories he so loved to tell come mainly from books? His standing as some kind of secular saint certainly suffered with the emergence of an illegitimate daughter whose mother he had seduced when she was 14. And his claim to have effectively brokered the Lancaster House agreement on Zimbabwean independence was deflated by those who had actually been there. His intimacy with C. G. Jung also has to be qualified,” says J D F Jones. Yet, he was without a doubt a great man.
The Library
This was created in an Old Victorian house donated to the town by the Jacobson Family.
The cemetery
The town cemetery is yet another interesting place to visit. Some graves date back to the Anglo-Boer War. Among the important townsfolk who are buried there is Reverend Peter Wright, one of the first missionaries. He was born on August 18, 1796, in Prescot, Lancashire England, and came to this area to preach to the San but died here on April 15, 1843, at the age of 46. He was survived by his wife, Margery, and five children
The Armoury (“kruithuis”)
The armoury stands on Tonkin’s Koppie, a little hill named after C H Tonkin, who helped to ward off the Boer attack on the town in October 1900, during the Anglo-Boer War. This interesting little building dates back to 1871 when it was built at a cost of £25. It was used to store gunpowder as it was unsafe to keep this in the town. During the war the Boers assaulted Philippolis from the east and the north, and the British forces and the pro-British citizens fell back to the koppie on the western side of town. In his dispatches, Lord Roberts mentioned Tonkin for his dedication to duty.
Monument
An important site is located within Otterskloof Game Reserve, on the northern banks of the Orange River, west of Philippolis. There a small monument commemorates General De Wet’s invasion of the Cape Colony on February 10, 1901. His generally disastrous campaign lasted only three weeks. Despite being chased by the massive British columns, his bedraggled men managed to get back to Free State after passing through Philippolis.
The Jail
Built in 1872, the town jail, was operational for 70 years. It was later converted into a police station and some cells were changed into a charge office. The South African Defence Force used the jail as an army barracks from 1972 to 1982. The jail was abandoned from 1982 until 1998 when it was restored as a guest house.
Boomplaats
Of interest nearby is the site of The Battle of Boomplaats. During the Griqua era (1826-1861), tensions grew between the Griqua and the increasingly assertive Afrikaner Voortrekker community, based at Winburg. The British colonial forces backed the Griqua, as a semi-autonomous state in the southern Free State. Without consulting the Boers, the British annexed the land between the Vaal and Orange Rivers and Drakensberg on February 3, 1848. The Voortrekkers were outraged, and led by Andries Pretorius, their force came south to challenge the British, and the two forces met at Boomplaats – a formidable mountain that rises steeply from the Free State grassland. The Boers were defeated, and they withdrew back to Winburg.
The British colony, called the Orange River Sovereignty, lasted only six years because the British did not have the financial resources to maintain it. The British withdrew and recognized the Free State as a Voortrekker Republic (which excluded the Griqua kingdom in the south; this area was only incorporated into the Free State Republic in 1861).
The town will celebrate all year partnered by OFM, The Free State Griqua House, and ATKV. Celebrations include Western mounted games from July 13 to 15 at the showgrounds (contact Schalk Strauss, 073 620 2447), an Oktoberfest, a day of cultural activities and wine tasting, from Thursday, October 5 to Sunday, October 8; the start of Piet Coetzer’s new and longest horse carriage expedition; and a performance by Gerhard Supta, the Afrikaans country, and rock rapper.
