This blockhouse is one of the few in South Africa that has been restored. The blockhouse was restored as part of a planed blockhouse route.
We are not sure if the project still exist or whether it was finished. These blockhouses were build by the English during the Anglo Boer War to protect railway bridges.
Getting in and out of the Blockhouse is quite difficult, but if you are adventures give it a try. Keep in mind that this Blockhouse was declared a national monument so please respect it, although others don't..
Please do not climb onto the bridge, it is on the base and easy to reach. Watch out for passing trains.
Some History and Info:
Like years ago during the great battle between Boer and Briton they still stand strung across the country to guard rail lines and bridges. Shooter eyes no longer aim through the loopholes, but these old British blockhouses, built to limit the movement of Boer commandos during the Anglo-Boer War emissions is tangible evidence of a very important part of our country's history. The blockhouse system in South Africa is one of the most significant in the military history of the world. The block houses of the Great Karoo is nowadays attractions where they are silent witnesses of the last so-called `` gentlemen's Wars ''. Those interested in the war, will find the proposed blockhouse tourism route between Cape Town and the Orange interesting because the block house is not only an unusual military citadel, but also distinctive in architecture. A variety of blockhouses was built of concrete and masonry and stands next to railway bridges over the country. Along the main railway line to the north, which runs through the Karoo, there is many of these buildings or ruins of them. Most are easily accessible.
Initially, block houses as a tactical measure was commissioned by the British commander, General. Lord Horatio Herbert Kitchener, and built when the guerrilla phase of the war began. The British took the whole country, but Boer commandos attacked the British convoys for food, clothing and ammunition to be able to sustain the fight.
Strongholds then became crucial to limit the commando attacks and to protect trains and railways. The loss of a single rail supply to the British may have easily cost £15620000 in losses.
Experts estimate that the block houses have passed the primary objectives. The block houses have also played a major role in defense against the commandos. This limited the movements of the Boer commandos and the communication between them was hampered.
Block Houses as fortifications is not unique to South Africa. It is also in Cuba and built during the American War of Independence (1775-1783) in America.
The researcher Richard Tomlinson says the term block house in the years 1530-'40 was used for the fortresses which Henry VIII built along the coast of England.
The first block house in South Africa is on the slope of Table Mountain. While the block houses of masonry, concrete, steel and zinc, which were constructed during the Anglo-Boer War, reminded of the swan song of the British Castles and fort building traditions of more than a thousand years.
A variety of built blockhouses are still on the blockhouse-line in Western and Northern Cape to see. The construction of this fort began in early 1901. A total of 18 of these multi-floor structures are still standing between Wellington and De Aar at railway bridges and along the railway line to the north.
Through the years, flood damage took its toll, and in towns Crooked River the blockhouses all disappeared. Between Shimla and the Orange River 14 was preserved, although most of their corrugated iron roofs, doors and wooden floors were looted.
The stone-and-concrete-block houses are based on a design from Major General. E. Wood, chief engineer of the Royal Engineers. In this type of multistoried buildings the ground level was used as storage space, the middle floor was the living level and the top floor the perch.
The interior walls were limed to brighten the interior. In the blockhouses at Brak gate and Merriman the arid Karoo air preserved the white interior walls and even the limed numbers along the portholes. Presumably, these numbers enabled the crew, in the event of a Boer ambush (and in the confusion that follows it) to find their posts easier, says Tomlinson.
Because the block houses in the Karoo are such valuable structures and forms part of a historic trail, the Central Karoo District Council of Beaufort West contemplated to recover eight block houses within its territory and to be declared national monuments.
The proposed blockhouse route is as follows: Tulbagh, Wellington, Ceres, Laingsburg, Ketting, Dwyka, Leeu-Gamka, Beaufort West, Kromrivier, Brakpoort, Merriman and on the south bank of the Orange River north of Hope Town.
The block houses in Wellington and Laingsburg was already declared national monuments.
The blockhouse route further north includes Warrenton and Jacobsdal near Kimberley and Riversfort, 30 km south of Bloemfontein. The latter has been recently restored.
Tourists heading to the battlefields and museums in the Kimberley region or on the way to Sannaspos and the War Museum of the Boer Republics in Bloemfontein, these block houses can easily be visited. Those who want to visit even more blockhouses can also visit Namaqualand and the Eastern Cape.
According to a report from Capt. R. Harvey of the Royal Engineers there was 2772 Rice type portable sink block houses and 141 blockhouses of stone in the Cape Colony erected, as well as 32 field hedges (Civic Reception May 2). After the war, most of blockhouses were declared state property. Many on private property had to be maintained by the owners so that the Army could use them, should it be required. Such an arrangement was made after the with Musto, owner of Smokey Grove in Kromrivier area. Today the blockhouse is preserved by Mr. Robin Jackson, and his family.
Probably the most unusual block house in South Africa is the one in Prieska built of tiger's eye stone.
"Another rare one is a large, column-like block house, almost like the building of a statement windmill, which is at Noupoort. The entrance, 7 m above ground level, built into the middle level and the crew had to use a ladder to get in and then lifted up into the blockhouse.
At Dwyka station is a block house with its entrance at ground level. Although this building is in a deserted area, it became world famous by the British author Rudyard Kipling poet in his praise poem `` Bridge Guard of the Karoo 'immortalized.
All over the Karoo the scarcity of water is a major problem for builders, as well as the crew of the blockhouses. The British had to drill many boreholes along the lines, especially at the one from Victoria West to Lamberts Bay.
Credit
Rose Willis
Die Burger archive 09 May 1998
Source http://152.111.1.87/argief/berigte/dieburger/1998/05/09/3/22.html
Translated from Afrikaans to English with the help of Google translate
If you would like to read even more about Blockhouses in South Africa, visit the link below.
http://samilitaryhistory.org/vol106rt.html