Toposcope (ISSN 1011-1948) is published annually by the Lower Albany Historical Society (LAHS) to reflect the Society's activities and the interests of its members and readership, concerning, but not limited to, the history of the Lower Albany area in the Eastern Cape. The journal, published since 1970, is produced by the Editorial Committee and is issued free of charge to members of the Lower Albany Historical Society. In 2019, the Lower Albany Historical Society marked its 60th anniversary.
In compliance with the South African Copyright Act 98 of 1978, the copyright of published articles resides with the authors. The Society retains to right to distribute articles as published within the journal.
This article examines the Bathurst Defence Complex, a crucial but geographically flawed military and civilian refuge on the Cape frontier, operational from its establishment in 1820 until its abandonment in 1864. Initiated by Acting Governor Sir Rufane Donkin as a township and administrative centre to protect the settler line, Bathurst's location in dense thicket was later criticised as highly unfavourable for defence against the Xhosa. The complex, which comprised the 1820 Powder Magazine and barracks, the two Star Forts (or redoubts) built on Battery Hill in 1835 following the Sixth Frontier War, and the fortified St John's Church (dubbed "The Citadel"), proved essential during multiple frontier conflicts, offering safety to settler families. The narrative details the complex's construction, key figures involved (including Donkin, Lord Charles Somerset, Henry Somerset, Sir Benjamin D'Urban, and Charles Michell), and its role during the 1834–35 and 1846 Frontier Wars, ultimately highlighting how the combined military and civilian structures formed a life-saving defensive system until shifting colonial security priorities led to its closure.
Copyright (c) 2025 Rod Hooper-Box https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Serena Gess’s “Into the Thick of It” vividly reconstructs the experiences of the 1820 British Settlers as they encountered the dense Albany thicket on South Africa’s eastern frontier. Through historical sources, settler journals, and ecological observation, the article traces how expectations of an idyllic “parkland” quickly gave way to the harsh realities of survival in a spiny, semi-arid landscape. It examines settler adaptation—agricultural struggles, resource use, and cultural encounters with the Xhosa and environment—and reflects on how the natural resilience of the thicket mirrored the endurance required of those who stayed. The work combines environmental history with social narrative to reveal how landscape and identity are intertwined in the making of the frontier.
Copyright (c) 2025 Serena Gess https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
This article traces the scientific and historical journey of Sandelia bainsii—the “Rocky,” a rare and threatened freshwater fish native to the Eastern Cape’s Kowie, Great Fish, Keiskamma, and Buffalo rivers. Its story intertwines natural history, colonial exploration, and taxonomy. The species was first illustrated in 1815 by army ensign Robert Henry Dingle, briefly described by Andrew Smith in 1831, and formally named by Count Castelnau in 1861 after Chief Bains and explorer Andrew Geddes Bain. Once abundant, the Rocky is now near extinction in the Kowie River. Its evolutionary lineage links it to tropical labyrinth fishes of Africa and Asia, offering clues to ancient climatic conditions. Through the Rocky’s story, Paul Skelton illuminates the deep connections between science, colonial history, and South Africa’s unique aquatic biodiversity.
Copyright (c) 2025 Paul Skelton https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Mgwali Mission and Tiyo Soga (c. 1829-1871)
Mgwali Mission and Tiyo Soga traces the intertwined history of the Eastern Cape’s Mgwali Mission and the life of Reverend Tiyo Soga—the first black South African to be ordained as a Christian minister and to study overseas. The narrative situates Soga’s pioneering achievements within the turbulent colonial frontier context of the 19th century, highlighting his role in securing Mgwali’s land title and establishing schools, including South Africa’s first boarding school for black girls. The article also explores Soga’s intellectual and theological contributions, his efforts to reconcile Xhosa traditions with Western education, and his early articulation of a form of Black Consciousness. His life and work embodied both the promise and pain of cultural duality under colonialism. The later history of Mgwali—its resistance to apartheid-era forced removals and the decline of its mission heritage—is presented as a testament to enduring resilience and community identity in rural South Africa.
Copyright (c) 2025 Yvonne Surtees https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
In Thomas River Historical Village, Dave Hawkins traces the origins and evolution of this unique Eastern Cape heritage site, named by missionary Jan van der Kemp in 1801 after the death of English deserter Thomas Bentley. Once an outspan station for wagons en route to the diamond and gold fields, Thomas River later became a significant rural hub and historical landmark. The article documents the careful restoration and preservation of its buildings—including the blacksmith’s workshop, post office, trading store, and church—by Jeff and Anne Sansom, transforming the derelict site into a vibrant heritage and tourism destination. Notable for its three royal visits (1860, 1947, and 2016), the village encapsulates South Africa’s layered colonial, agricultural, and cultural past, showcasing artefacts, vintage vehicles, rock art, and memorabilia that reflect the region’s diverse historical narratives.
Copyright (c) 2025 Dave Hawkins https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The War of The Axe, the Seventh Frontier War
This article recounts the 1846 conflict that began in Fort Beaufort and became known as the War of the Axe—the seventh of nine Cape Frontier Wars. The immediate cause was the attempted theft of an axe by a man named Kleintjie, whose violent rescue by Xhosa warriors during his transfer to Grahamstown sparked widespread hostilities. The incident inflamed tensions between colonial authorities and Xhosa chiefs, particularly Sandile, leading to renewed warfare on the eastern frontier. Although marked by small-scale skirmishes rather than major battles, the war reflected deep-rooted conflicts over land, power, and colonial expansion between settlers and African inhabitants. Drawing on historical accounts, the article situates the War of the Axe within the broader struggle for control of the fertile lands between the Fish and Keiskamma Rivers and the continuing contest between dispossession and resistance in the Eastern Cape.
Copyright (c) 2025 Daphne McNeill https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Kat River Valley, Balfour and Hertzog
This article, The Kat River Valley, Balfour and Hertzog, compiled by Margaret Snodgrass, recounts a 2022 visit by historical society members to the Kat River Valley in the Eastern Cape. Drawing on sources by Blackbeard, McCracken, and Ross, it outlines the valley’s history from its early Khoikhoi and amaXhosa occupation to the establishment of the Kat River Settlement (1829–1851) under Sir Andries Stockenström’s plan to resettle Khoikhoi and discharged soldiers as a frontier buffer. The article highlights the settlement’s early prosperity, its leadership under figures like Christiaan Groepe and Andries Botha, and its decline following wars, floods, and rebellion. Key landmarks such as Fort Armstrong and the Hertzog Church reflect the area’s rich social and missionary heritage. The Kat River Settlement remains a significant example of early African landholding, resilience, and emerging political identity within South Africa’s colonial frontier history.
Copyright (c) 2025 Margaret Snodgrass https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
It is now more than forty years since the publication of my first book, The House of Phalo (1981), during which time I have done a little more research and discovered many more mistakes. A revised edition is in the pipeline (but it’s a very long pipeline), and I greatly appreciate the kind opportunity offered by the Lower Albany Historical Society to air some of my revisions via PowerPoint, which I will now attempt to clarify and substantiate. I append a short Bibliography for readers who would like to investigate further and, rather than lumping everything together into one long and tedious chronological narrative, propose to present you with a sort of highlights package, which you should be able to follow with the assistance of Margaret Snodgrass’s excellent genealogical table.
Copyright (c) 2025 Jeff Peires https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Outing to Rokeby Park and the Blaauwkrantz Bridge
The article describes an outing of the LAHS on 21 July 2022 to Rokeby Park Church, followed by a picnic tea and talk at the Blaauwkrantz Bridge. Rokeby Park was so-called by George Dyason, the leader of a 1820 Settler party, in honour of Lord Rokeby of Kent, where Dyason came from. The church was opened with great celebration on 2 October 1884 (the same year as the train came to Port Alfred), and the original miller-style lamps (possibly brass - or silver-plated pewter), pupil books, carpet and cushions were still there in 1984 when it celebrated its centenary. These lamps still hang there today, looking well-loved; one notes, too, the attractive wooden cutout details on the ceiling. In fact, the church is beautifully kept thanks to the families in the area.
On Thursday, 5 October, we had our final outing of 2023. Members started early from their homes for the long drive to Somerset East. We met up at the Walter Battiss Art Museum, a beautiful double-storey settler-era house on a road full of old houses. The very enthusiastic curator, Ros Turner, kindly served tea and coffee on our arrival – it had been a two-and-a-half-hour journey from Port Alfred. She also ran a video, gave us a talk and showed us around.
Copyright (c) 2025 Suzette Lampier Grist https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Basil came to share with LAHS an experience he’d had at the 185th Great Trek Celebrations held at the Karel Landman monument on 16 December 2023. He had been invited to assist F.A.K. with some of the practical aspects of this event, which was a wonderful family gathering where children were able to sing, ride horses and play games. The Bathurst Agricultural Museum and Basil's SABRE (South African Battle Re-enactment Society) members demonstrated bygone skills, games, cooking, and the firing of a 200-year-old cannon. Different parts of the wagon were explained, how the Voortrekkers drew up into defence laagers, the resilience of the women in loading the muskets and treating the wounded in times of battle, and caring for the children in isolated and difficult times
Copyright (c) 2025 Basil Mills https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
On 21 September 2023 - a beautiful sunny day - a good turnout of LAHS members gathered outside the famous 1832 Salem Wesleyan Church for a guided tour by Daphne McNeill. She is the granddaughter of Rev Peter Eyre, Salem minister, who died in the 1918 flu epidemic. His widow, Grace, Daphne’s grandmother, moved with her four children into Rosslyn House, Salem, and soon after married the owner, Sid Hill.
The Lower Albany Historical Society’s first outing of the year was to Hope Farm. Our visit took place on Thursday, 18 April, a lovely sunny autumn day. Hope Farm is situated west of Port Alfred, about 7km from the Civic Centre. The history of Hope Farm is closely linked to the early development of the Kowie, through Henry Nourse, William Cock and Benjamin Keeton. Darian Keeton, a commercial beef farmer and the current owner of Hope Farm, represents the fifth generation of Keetons who have farmed on Hope Farm. Darian gave us a brief history of the farm while LAHS members enjoyed their picnic tea in his garden.
1820 Settler Samuel Liversage of Staffordshire led a joint-stock party that ‘included a high proportion of young children’(Nash, MD, 1987, p 87). William Ford, farmer, 30, and his wife Hannah, 27, sailed on the John and lost all three of their children to measles: George, 5; John, 3; and William, 1 year. William and Hannah went on to have another three children, who survived. After William’s death at Radway Green near Grahamstown Hannah married Benjamin Keeton of Hope Farm, where still today there is a portrait of Hannah (Ford) Keeton. Of her 18 children, only three Fords and six (of 12) Keetons survived. The Fords and Keetons have been associated with, or farmed, Hope Farm, Glendower and Lombard’s Post since the 1820s.
Copyright (c) 2025 Dave Hawkins (Transcriber); Captain Ralp Pearson https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Cricket clubs had existed at Buchner’s on the Bushman’s River, Kaba (Bedford) and the Fish River as far back as 1845’ (Tournament booklet 2024), but until Luke Alfred, sports writer, with support from Justin Stirk, produced the well-documented history “Pineapple”: An Astonishing Cricketing Story (2024), the history had not been shared. Ross regretted that the book hadn’t been published 20 years sooner to mark the centenary; sadly, since 2004, much institutional knowledge has been lost.
Copyright (c) 2025 Sue Gordon, Ross Purdon https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
A Xhosa oral tradition claims that the great warrior, Chief Maqoma, once asked why Thomas Stubbs fought against them, when he had been raised as one of their own? Even Stubbs’ biographer, Robert McGeoch, believed that he spoke the Xhosa language fluently. Yet, on such things, Stubbs remained silent when he wrote up his Reminiscences. He only told the story of the hunting trips in private to close friends. In Stubbs’s published memoirs, the most solid evidence of his special relationship to the Xhosa people is a map that he drew in 1847, showing all the Xhosa trails through the thick Fish River bush. Where else could this knowledge have come from, but those who showed him? Stubbs also mentioned that one time, just as a battle was about to start, his Xhosa adversaries shouted out and called to him by name.
Copyright (c) 2025 Julia Wells https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The earliest historical treasures of the district long remained hidden, buried deep beneath the surface of the Zuurveld and the hills to the north. Great rolling wrinkles of quartzitic rock form the Mountain Drive ridge of the Rietberg, to the west of Makhanda, whilst to its east rises a similar quartzitic ridge which includes Governor’s Kop. These form part of a continuous layer that is folded deep underground between the two. Above it, the ridges are connected by a plane, carved from younger, softer overlying strata more than 60 million years ago. From the south, the headwaters of the Kowie River later gnawed the edge of the plain, carving out a basin named eRhini (the Place of Reeds), where the garrison settlement of Graham’s Town was built. These distinctive quartzitic rocks (the Witpoort Formation) also underlie much of the Zuurveld, weathering into the pale sandy soils that host heathlands, such as those on the flats near Martindale, and the jagged-edged rocky plateau approaching the Kap River. This sourveld would prove nutrient-poor grazing for generations of cattle owners, but is florally rich with proteas, pincushion proteas, white and purple “heather” and other fynbos flowers.
Paleobotany -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
Paleoecology -- South Africa -- Devonian
Copyright (c) 2025 Rob Gess https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The establishment of our Museum and its subsequent 41 years as “the hub of historic Port Alfred” would never have happened without the perseverance, the vision, and the hard work of teams of dedicated people over the years – our Chairmen and Committee members, The Friends of the Museum, our Curators, our desk volunteers, our visitors, the supporters of our fundraising efforts, the donors of our collections, Our all-too-few but much appreciated sponsors, our local press, our security firm, even Lungisile Sinqe at Tourism who kept the keys for us and always had a smile when we collected them from him for our duties or meetings.
Copyright (c) 2025 Heather Howard https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Stephen Harold Trollope, born on 7th July 1881, was a hunter, farmer, family man and conservationist “always ready to help his fellow man and to preserve animals; a man who led an exciting, interesting and adventurous life; a pioneer of wildlife conservation in South Africa.”
There are a few places left on the South African coast where time feels as if it has gently folded itself into the landscape, where nature’s rhythms have remained mostly untouched by the modern rush. Kasouga is one of these rare enclaves — a naturally pristine, secure and much-loved retreat cradled between Port Alfred and Kenton-on-Sea. Here, the coastline curls around a sweep of sandy beach, a lazy lagoon, and a patchwork of bushy dunes and grassy hills, all watched over by a small community of permanent residents and loyal holidaymakers who have, over generations, preserved the spirit of a bygone era.
Copyright (c) 2025 Laura Guest https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Augusta (1784-1832) wrote a charming and impressive diary, which begins: ‘The peace of Amiens had made an end to a long war. England had returned the Cape of Good Hope to the Batavian Republic, and my father [Jacob de Mist 1749-1823] was honoured with the task of making transfer of it in the name of the Gemeenebest, and to go and install the new Governor.’ [Jan Janssens 1762-1838].
Jacob Abraham Uitenhage de Mist (1749-1823)
Martin Heinrich Carl Lichtenstein (1780-1857)
Alberti, Johan Christoph Ludwig (1768-1811)
SAMHSEC explores the history of Fish River Valley
The local branch of the SA Military History Society (SAMHSEC) chose a beautiful summer day for their outing on Sunday, 17 November 2024. The rendezvous was Cuylerville’s St Mary’s Anglican Church, a national monument, where local resident Adele Cutten shared its interesting history. That story begins with Bailie’s settler party, led by Lieut John Bailie RN, the largest 1820 party (263 persons) and the first to leave the Tent Town at Algoa Bay in 1820. Bailie’s group comprised a high proportion of skilled tradesmen and professionals.
Copyright (c) 2025 Sue Gordon https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
East Cape Signal Towers in the context of the history of long- distance communication
Sending messages and signals over long distances has been a human endeavour since earliest times. Signalling has most often involved the use of some form of technology, although at times this can be as simple as the raising of an eyebrow or a wink at a meeting. Up until the time of electrical and electronic impulses and their interpretation, nearly all signalling was dependent on the use of light (optical signalling) and occasionally sound. This article is confined to a brief historical overview of long-distance communication and some of the more significant technologies associated with these endeavours. It concludes with the construction and use of the East Cape Signal Towers in the 1840s.
Copyright (c) 2025 Pat Irwin https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
When Sir Rufane Donkin decided to establish the new town of Bathurst in May 1820, Johannes Knobel, the Government Surveyor, was instructed to create a plan. He must have started with a completely blank canvas, as there was nothing in the area at that time to act as the central focal point for the project, except a possible crossing of two rough tracks. These must have been very basic tracks at that time and it is interesting to see how they have evolved (or not) in the last 200 years.
Copyright (c) 2025 David Forsdyke https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Toposcope (ISSN 1011-1948 print version) is published annually by the Lower Albany Historical Society (LAHS) to reflect the Society's activities and the interests of its members and readership, concerning, but not limited to, the history of the Lower Albany area in the Eastern Cape. The journal, published since 1970, is produced by the Editorial Committee and is issued free of charge to members of good standing of LAHS. In 2018 the Lower Albany Historical Society celebrated its 60th year of existence.
Copyright (c) 2022 Sue Gordon https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
A summary of the following presentation was delivered by Dave Hawkins to an audience of LAHS members at the AGM in October 2021. [From the introduction] 'Life of o Traveller' was the title of an 1873 presentation made by Baines to the Grey Institute in Port Elizabeth. Ever a modest man, he did not describe himself as an explorer, nor even as an artist. He stated he was 'driven by the adventure of Travel.' It is true that he never led an expedition, never made any major discovery, never thought of himself as a great artist - rather, his goal was to represent in words and images what he had seen and experienced. And he did it so, so well. It is through him that we can visualise what it was like during the 1840s to 1870s - in Southern and Central Africa, as well as in Tropical Northern Australia.
Copyright (c) 2022 Rod Hooper-Box https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Local Publications: Children of Hope / Sandra Rowoldt Shell Nottinghamshire: Settlers and Locations in the Eastern Cape of Good Hope / Rob Smith 1820 Settlers and other early British Settlers to the Cape Colony / edited by John Wilmot Cock tales on the Kowie / Sue Laburn Gordon in association with Ed Cock
Copyright (c) 2021 Sue Gordon https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Trauma and slavery, Gilo and the soft, subtle shackles of Lovedale
A recent study of sixty-four Oromo slave children from the Horn of Africa has provided valuable information of the children’s experiences from capture to the coast. In 1888 a British warship liberated a consignment of Oromo child slaves in the Red Sea and took them to Aden. A year later, a further group of liberated Oromo slave children joined them at a Free Church of Scotland mission at Sheikh Othman, just north of Aden. Two of the missionaries learnt Afaan Oromo (the children’s language), and, with the assistance of three fluent Afaan Oromo speakers, they conducted structured interviews with each child asking for details of their experiences of their first passage i.e. the journey from cradle to the Red Sea coast. When a number of the children died within a short space of time, the missionaries had to find another institution with a healthier climate to prevent further deaths. They decided to ship the Oromo children to the Lovedale Institution in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.
Oromo (African people) -- South Africa -- Lovedale -- History
Copyright (c) 2021 Sandra Rowoldt Shell https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The article is the outcome of the author's long-standing interest in the number and variety of bridges that were built within a short section of the Great Kei River at Victoria Drift - in close proximity to the village of Komgha - over a 100-year period. The particular bridges under scrutiny - with their dates of construction - are as follows: Temporary Military Bridge, 1877 (no longer extant) Lattice Girder Wagon Bridge, 1879 Timber Railway Bridge, 1905 (only foundations remaining) Relocated Lattice Girder Railway Bridge, 1948 N2 SANRAL Concrete Bridge, 1977.
Copyright (c) 2021 William Martinson https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0