Sgt Culling on Kings Hill

One of Annie’s forecourt attendants at the Central Service Station on the corner of Warden street and Southey street – the ‘Caltex garage’ as we knew it – was called Johannes. Because he looked so different from the other petrol attendants, we learnt his surname. He was Johannes Culling.

Today I found out a bit more:

The Boer War started in 1899 and ended in 1902, but a lot of British soldiers stayed on in the garrison stationed at Harrismith until 1913, when they finally left. One of these was Sergeant Culling, stationed on Kings Hill, east of town. He, in fact stayed on even longer, as he married a local lady and went to live with her in the ‘location’ as the townships under apartheid were known. Our location was called ‘Skoonplaas’ (but see below), when it was south of Queens Hill on the far (left) bank of the Wilge river.

Dad knows of three children: Johannes, Henry and a daughter. They could not have had an easy life in the Free State of yore and Dad tells of problems: ‘run-ins with the police due to drinking and fighting.’

That’s all I know . . .

Now there’s more! A visit to this post by someone with way more knowledge than me. Rev. Mbuyisazwe Tshabalala commented in November 2024:

“The township was called Skomplaas, not Skoonplaas. It is a combination of two Afrikaans words, “kom” and “plaas”. This is where people were dumped when their ancestral land became farms (plase) They came from the farms Hulle KOM van die PLAAS. I SPENT THE FIRST 21 years of my life in this township. The Cullings are now our In-laws. My brother’s son is married to one of the great grand children of Sgt CULLING.”

I replied: Hi Rev Tshabalala

Thank you for visiting my tiny little post about the Cullings. So much history gets lost unless we write down what we know.

I have added your comment to the post to clarify things.

Kind regards

Peter Swanepoel (I was in Harrismith from 1955 to 1972; My Mom was there from 1928 to about 1999; My Gran Annie Bland of the Central Service Station from 1893 to 1983).

PS: You may also be interested in this post from those faraway days in Harrismith: https://vrystaatconfessions.com/2020/09/27/max-express/

Rev Tshabalala again – Hi, Pete

My father used to buy his suits at Du Toit’s. I bought one there a few years ago. 

We are also related to the Waterman’s.  I notice that there were two British soldiers named Waterman who were garrisoned at Kings Hill during the Anglo-Boer War. One of them married an African woman. My father’s younger brother married his granddaughter, Miss Goqo. 

~~oo0oo~~

Fascinating, all this hidden history, buried in people’s brains and often not seeing the light of day.

Later the township was moved – further from town and out of sight, as was usually done under apartheid – up to the top of 42nd Hill to the west of Harrismith, where it was known as Phomolong.

~~oo0oo~~