Vrystaat Confessions

Tag: Kings Hill

  • Sgt Culling on Kings Hill

    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~~

  • Thanks, Sister Dugmore

    Thanks, Sister Dugmore

    On 19 December 2015, Sheila wrote:

    This was taken at the sad occasion of Jean Coleman’s funeral yesterday. Jean was Mum’s great friend in Harrismith in the 50’s & 60’s. They lived in Hector Street, opposite the du Plessis’ first home.

    Mum says when we still lived on the ‘townlands’ on the way to the waterworks, Jean would often ‘phone and say “Have you got a little visitor?” – once again her son Donald had gone missing *** and she knew exactly where he was – he used to walk all the way to our farm to visit his great mate, Koos. The two were inseparable.

    Mary Methodist is Anne’s godmother. The Colemans left Harrismith in about 1964.

    While we were standing around chatting yesterday, Anne suddenly realised that she, her brother Eddie, and George Elphick (whose daughter is engaged to Anne’s son – small world) had all been delivered by Sister Dugmore at the maternity home on Kings Hill.

    “So were we!” chorused Koos & Sheila!

    So we had to have this pic taken!

    – born in the same spot – Eddie Coleman, George Elphick, Anne Coleman Immelman, Sheila & Koos Swanepoel –

    Duggie Dugmore’s maternity home – and below what was left of it the last time I visited. )

    Kings Hill2.jpg
    – Anglo-Boer War doctors house – then Duggie Dugmore’s maternity home – Kings Hill –

    More from Sheila: George Elphick is an architect in Durban. His parents John & Una, also left Harrismith in about 1964. They lived in Lotsoff Flats where Una had a grand piano in their tiny sitting room!  She was a very talented pianist and used to accompany Mary Methodist, Trudy Else and other singers. We used to have ‘musical evenings’ in our home in Stuart Street – wonder what the neighbours thought?  John Elphick, bless his soul, had an enormous reel-to-reel tape on which he would record the proceedings.  I have had these tapes put on CD – no Grammy winners here – but just to have this music preserved is so special.  I have Mrs Euthemiou singing ‘La Paloma,’ William vd Bosch singing and playing his guitar, Harold Taylor singing ‘Til the sands of the desert grow cold.’  Harold lost his leg at Delville Wood and on tape he tells us that he learnt the song on board ship en route to Alexandria in Egypt, in World War 1. So now you know.

    ~~~oo0oo~~~

    *** Donald once did a big ‘going missing’ on the beach somewhere on the KwaZulu Natal Coast. That time the police were called to help find him. But – as always – he was just exploring. He’d have made it home sooner or later, I’m sure.

    He and I once walked home from the Kleinspan school – a distance of less than a kilometer – and got home somewhat later than our folks thought we should have.

    ~~~oo0oo~~~

    Duggie in a nutshell: What a wonderful epitaph!!

    – what a great epitaph!! –

    ~~~oo0oo~~~

    We’ve just heard Una Elphick died this year. – R.I.P –