Why settle in the Sundays River Valley after 1918?

Why settle in the Sundays River Valley after 1918?

The First World War ended in 1918, returning many able young men to civilian life in England without much hope of jobs. Peacetime commerce and industry had virtually come to a standstill as a result of the War Effort, and jobs were scarce. Kit and Arthur Briggs, fresh out of uniform, found themselves without prospects, as their father had died young and the family business had come to an end. They chanced upon a curious advertisement extolling the virtues of a new Settlement Scheme in faraway South African, promoted by an enterprise calling itself the Cape Sundays River Settlement Company. People were looking to the colonies for entrepreneurial opportunities, and the two brothers aged nineteen and twenty-one, announced their intention of taking part in this pioneering venture. Their mother was horrified, and asked her Solicitor for advice. Fortunately he know someone in London connected with the scheme, and so it was that in 1919 the two brothers and their mother had a meeting with Sir Percy Fitzpatrick, then in London on a promotional visit. He painted a glowing picture of the scheme, albeit still very much in its infancy, so their mother capitulated and advanced them the money to buy a 12 ha farm in Addo, from the offices of the Company in London. The property, next door to the Addo research station must have appeared convenient on the Land Map, as it was within walking distance of the Railway Station, post office, hotel, company store and bank. Sir Percy had told them that he was confident Lake Mentz would be nearing completion by the time they arrived in Addo early the following year.

The two brothers left England on 5 March 1920, sailing from Southampton harbor on the RMS Saxon. The ship docked in Algoa Bay on 25 March. Their first view of Port Elizabeth, from the deck of the ship was depressing; Kit describing it as a hideous-looking place. They stayed in Bunton’s Grand Hotel, walked around town and out to Humewood, a new seaside resort near P.E., and ended up finding the town not at all a bad place on closer acquaintance.

The following morning early found our two Pioneers having breakfast at the Railway Station, and then catching the 8:00am train to Addo. I quote from Kit’s diary, “We passed through flat, uninteresting country at first, but soon got into bush, and saw some pretty parts, entirely strange. We were struck by the greenness of it all and the entire novelty of the scenery.”

The surveyor in charge of the project took them, straight out from England, on a tour of the Addo area in his Model T Ford motorcar. They bumped over the most extraordinary roads, just cart tracks over the earth, full of ruts and deep in dust. They saw for the first time their plot of land, cleared but not ready for occupation, in other words a square 12 hectares of dusty land without a tree on it, unfenced, undeveloped and without any form of habitation. After supper they went for a short walk in the moonlight and enjoyed the glorious African night. So ended their first, dramatic day in Addo. They found the whole area rather desolate and dusty, with several outlying houses belonging to new settlers being built. It was rather depressing at first sight and they felt very disappointed and depressed, but they cheered up considerably towards evening and began making plans for the future.

The usual hot sticky March weather must have prevailed and Kit mentions several times in his diary the Great Heat. They felt too hot and tired to do anything after lunch on those first days. Having lived in Yorkshire and gone to school in Edinburgh, Addo in March must indeed have felt oppressive.

Kit and Arthur slowly settled into their new, strange environment. There was great camaraderie among these early settlers, some of whom shared the horrors of the First World War, and there was a strong pioneering spirit among them in Addo.

Dorothy and William Dyke

There were established households on two adjacent farms near the Homestead, Mr. and Mrs. Dyke and Mr. and Mrs. Elliott (now Hermiston Farm on which Chrislin African Lodge is established and owned by the Pickels family). The young wives were able to introduce a measure of domesticity to this largely male settler community, and the lads were often invited to supper. Kit talks of walks down to the river in the afternoon, bathing, supping at the Elliott’s or Dyke’s and walking back in the moonlight. One imagines these two lads going down to the river with their towel and cake of Lifebuoy soap!

Spare time during the day and over weekends was spent reading and writing letters to catch the overseas mail. There was a racecourse at Addo in those early days, as many people used horses as their only means of transport. The Addo Gymkhana Club was formed and meetings were held on Saturdays, All the settlers turned out in their best clothes to make it quite a social affair. The ladies’ race seemed to be one of the main features. On Sundays the two brothers put on collar and tie, and walked to visit friends. Many evenings were spent with Eric Swann having supper, gathering around his piano and having a singsong.

How life has changed since 1920 in Addo!

 Based upon the writings of Mr. Johnny Briggs, well-known farmer of Good Hope Farm, Selborne. With the help of his father’s dairy, Johnny gives us a fascinating account of his father, C.O.R (Kit) Briggs coming to Addo as a pioneer in 1920.