Early Sundays River Valley Farming - citrus, cows & farming methods

Early Sundays River Valley Farming - citrus, cows & farming methods

Addo in 1937 saw the Brigg’s family expanding when Johnny was born in October. Johnny’s father took the plunge and built the present farm homestead on the hill overlooking the farm, the Coerney River valley and on towards Addo Heights. Building seemed to take up most of that year, Johnny’s dad, Kit, uncharacteristically ambitious with his building plans. Eventually, photographs show the venerable model T Ford lorry, as well as their car, a Plymouth, carting furniture and household goods up the hill to the new family home. A farm foreman, Mr. Sweetman, was installed in the old cottage to help Kit run the farm of some 2000 citrus trees and a few dairy cows. This was the norm of the times. Cows kept on the farm, the milk separated, and cream sent three mornings a week by train to the dairy in Port Elizabeth. This little exercise entailed much work: lucerne was grown, mown and stacked; cows were herded, kraaled and milked twice a day. Milk and cream cans were washed out and filled with milk and cream separated in the dairy. A lot of activity, it seemed, for a small sideline, but that was how one farmed during those times. The cows were kraaled each night as well as the two mules that were a major factor in the daily farming activities, and every six months or so the manure was dug out of the kraals and carted into the orchards. Whenever a cutting of lucerne was spoiled by rain, it was also carted into the orchards to use as a mulch, which conserved the moisture in the soil, and helped control the weeds, as well as improving the fertility of the soil. The two mules that Johnny can remember were called Kaptein and Rooiland, strong and hardy, and were inspanned every morning, outspanned at lunchtime and inspanned again in the afternoon. September Makeleni was the muleteer. They pulled a four-wheeled wagon that was used to cart lug-boxes in and out of the orchards during the harvesting season. The lug-boxes were stacked near the sheds and when one hundred lug boxes were ready, Mr. Whittle, Thurston’s father, who ran a transport business with Chevrolet three-ton lorries, came to load them and transport them to the citrus pack house. Out of season the mules were used to cart lucerne, manure, fertilizer etc., and were used to pull a plough, cultivator, leveler, dam-scoop or whatever else was being used at the time. Kit Briggs spent a lot of time repairing the leather harness room cleaning and oiling the harness. The McCormick Deering tractor was started up once a month, quite an operation, to disc the orchards, and the mules did everything else.

Based on the fascinating writings of Mr Johnny Briggs, of Good Hope Farm, Selborne, based on the diary of his late father, ‘Kit’ Briggs, a Valley pioneer.