BATHURST TOPOSCOPE

A toposcope is a monument usually erected on a high point with a good view all around. This is an outside view of the one in Grahamstown.

Typically a toposcope will indicate the distance of other places from that point – as can be seen in the Grahamstown one.

The toposcope in Bathurst was built in 1968 to commemorate the 150^th anniversary of the arrival of the 1820 settlers.

As expected, it is located on a hill with good views of the surrounding landscape. It is 339m above sea level.

The site, which marks the place from which the various settler parties were advised of the location of their allotted lands, is now a Provincial Heritage site. The plaque by the Historical Monuments Commission reads:

Close to this site in 1820 Colonel Jacob Cuyler made his camp while supervising the placing of the settlers on their locations. While camped here at the same time Sir Rufane Donkin chose the site for the administrative centre to be named Bathurst. The beacon was erected by Captain W. Bailey as an observing station during his survey of the Eastern Districts, 1855 – 1859.

The circular wall was built around Bailey’s Beacon, erected by Captain William Bailey in 1859, when he carried out the first triangulation survey of the Eastern Cape. The surrounding wall was built with stones collected from old buildings in the area.

Plaques on top of the circular wall indicate the direction and distance in miles to the various settler locations. These were originally made of bronze and fell foul to vandalism over the years. The bronze plaques were replaced by granite ones set in concrete in 2018. The plaques show name of the property was followed by the leader of each party and the area from which the settlers came. The name of the ship in which they sailed is also recorded.

Apart from vandalism, like so many of our monuments, one has to keep a sharp eye on natural forms of eventual destruction – such as this fig tree that has lodged itself in a crack.

BATHURST AND AN EXPERIENCE AT THE PIG AND WHISTLE

Last week a group of us met in the nearby hamlet of Bathurst in the Eastern Cape to retrace the steps of a tour we last did in about 2014. This included visiting visited the 191 year-old Methodist Church:

This was followed by the St. John’s Anglican Church (the oldest unaltered church in the country), both of which have played a role in providing protection for the inhabitants of Bathurst and the surrounding farms against the marauding Xhosas during the 1800s:

These churches have both got very interesting cemeteries containing the graves of a number of people who played a significant part in the economic and social development of this part of the world.

It was very interesting to visit the Powder Magazine further up the hill from the churches. The original stone building is still intact even though the surrounding mud walls have long since eroded. I have visited it many times, yet this was the first time I had been able to see inside this historic building – very tiny indeed – to note how thick the stone walls are and to inspect the curved ceiling:

As lunch time approached, some members of the party decided to picnic at the Toposcope – also an interesting place to visit. Situated on a hill with a marvellous view of the surrounding area, it contains plaques indicating the ships that brought the 1820 Settlers to the Eastern Cape, the names of the significant parties and the direction in which the various families were apportioned land:

Three of us decided to lunch at the historic country hotel known as The Pig and Whistle which is reputed to be the oldest licensed pub in the country. While I may return to the other sites I have mentioned in other posts, this is where I wish to tell you about our unusual experience. You may have experienced something similar, so do tell if you have.

We secured a table on the veranda, where we could enjoy the rather brisk breeze as well as the view. A limited menu was offered and we quickly ordered our food – typical pub fare, so nothing fancy. This was at one o’ clock. We explained that we needed to meet the rest of the party at two o’ clock. We drank our soft drinks and watched the passersby pass by … saw some patrons receiving their plates of food … checked on the progress of our order. Each time we were assured it was ‘nearly ready’ … by this time other members of our party had driven down the hill for coffee. Our plates of food eventually arrived at ten minutes to two. I explained it would be impossible for us to down our food in five minutes and asked for it to be placed in take-away containers. They were happy to oblige except, said the manageress, “we don’t have plastic knives and forks”. I asked if we could take the metal tableware already placed on our table – she agreed.

Once our visit to the Toposcope was over, we enjoyed our lunch as a picnic, using the back of our bakkie as a make-shift table. We took the cutlery back to the hotel after we had eaten: they expressed no surprise at all – I imagine they simply assumed we would do so.

Note that we have had wonderful meals and good service from this establishment before.