By Maeder Osler
… Being only a ‘Large Stock’ proposition in the days I mention, the veld was in good condition and driving in a cart and horses the “swich” of the grass in the spokes of the wheels made quite a musical sound.
Fencing was unknown and the cultivated lands were always enclosed with stone packed walls, as were some of the farm boundaries too.
Vermin was very prevalent in the shape of baboons, hyena, jackal and leopards too, and it was the custom to build a stone contrivance and place a lamb or kid inside for a “bait”.
Bailey’s Estate erected some 1000 miles of fencing during my management. …
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Thus another fascinating extract from notes made by Morton William Barnes-Webb, first, pioneering manager of the 45 farms bought by the Rhodes/Beit/Bailey (RBB) syndicate in the Nuwe Hantam area of the grassy Karoo in the late 19th century. (Sir Abe began selling them off again from 1916 onwards, starting in that year with an attempted auction of 30 farms. But more about this in a forthcoming post.)
As written previously, the notes form part of the Bailey Collection in the Nuwe Hantam Archive — an extensive collection of hitherto unpublished documents donated to Toverview by Barnes-Webb’s grandson, Peter Barnes-Webb, who also farmed in the area until recently, and now lives in the same retirement village as the author in Somerset-West. They were typed up by Peter’s mother, the late Marie Barnes-Webb, daughter-in- law of M.W. Barnes-Webb.
Some notes and observations
Here a few notes and observations from a contemporary perspective, spanning the rich history of farming in the ‘grassy’ Karoo from then to now …
Being only a ‘Large Stock’ proposition in the days I mention … Wot? No sheep? This is fascinating – one gleans that at the time when these land holdings were built up, the region was only deemed suitable for cattle and horses … It would be fascinating to trace exactly when a transition was made to the ubiquitous sheep. However, the RBB syndicate did intend from the outset to farm with sheep and Angora goats.
Large Stock Units (LSU): Today, the area where the RBB farm holdings were built up has a stocking rate, or carrying capacity, of 14–18 ha/LSU – in other words, 14–18 hectares are needed to sustainably feed one large stock unit, commonly taken to weigh 450 kg. This roughly equates to one mature cow (or six sheep).
‘Swich’ of grass: A major feature of the grassy Karoo – the Nuwe Hantam region east of Colesberg is … well … the grass, in start contrast to the ‘bonier” pats of the Karoo towards the south … Given good rains in recent years, the swish of grass against bakkie wheels and radiators is as audible today as it was more than a century ago. A welcome continuity.
Stone-packed walls: Though still evident to this day, these have largely been replaced with various forms of fencing, with the notable exception of large tracts of internally undivided land used for wildlife, nature conservation and so on. Electrified fencing, sometimes portable, has also made an appearance.
Vermin: This remains a subject of endless and often heated discussions. The types and numbers of vermin alter continually. But another constant is the two-legged variety of ‘vermin’ in the form of stock thieves, even though some operate today in the form of well-organised syndicates.
Stone circles made to hold bait for vermin: These are still found in the Nuwe Hantam area today, but other, more modern methods of vermin control have been added.
The 1000 miles of fencing: This is truly extraordinary – attesting to the groundbreaking work done by early farmers and managers, with far more limited resources. Today, among others things, this would cost many millions of rands …
Cattle grazing near the Oorlogspruit on Hanglip Farm. (Riaan de villiers)
Comments invited
What we would like most of all is for readers to respond to these archival items. Comments, observations, memories, reminiscences — all welcome. Please write in, and add pix if you have them !
FEATURED IMAGE: Swishy grass and fencing on Hanglip Farm, not far from Grootfontein Farm — the epicentre of the erstwhile Bailey holdings. (Riaan de Villiers)
Thanks for this interesting extract on veld and farming from notes made by Morton William Barnes-Webb. Have you any idea why 30 farms were put up for auction so soon after purchase?
I note all the bossies among the grass. Was this the case in the 1800s?
I am taking the liberty of copying this short article to Igshaan Samuels of the Agricultural Research Council, who with colleagues and a large grant from the Department of Agriculture has recently initiated a broad scale survey and database development (the Long-Term Veld Monitoring Project) for South Africa’s rangelands from Namaqualand through the Karoo, grassland to Savanna. I am sure that the archive you mention would be of interest to this project.
Many thanks for these interesting observations, Sue Dean. The auction offer of more than 30 of the original 40 plus farms on the nuwe hantam I can partly answer from the 1916 auction brochure, in a forthcoming item I am submitting to toverview.
I will also try, in the article to comment on the bosses-grass composition. The potential interest to the Agricultural Research Council might also be an exciting part of their long term veld monitoring project. We would be delighted to assist wherever possible.
The Karoo has always been predominantly bossies, which are rich in nutrients that give the Karoo meat its flavour. The tall grass mostly appear after good rains.