Masters Degrees (History)

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Browsing Masters Degrees (History) by Author "Beukes, Wynand J."

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    Dorpsondernaam : 'n kultuurhistoriese ondersoek na die dambouersgemeenskap wat aan die einde van die 19de eeu op Tafelberg ontstaan het
    (Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2011-03) Beukes, Wynand J.; Burden, M.; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of History.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Table Mountain is one of the world’s most well-known natural landmarks. For more than a half million years the mountain played a role in human cultural activities. The water flowing off Table Mountain resulted in the establishment of Cape Town in 1652. During the first 240 years of the city’s existence until 1891, everything possible was employed to make the most of the water cascading down the northern slopes of the mountain. In 1891, the city commenced with the utilising of the mountain’s water running southwards to waste. This course of action to maximise the supply of water from Table Mountain to the city, extended over a period of more than seven decades and included the construction of dams, tunnels and pipelines. Towards the end of the nineteenth century and at the beginning of the twentieth century, two dams were built in the Disa Stream to the east of Kasteels Poort’s upper end. The construction work on the Woodhead Dam commenced in 1892 and continued until 1897. Building operations on the Hely-Hutchinson Dam started shortly after the completion of the Woodhead Dam and was concluded in 1904. The dam builders were settled as a community in the vicinity of the construction sites. The housing comprised permanent as well as temporary structures. The dwellings did not form a unit, but were scattered in the proximity of the construction terrains. The majority of the structures were demolished after the completion of the work. Only four dwellings still exist today. A feature of the accommodation was the separate housing for the white and black workers. The dam builders’ backgrounds were very diverse. Some of them were highly skilled artisans from Britain whereas the majority of the untrained labourers were black people from the Eastern Cape. Also included in the work force, were people from Cape Town and environs. The number of workers on the mountain varied to a high degree. The largest number at any stage totaled 470. Information on the mountain dwellers’ material culture, for example their clothing, foodstuffs and compensation, and spiritual life, for example religion, communication and leisure-time activities, is analysed in this study. Fragments of the dam builders’ cultural heritage is preserved in the Waterworks Museum next to the wall of the Hely-Hutchinson Dam. The exhibition of implements and equipment is disorganised and neglected. The transfer of the museum to another more efficient building in the area is vitally important in order that proper justice can be done to the dam builders who rendered an essential service to Cape Town in difficult circumstances.