Browsing by Author "Klopper, Helene F."

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    The organised expansion and permanent settlement of people in Boesmanland in correlation with accessible water sources : 1760–C.1960
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2020-03) Klopper, Helene F.; Visser, Wessel P.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of History.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to examine the permanent expansion and settlement of humans in Boesmanland through research of available literature and archival sources on water. Despite nutrient rich vegetation for the rearing of small livestock, a lack of surface water made the permanent utilisation of the area for agricultural purposes impossible. With the relatively low annual rainfall, perennial subsistence was not possible until the invention and acquisition of the technology to tap into the underground aquifers arrived in the mid-nineteenth century. However, this did not prevent humans from moving through the area. Transhumant pastoralist groups such as the Khoikhoi lived in the area for thousands of years. The Khoikhoi thus moved through Boesmanland for thousands of years in small groups but could not permanently settle in fixed locations for long periods of time due to a need to find water and food sources elsewhere. It was only when the colonial authorities began selling of Crown land and serious prospecting for water took place that private ownership of farms started in c.1760. In 1760 the first farms in Boesmanland were allocated near the Kammies Mountains. This marks the beginning of permanent human settlement in Boesmanland. After this date, wells were dug and later boreholes drilled to develop farms. Farmers spent a huge amount of time, labour and money on digging wells and later drilling boreholes on their farms. The amount of money spent on water prospecting often exceeding the original purchase price of the farm because without reliable, permanent water sources, the farm was useless for stock farming. By 1960 the technology to drill boreholes was available to farmers of the area, making continuous settling in fixed geographic areas the norm. The low-technology windmill accompanied the high-technology drill machine and borehole. Oral interviews offer insight into boormanne and windpump technicians. The town of Springbok provided an example how small infrastructure like water tanks and pumps were installed at the start of the twentieth century. The case study of Carnarvon, in turn, showed the development of a typical Boesmanland town.