SANParks.org Forums

Dear Wacktazz
Is the graves at Kruger gate on the park side or on the other side? I cannot wait to go there to see if I can see it.
Dear Mm
Thank you for all this info, I have Wildlife and Warfare and will go through it again.

I find Skukuza to be such a "city" and was hoping to entertain myself when I go there again to look for all the "hidden" treasures as I have paid my respects to the clocktower, the selati train station, the clock tower, the Campbell Hut etc.

good to hear that the grave is well cared for. Is it the same story that is told in the Kruger memories calendar? (can't remember on which month's page it is though - I've read it through a couple of times already )

On my last visit to Kruger in December I spent a long time ith my daughter in the Stevenson Hamilton Library. My daughter is doing post grad studies in history, focusing on the pre-Kruger period. It was fascinating to see the library though her eyes and enjoy the uniqueness of some of the books they have on their shelves. I also had a much greater appreciation of some of the other exhibits after reading more about the early history.

A book that I thoroughly enjoyed, since swiped by my daugter , is TV Bulpin's "Lost trails of the Transvaal". Another "must" for history addicts.

Dear All,

Lovely & interesting topic you're on now. To my best memory, Ali Sharif's grave lies outside the current KNP along the old railway line northwards in the Sabie Sand Game Reserve. Other places of historical interest are the old (dead since about a year ago, but stumps still visible) bluegum trees at the family cottages in the camp. These used to be planted in the old days in the belief that these trees kept malaria mosquitos at bay. Further, the dog cemetry used to be next to the Conservation Services Building before it was relocated to the Stevenson-Hamilton Memorial Library from where is currently is being relocated to the site of the previous amphitheatre behind the shop complex. The camp was conceived from the eastern side (railway bridge) with first huts where the S1 Campbell hut museum is located and cottage 209. The family At 209 the fence was situated and the riverview family cottages were originally for staff and lay outside the camp. The pontoon anchor point is visible in front of semi-luxury cottages next to Monis Guest House. Another feature of interest are the two baobabs at the back of the camp amongst the staff flats & houses and the maintenance office. These were planted by Stevenson-Hamilton as this was their front garden of the last house that they stayed in and where the children Margaret, Jamie and Anne were raised in their early years. Anne showed me where everything was and has a vivid memory and some of the shrubs & creepers that used to form part of their garden and pergolas around the house are still visible today. Enough for now and I will find a few pics of the sites mentioned to post.

Best wishes!

JOEP

Thanks , Joep .
Very important that this info is kept vivid in ones mind , all too much is lost with modernisation and time .

Joep your post is most interesting and well written and I cannot wait for you to share more of your knowledge regarding the history of Kruger. Just a stupid question - why are they relocating the dog cemetery so many times? Is it not influencing the historical value in a negative way? MM thanks for always mentioning interesting books on Kruger history – it is appreciated by those who enjoy reading books on Kruger history like me. Your visit to the grave of one of the early rangers with one of his great grand daughters is so verrry interesting. I hope the lady told you some interesting Kruger stories. This is a great topic I hope it will expand to the rest of the hidden histories of Kruger as some of the information I read here are not available in books. Thanks BendaK for starting this brilliant topic!

Dear Joep

This is exactly what I was looking for, I need to see those Baobabs! so much for the Southern most Baobab!

Thank you so much for sharing this.

Thanks BrendaK for the interest shown. KNP's history is so interesting! The location of staff quarters can best be described from the road leading to Skukuza staff village. As you travel down it from the turnoff, you pass the first turnoff (right) to the SAPS station, and Conservation Services offices, labs etc. Between this turnoff and the next to the right, also leading to Conservation Services offices and State Veterinary office, the portion to the right of the road used to have the staff quarters. On Grantmissy's question on the dog cemetery, the need to move first time was to make it accessible to the public and second time due to development pressures. Please keep in mind that the dogs weren't buried there and that it more a collection of their gravestones, more like a memorial wall. I think where it is now planned, near the Stevenson-Hamilton Memorial Library, it will be able to stay for a good few decades. The oldest buildings in Skukuza would in my view be (more or less in order of oldest first - but unresearched so there might well be an oversight), would be:
1. Campbell hut museum (and nearby 209, which was modernised a few times since)
2. The original SAPS building
3. Struben Guest Cottage (designed by Hilda Stevenson-Hamilton)
4. Stevenson-Hamilton Library

Kind regards.

JOEP

Thanks Joep!

This is a very interesting thread.

Dear Joep

Thank you so much for this info, will I find the Baobab trees there as well?

What about Lemoenboom Street?

Do you still have contact with Anne?

Why are they saying in Neem uit die verlede, that dogs were actually buried there after they moved the stones from the original cemetry?

Do you know anything abaout Doispan/e?

Thanks
B

Dear BrendaK,

Lemoenboom Street is in the Skukuza staff village, in the area east of the Nwaswitshaka Spruit adjacent to the rest camp's western fenceline - there where the doctors rooms are located. In earlier years this used to be a fruit tree orchard, thus the name of the street.

The two Stevenson-Hamilton children, Anne and Jamie live abroad but frequently visit South Africa and Skukuza. Jamie comes every year and I do still have contact with them both.

It might be that there were some dogs buried at the original site, but many others came from different rangers posts across the park and it would just not have been possible to bring those remains to Skukuza to be buried there.

Doispane is an old outpost of ranger Harry Wolhuter next to the Mtshawu Spruit that he used when travelling between his rangers post at Mtimba (outside current park boundary) and Skukuza. It was named after an old Tsonga inhabitant who pronounced his name as "Dustbin".

Kind regards.

JOEP

Thanks Joep

You are an encyclopedia on your own!

Is it true that Doispane worked with James Stevenson-Hamilton? Was there a village where Doispane lived? Was he a chief? Is it near where Ali Sharif's grave is?

Dear Brenda,

Many thanks. I tried to trace references to Doispane in Pienaar, Stevenson-Hamilton and Wolhuter works and could not trace much to answer your question. I will look further and let you know if I find something. It seems from Wolhuter's Memories of a Game Ranger that Doispane might have still lived there early in the last century as he refers to Doispane's crops and that Doispane had paid a rainmaker by the name of Mpunzane Mhowelela (of Basotho origin) one pound for rain.

No, Doispane is not near where Ali Sharif's grave is. I recall Jamie (James Stevenson-Hamilton's son) telling me how upset his father was at the death of Ali, who had come from north Africa and that it was at the hands of the railway personnel that he died and that there was some malice involved.

Kind regards.

JOEP

Very interesting thread!

Thanks for all the info Joep, maybe we could meet up some day!