Graaff-Reinet : Cemetery

On our way back into town from the Gideon Scheepers Monument we drove past an old cemetery and wanted to visit.  We have visited a few other cemeteries in the Eastern Cape and most are in very bad shape due to vandalism and neglect.  This cemetery was locked with a notice on the gate with 4 places where the key could be found (including the tourism office).  I think it is a very good solution because a) the cemetery is protected and b) visitors can still access the cemetery.
We fetched the key at the tourism office and went back to the cemetery.  The cemetery was in a better condition than others we have visited but the grass and weeds were growing everywhere. 
We started to walk around in Block A with the oldest graves and then through the rest.  (I had an unfortunate encounter with a thorn bush and ended with my right shoe and sock full of small thorns.  A few days later I was still finding some of them in the shoes)














 






















The grave in the photo above on the right is from one of the original 1820 British Settlers.  The inscription is protected with a piece of glass.  It reads as follow:

"IN MEMORY OF

CHRISTIAN GEORGE OCHSE
BORN LONDON 15/2/1800
DIED 2/8/1845

WIFE ANN MUNDAY
BORN MILLSOM WILTSHIRE ENGLAND 8/9/1799
DIED 23/11/1881

ARRIVED SHIP 'BRILLIANT'
15th MAY, 1820 - ALGOA BAY"

The amount of graves of children was very sad.  One section of the graveyard had a lot of similar headstones for children.  The dates on these graves were from 1854 to 1860 and the ages of the children ranged from babies to about 9 years old.  Some headstones had the names of 2 or 3 children from the same families that died close to each other.
We walked around for about 40 minutes in the cemetery taking pictures of interesting headstones and the beautiful mountains that surrounds the town.  When we left as about 13:15 we were warm and hungry.  We headed to the Coldstream Restaurant for lunch.

USEFUL INFORMATION:
Graaff-Reinet Tourism
Address:                       13A Church Street, Graaff-Reinet, South Africa
Tel No:                          +27 49 892 4248
Visiting Hours:               Monday – Friday: 08:00 – 17:00
                                    Saturday: 09:00 – 12:00
                                    Sunday & Public Holidays : Closed

Graaff-Reinet Cemetery
Address:                       Cradock Street, Graaff-Reinet, South Africa
Visiting Hours:               Keys are held at the Tourism Office
                                    See above for address and opening hours

Comments

  1. Sunny22 December, 2012 13:12

    My sisters and Me are going to Graaff Reinet in Feb 2013. I am a cemetery addict so thanks for this info.

    Regards
    Sonja

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Eyewitness Travel Guides – A Book Review

Image
  Last month I wrote a book review and I enjoyed it.   Today I want to share some more of my favourite travel books.   DK Eyewitness Travel Guides I bought my first travel guide in 2008. I was planning a trip with my friend Lelanie to London and Europe.   While planning the trip I bought the DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Europe and I paid R 282.00 for it.   Except for my university textbooks, this was the most expensive book I have ever bought for myself.    We were doing a Contiki Tour and visited 7 countries.   I studied the information in guide the about the cities we would visit.    I made lists of places I want to see and then looked for more information about them.   In the end I did not take the guide with me (the 800 pages was just to heavy to carry along) but packed all my lists to use.  At Departures at Cape Town Airport in 2008 My second guide was for the same trip.   The Eyewitness Trave...
Read more

Daar’s ‘n hoender wat ‘n eier nie kan lê

Image
   Weather vane on the VGK Church in Carnarvon    This photo made me think of a song we used to sing as kids.    It is a traditional Afrikaans song about the rooster on top of the church. The words of the song and its translation: Daar’s ‘n hoender wat ‘n eier nie kan lê There is a chicken that cannot lay an egg Daar’s ‘n hoender wat ‘n eier nie kan lê There is a chicken that cannot lay an egg Daar’s ‘n hoender wat ‘n eier nie kan lê There is a chicken that cannot lay an egg Dis die haan wat op die kerktoring staan It’s the rooster standing on the church tower Dis die haan, Dis die haan It’s the rooster, It’s the rooster Dis die haan wat op die kerktoring staan It’s the rooster standing on the church tower More about all the churches and other buildings we saw in Carnarvon in the next post.
Read more

Dutch Reformed Mother Church, George

Image
One of my favourite sights in George is the white Dutch Reformed Mother Church with the beautiful Outeniqua Mountain as background.   I have many memories of visiting this church: On a history class trip when I was about 10, for a art class when I was about 13, for my cousins wedding in 2004, for her baby’s christening a few years later and many other times.   But most of all I like seeing this church every time we drive through town.   The cornerstone for the church was laid on 14 April 1832.   Slaves were used for some of the building work like the digging of the six-foot deep by five-foot wide foundations.   Due to financial problems it took 12 years to complete the church and it was consecrated in 9 October 1842.  The church is a National Heritage Site. On 13 September 1905 disaster struck when the church tower collapsed.   The wood rotted from water damage and lead to the walls weakening.   After a lot of rain for two days t...
Read more