TRANSVAAL PICTURE POSTCARD MESSAGES

OTHER TRANSVAAL TOWNS

Ermelo

The Picture Postcard
The Caption and name of the Publisher are printed in red 'View of Ermelo. From the North.' 'Published by W. Herald & C^o, Ermelo.'.
It is address to England and entered the post on the 28^th December 1912. The divided back, address side, is also printed in red.

The Message
“28^th Dec. / 06. Ermelo district
This is a typical S.A. country town. We are having a present & glorious time of which I will give you a long description in my next letter when I get back to Pretoria ! Best of love to you €.

Notes
It is always a pleasure to find a picture postcard by a local publisher, who wishes to document their environment. Knowingly or not, they assure their town would be seen by future generations.

Ermelo was situated in pastoral country; about 150 miles to the east of Johannesburg and 19 miles south of Breyten (see below). In the 1904 census the population was given as 1,445 of which 765 were European. Even by 1949 the European population was just 3,800 and of all races 7,546.

Ermelo was one of the towns destroyed by the British during the South African War. However, by the time this picture was taken (1905?) single-storey houses with corrugated iron roofs had been erected. The gravel roads were poor, although by 1906, improvements had been made to the north of the town. Fencing was now the norm in order to prevent grazing by waggon oxen. A Christian National Education school was built in 1905, and gave parents an alternative to the Government schools. The Dutch Reformed Church rises above the town, and in parts it is an English revival building. No one would have been surprised to find this building in England, or for that matter, India or in any of the Dominions.

Post Office
For Ermelo Post Office - see the link on the Home Page 'Transvaal Post Offices'.

Reference
Board, C., (2008) The Transvaal during the first decade of the twentieth century, The Transvaal Philatelist, Vol.43, No.3 (167), pp.58-71, and map.

Breyten

Breyten Transvaal church. Breyten Transvaal railway.

The Postcards and Messages
Picture postcards of Breyten are scarce, so illustrated here are the only two I have seen, both from the late Joan Matthews' collection. They were both posted from Springs on the 21^st November 1911 and are addressed to Master Ben Goodman of West Street, Durban. These photographic cards have been handstamped in mauve “JUNCTION RAILWAY STORE, / BREYTEN”. The messages read “National Scout Church, Breyten Funds supplied for Building by the Transvaal Government.” and “Laying the Rails Breyten Ermelo Line”.

Conclusion
As the railway link was probably completed in 1907, these two postcards sent in 1911, may have been old stock from Junction Railway Store.

Heidelberg Dutch Reform Church - “daar gaat de toren”

The Picture Postcard
The two photographic postcards messaged intrigued me and were purchased on a very hot August Bank Holliday Saturday in Canterbury, where three members of the Transvaal Study Circle enjoyed a walk along the Stour, and jolly good lunch too! The two pictures show the bulky ‘Decorative Revival’ Dutch Reform Church at Heidelberg. Both postcards are addressed to “Miss Edith Spencer, Woodbine, Newport, I.W. [Isle of Wight] England”.

The Message
The first postcard was posted from Heidelberg on the 22^nd March 1908. The message reads:

“The Spire of this Church fell down about 3 months ago. It had been cracked for a long time & the long rains finished it. P.S.”

The second postcard was posted on the 12^thApril 1908. The message reads:

“The Dutch Reformed Church as she is now. P.S.”

According to an article in The Transvaal Philatelist, during the morning the Reverend Louw and members of the church council had climbed the tower to inspect some structural defects; cracks. The collapse of the tower happened during the lunch hour and fortunately no one was harmed. The Reverend was having lunch and on hearing a rumble instantly knew the tower had collapsed. It is reported he remarked “daar gaat de toren” (there goes the tower).

Lydenburg, George and no postcards!
No need to write a letter, send a picture postcard
During the 1890s and into the twentieth century, those living in the larger cities of Great Britain could expect six deliveries of mail a day. It was therefore possible when going on a day trip to send a letter early on the same day advising of delays or late arrival home. For those accustomed to such rapid communications and now living and working in the Transvaal / southern Africa, infrequent or slower arrival of mail could be frustrating.

Sending a picture postcard was important for those who wanted to send a quick message to loved ones 6000 miles away. While family and friends in the British Isles needed reassuring that their Son, Daughter or Chum was well and had not fallen on hard times. Moreover, many of the picture postcards which have come down to us, were from and to, collectors of postcard views. Such was the enthusiasm that sending a good view became almost as important as observing the vista itself!

Therefore when George arrived at Lydenburg during August 1903 he was so disappointed at finding none for sale, so he had to use a picture postcard of Johannesburg.

The Message
“Lydenburg 14/8/03

No P.C. at this place but I am having some made & will send them later.
Nothing to do here but sleep – a wretched hotel & worst food – leave tomorrow for Delagoa Bay – get there on Sunday night – George”

The Postcard
Published by ‘O. D.’ it illustrates two views of Johannesburg printed in black, ‘Standard and Diggers News Bldgs.’ and ‘Winchester House’. It is addressed to "Miss Macadam-Smith, Abbotsfield, Wiveliscombe, Somerset, England", and entered the post on 15^th August 1903 at Lydenburg.

Note
Abbotsfield is a Late Victorian grand house and was built for, Lacey Collard, piano manufacturer in 1872. It is of red sand-stone with limestone dressings. I had wondered if this picture postcard was destined for the grand house, or the two storey L-shaped servants’ block. However, as the MacAdam-Smith family has a Crest, a Dolphin on three Chess-Rooks, with the motto ‘Generosity with justice’, I presume the former.

Postscript
There can be no conclusion to this, until we have found picture postcards of Lydenburg, published by George, dated 1903, and posted from Delagoa Bay (Port of Lourenço Marques) !

Roodepoort

The photographic postcard (unknown photographer) shows Roodepoort following a snow storm.

The Message
The message on the back reads: “A little bit of ‘Transvaal Scottish’ in Van Wyk Street, Roodepoort, Transvaal, August 17 – 1909, [signed].”

Note
Truly a ‘Two Horse Town’.
There is no publisher or photographer details on the postcard and it is possible that it came from a local professional photographer. The divided back (address side) is in grey and the message in written right across the page. The street had recently been planted with rows of trees; the snow must have been a surprise for the saplings. A raised advertising board enlightens us of ‘W. HOBSON HOUSE FURNISHER AND GENERAL DRAPER’. I except it was a dull trading day.
Across the road and to the left is the Centre News Agency. Two men, one in a white shirt, are repairing a damaged roof sign. While to the right, loafers stand and gaze and another reads a newspaper.

Zeerust

The Message
The message on the back reads: “Photo of Zeerust Main Street”

The Postcard
A rather nice photographic postcard used for Christmas and New Year greetings. Addressed to Ilford, Essex, England it entered the post at Zeerust on the 24^th November 1904. However, this picture was not a posed attempt to show the town at its best, as most of the people who are walking, have ended up here as a smudge. Therefore, this must have been an amateur photographer who produced a photograph, for which posterity is pleased.

Marico / Zeerust
Zeerust is an abbreviation of the original name, Coetzee-Rust. However, it was, and probably still is referred to as Marico. A frontier town of the South African Republic situated in the west of the country of Marico district. The fertile Marico Valley being highly mineralized. It became an important staging post on the ‘missionary road’, also used by adventurers heading for the interior of Africa, and prospectors to the ‘Tati Gold Fields’.

There was a weekly post to Marico in the late 1850s, although the first hand datestamp for mail did not arrive until 1874. Mail to the ‘Tati Gold Fields’ was forwarded via Zeerust. During the South African War, Major-General Baden Powell occupied Zeerust from the 26^th May 1900. The telegraph system was organised and maintained by the British Army – ‘Imperial Military Telegraphs’. Zeerust 'Provisional Revenue Stamps', used the South African Republic Revenue stamps which were overprinted ‘ V.R.I ’ (Victoria Regina Imperatrix), and used for telegraph duty (tax) from the 18^th June 1900, although this was short lived.

Following the South African War, the Civil Post office opened on 15^th October 1902, Zeerust being the Head Office. By June 1906 the Postmaster General was able to report that an agreement with the Public Works Department would mean a standardisation of Post Office bindings. This appears to have included Zeerust, which was then the Head Office of Marco District. The telephone line from Pretoria to Zeerust via Rustenburg was approaching completion at the end of 1907, although the Postmaster General only reported that an Exchange was opened at Zeerust in his 30^th June 1909 year ending report. On the 13^th March 1909 the Post Office was broken into, the would-be thieves were evidently disturbed and nothing was taken.

Most of the picture postcards I have seen from Zeerust were published by L P Boyce & Co. Zeerust. They are printed in colour and captioned in red; the divided back of the cards are printed in the same colour.

Bibliography
Dickson, J., and Drysdall, A.R., 2003, The Tati gold rush and the Potchefstroom - Tati postal service, The Transvaal Philatelist, 148/79-95.

Higson, A., 2011, The Zeerust Provisional Issue of 1900, The Transvaal Philatelist, 179/54-55.

Transvaal. Department of Post and Telegraphs. Annual Report 1st July, 1905, to 30th June, 1906, Pretoria.

Transvaal. Department of Post and Telegraphs. Annual Report 1st July, 1906, to 30th June, 1907, Pretoria.

Transvaal. Department of Post and Telegraphs. Annual Report 1st July, 1907, to 30th June, 1908, Pretoria

Transvaal. Department of Post and Telegraphs. Annual Report 1st July, 1908, to 30th June, 1909, Pretoria.

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Copyright © J Woolgar 2003 and 2020 and 2024.

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