Hand dug wells in the Karoo before borehole drilling machines

Jopie Fourie said:
You are right. The Great Trek only started in 1835. The same for the Dorsland Trekkers who mainly ended up in these dry areas. By then slavery was abolished and there were no such thing as slaves being used.

This is a common mistake made when they try to manipulate history.
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And they didnt have "freed slaves", sorry servants with to do the work?
 
Jopie Fourie said:
Slavery ended. You do not have to sell anything. The rest of the stories is a figment of your and the ANC's imagination.
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Uhuh ... read up a bit ... even SA history will be enlightening. Hell even SA fiction will help.
 
Geoff.D said:
BS!
Your ingrained prejudice is making you make really stupid comments!
I have gathered quite a bit of info incl family photos of my ancestors digging their own wells.
But now I think I will just keep it to myself.
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Thing is ... there's no single story ... many would have dug themselves ... pioneers weren't rich ... but a lot would have had "slaves" aka indentured labourers or servants or ...

Plus of course 3 versions

Two parties versions and the truth

Photos of Voortrekkers digging wells?
 
MidnightWizard said:
NO "slaves" in SA
Slaves in the Cape under the VOC
Slavery abolished by British in -- Slavery Abolition Act 1833
Abolished in the Cape on 01 December 1834

Can you please point out the time / date of the beginnings of permanent settlement of the Karoo ...
To grant you your point -- I am pretty sure the "Boers" were a bit too "large" to dig man size wells
I could of course be wrong ...:)
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These wells are normally 2 to 3 meters in diameter, so a big "boer" will just fit comfortably.
 
Luke7777 said:
Not sure why a simple discussion like this has to turn political :mad::mad: FFS, if it was slaves/freed slaves/Khoi/whoever who dug it, then so be it... geeez
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Precisely!
The point is wells were dug by men mostly by hand because that was the only wat it could be done. I know of one such well that has been in constant use since the mid 1800's. Starting with a bucket and rope, moving to a hand pump, then a windmill and now upgraded to a solar pump. The well is between 10 and 15 m deep.
 
Geoff.D said:
Precisely!
The point is wells were dug by men mostly by hand because that was the only wat it could be done. I know of one such well that has been in constant use since the mid 1800's. Starting with a bucket and rope, moving to a hand pump, then a windmill and now upgraded to a solar pump. The well is between 10 and 15 m deep.
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On our family farm in Namibia there are two wells, more than 120 years old and still being used. First the grand grand dad used a bucket and winch to get the rocks and sand out, then later to get the water out. The next step was a windmill as mentioned above.
They are 17 and 13 meter deep respectively.
 
Arthur said:
The only way is via R/O - reverse osmosis, sadly.

I have some pics. Right now I'm lying in a hotel room in Athens Texas at 03h47, so not easy to find and post.
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NO sweat -- whenever you are able
Thanks
 
Stokstert said:
These wells are normally 2 to 3 meters in diameter, so a big "boer" will just fit comfortably.
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OK
Thanks
The one on our property -- which someone filled in -- does not look that big ?
Judging by the remnant metal support brackets definitely had a wind-pump installed over it
Apparently filled in because of safety concerns ( the lazy mans option )
 
Geoff.D said:
BS!
Your ingrained prejudice is making you make really stupid comments!
I have gathered quite a bit of info incl family photos of my ancestors digging their own wells.
But now I think I will just keep it to myself.
Click to expand...
Please do not -- valuable history ...
 
Geoff.D said:
Precisely!
The point is wells were dug by men mostly by hand because that was the only wat it could be done. I know of one such well that has been in constant use since the mid 1800's. Starting with a bucket and rope, moving to a hand pump, then a windmill and now upgraded to a solar pump. The well is between 10 and 15 m deep.
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Saw a lot of these solar installations in our travels n the Karoo ( from a distance )
Something I need to investigate
 
There are some farms in the Cederberg who still make use of hand-dug wells

On a farm about 15km off the R303 after the Middleburg Pass and close to the Suurvlei River there is a farm where I assisted them to install PV panels for about 2 weeks in 2014. In the yard there is this large round corrugated steel structure about 5m across. You need a ladder to see over the top, since is about 3m high. The farmer jokingly calls it his "Kimberley Hole" but it is a well. It was dug over several years in the 1850s and there are stories that some of the people buried on the farm died as a result of the walls caving in. There is sloping corrugated steel leading to a large diameter concrete pipe. At certain times of the day the sun shines on this pipe but you cannot see the water, which must be over 20m or more deep. There are some scoop-like contraptions on ropes that were used to excavate the mud from the bottom that look like they were last used 70 years ago
 
In this same farm is a catalogue from an American Exploration company who proposed altering a steam dredger to dig the well

760354
 
chrisc said:
In this same farm is a catalogue from an American Exploration company who proposed altering a steam dredger to dig the well

View attachment 760354
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Looks fascinating
Not sure how one would get that to the Karoo ?
I imagine it would do VERY well on the NQWEBA dam of Graaff Reinet -- once it has a bit of water in it !
 
C4Cat said:
They would have had slaves to do the digging for them
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Just as a note and matter of interest -- seeing as you mentioned -- "slaves"

However, the expense of having pumped water supplied from the local waterworks, then on the corner of Lewes Road (now Saunders Park) was considered prohibitive, so the Guardians decided that they would construct a single well for both properties and augment the workforce with labour from the Dyke Road Workhouse. In their opinion, making relief for the more able pauper, young or old and regardless of gender, conditional on some of the destitute undertaking an aspect of the well’s construction would reduce labour costs and indirectly add a further deterrent to anyone considering applying to the workhouse for poor relief.

Work continued for several more years with men working 24 hours a day just by candle light in appalling conditions. Many removed their clothes and worked naked for within the confines of a 4 ft circle teams of men had to dig, load buckets and lay bricks. Winchmen stood on tiny platforms cut into the side of the shaft, passing spoil up and bricks down as the shaft continued forever downwards. One winchman actually plunged to his death.

To put this incredible achievement, distance and the danger into perspective, I can think of no greater analogy than that used in P Mercer & D Holland’s “Hunns Mere Pit” which I have interpreted using my own illustration. The Woodingdean Well’s depth into the earth was greater than the height of the Empire State Building. Imagine climbing that building in darkness on a twice daily basis, using just a series of rickety ladders, let alone in a panic situation with water flooding up beneath you and your colleagues!

Deepest hand dug well in the world

Done by "free" Englishmen
 
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