Harry's Tales: Diamonds And Steam
Harry Wroth tells of a family friend who became big in diamonds.
My father was born in Launceston, Cornwall England, in 1887. By 1924 he was a steam locomotive driver on the South African Railways based at De Doorns. He drove over the Hexriver Pass to Touwsriver and back again.
The Hexriver Pass was notorious, crossing the escarpment onto the high and vast Great Karoo. The main rail journey from Cape Town to the goldfields of the Reef was broken down into eight hour shifts for the running crews - drivers, firemen and guards.
Rest barracks were established, all of which were dry, strictly no alcohol. The train crews enjoyed a sixteen-hour rest period before taking another train back down the pass.
At the barracks quadrangle under the peppercorn trees in Touwsriver the crews had established a pseudo club called The Teapot Garden. Here the bachelor crews met and fraternized with the local folks, spinsters in particular. Here my dad met my mother Lilian, born in London, England in 1900. She came to South Africa as a babe in arms and trained as a teacher at Grahamstown Training College. She became a teacher at the village school.
My mom had an Afrikaans speaking friend, also a teacher. Her name was van Rensburg. This lass fell in love with a local Jewish clerk by the name of Joel. Miss van Rensburg married Joel and the couple immediately found themselves ostrasised by their communities, she by the Afrikaans folks and he by the Jewish group.
Within a few months they had to leave Touwsriver as they found life intolerable there. Joel founded or bought a general dealer store at Klawer which lies on the Bitterfontein line.
My dad retired from the SAR in 1942 and we moved to Cape Town. Communication continued throughout the intervening years between my folks and Joel's. This was aided by my dad's access to PTO's (Privileged Ticket Orders or Free Passes).
During 1947 Joel moved to a house with a large garden in the southern suburbs of Cape Town. He had acquired the controlling interest in a large Cape Town wholesale jewelry firm.
The longstanding friendship continued and my family often supped with Joel's family. The supper usually included an English and a Jewish dish.
Some years later after supper, Joel and my dad were enjoying brandy and my dad asked Joel, "How is it that you sell up at Klawer and move to Cape Town?".
Joel replied, "Syd, old friend...rice and diamonds!".
