Ann Johnstone of Simbithi Eco-estate writes:
This is the sad story of the farm where I grew up. Recently we went to see this farm. What is left of our family arrived at the farm in the morning. It was a very cold at first there was light breeze in the air but the sun was out and soon it became warm. However, little did we realise as the day progressed that our hearts would be left with a cold and inconsolable sadness.
All that was left of this farm is a waterfall where in times past many happy days were spent picnicking swimming and jumping 8m into the pool below.
The farm had belonged to the Rawlins family of Matatiele. Appropriately it was name ‘Fairview’. It looked over the beautiful vast stretches of the mountains of that part of East Griqualand.
My father, later with the help of the oldest few of my brothers worked the farm until it became sustainably profitable. My mother had nineteen children of which I was the nineteenth.
Fourteen of us survived to adulthood. The farm had to be sold to the Apartheid government who consolidated it into the Transkei in terms of the Bantustan policy of those times.
When we recently returned to view that I have referred to above, we were absolutely shattered with what we saw. Every brick, and wooden part of the structure of the house and outbuildings to say nothing of the very substantial fruit orchard, had been removed or smashed.
Sadly, nothing had been left of what had been left of the house in which we had grown up.
My brother Martin, who died recently of cancer, before his death also visited the site and couldn’t believe his eyes. He was distraught that this could be done to what he regarded as his childhood legacy
Fortunately, the happy and beautiful memories of the place of our upbringing can never be removed.
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