DUNDEE KZN: Talana’s ghosts are ready to dodge and tease

Everyone loves a ghost story. In Dundee we have our very own ones at Talana – although these ones only come up once a year – on the anniversary of the battle of which is this year on Thursday – October 20.
This was the first battle of the Anglo Boer War (1899-1902) and with Dundee being the coal mining mecca of the country and the Boers were keen to choke off the supplies from the British whose steamships – powered by coal – was used to bring troops into South Africa.
Hence Dundee was an important player in the war. The Boers caught the British by surprise on the morning of October 20 and opened a ferocious volley into their camp which was near where the Steenkoolspruit is, near Dundee Secondary.
In his diary, Lieutenant Robert Ernest Reade’s of the King’s Royal Rifle Corps notes that ‘the bullets began to fizz around us … a wood of gum trees … stretched most of the way along the foot of the hill … the way up from the spruit to the wood was an absolutely open space.’
“The bullets were as thick as an ordinary hailstorm, and it seems to me almost incredible that we only dropped about thirty men on the way.
“I saw (Captain) Pechell standing up looking out to see if it would be advisable to move further to the left – the bullets were coming thick all over the wall, which was only about three feet high, and the next moment he was down. Boultbee and I, who were near, ran down to support him, but it was almost all over with him.”
Of course, the aftermath of battles give rise to numerous ghost stories.
So do you believe in ghosts?
I’m sort of ambivalent about “ghosts’, but on our first commemorative “walk” up the hill in 1999 on the Anniversary of the battle Mike Nel and I scrambled up the hill ahead of the pack carrying the bully beef sandwiches and Old Brown sherry to our ambush position.
While we waited and watched the crowd struggling up the hill, we felt challenged to sample the Old Brown (quality control, you know) and made sure the fire was going nicely.
Being the first such Anniversary walk, eThekwini Productions had come along to film the event, as had Stephen Pryke for Africa Geographic.
The next day Stephen showed Pam some photographs of the event. There was the camp fire, with tourists grouped around it. And there, high up on the right, was the distinct shape of a British soldier. A companion was sitting among the crowd on the left. These photos were NOT photo-shopped..
So back to the same question – do you believe in ghosts?
I didn’t up to then, but now I’m not so sure.
And Pam McFadden tells the story of Anne Smith’s ghost, carrying a lit candle, used to move from room to room in her old house on the Museum grounds.

The veranda of this same house was used as a British casualty clearing station during the battle of Talana, so it has something of a bloody history.

Apparently a psychic was consulted to explain the ghostly light flickering periodically through the cottage windows.
The answer was that a troubled Anne was manifesting herself because she was never buried.
Subsequent inquiries with family members revealed that this was indeed the case – she had been cremated. So the urn bearing her ashes was duly interred in the family plot at the Museum and the lights went out.
If you decide to join us on this year’s Anniversary hike, before you start off take a good look at the large tree next to the cemetery. You might see Colonel Gunning standing under it, back-lit by one of the spotlights.
As you stumble up the mountain, keep your ears peeled. You might hear a pitiful keening sound. If you do, it’s not the wind rustling through the gum trees. You’ll know that Captain George Weldon’s little fox terrier is still lying at his dead master’s side, howling his grief.
Smell the horse-sweat and dung from the steeds of the Utrecht Commando, sent up the hill to recover their dead and dying.
If you look closely you might even see the British soldier lying up against the stone wall, the blood-soaked bandage on his upper arm clearly visible.
On your way back to town, be extra careful as you approach the bridge over the Steenkoolspruit. There have been a number of reports of near accidents there. In all cases the drivers have sworn that they were forced to swerve for ghostly horsemen riding steeds bedecked with military-style tack. Of course, those horsemen then subsequently simply disappear, much to the annoyance of the Assessor from your car insurance company!
* The Ghost Walk will be held from 5pm at Talana Museum on October 20.