#50YearsAgo Pioneers of Illovo Beach (part 2)
Fêtes were held on the beach, with donkey rides and sand building competitions.
THERE was no running water or electricity in Illovo Beach. Electricity was introduced in 1935. The houses had rain water tanks to collect water for cooking and drinking. A cup of paraffin was put into the tanks once a week to prevent mosquitoes breeding.
There was a malaria epidemic in Illovo Beach in the early 1930s. All of the residents were on Quinine. The provincial government sent sprayers to the area who sprayed everything in an attempt to stop the epidemic.
Before electricity, residents used a “cooler” to keep food in. This was an ingenious version of the modern day fridge. The cooler was a box, six feet high with shelves made of zinc.
There was a container on top and pipes inside. It was covered with wire mesh. Water from the container on the top, down the pipes through charcoal to keep the box cold.
Running water arrived in Illovo Beach after 1949. Entertainment for residents of Illovo Beach was provided by the Karridene and lllovo Beach Hotels. Dances were held regularly.
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Illovo Beach School was built in the mid 1920s. The first headmistress was Miss Nicols and the school admitted children from class one to standard six. The first teachers were Miss Dell, Miss P’ane and Miss Lourens.
They lived in a house at the bottom of the village. The school is now the Rehoboth Christian School. The children from the Illovo Sugar Estates also attended the school. They came by coco pan – a container used to carry cane, run on a narrow gauge track and pulled by an engine.
They travelled on the coco pan as far as Illovo River Station where they would catch the train to Illovo Beach. There were also two children from the Umgababa Hotel attending Illovo Beach School.
In the 1920s there were two privately run hotels there. The “Bell Moral” was run by Mrs Williams and her son, Gordon, Mr and Mrs Matthews ran “The Maze.” There were also many boarding houses in the area. There were eight or ten cottages on the beach, made of wood and iron, and these were let out to holidaymakers.
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At this time the trend among the wealthy was to order a house from a catalogue and to have it erected on the banks of the Illovo River. All but one have since been demolished.
A village personality at this time was Miss Butler, an eccentric well-born artist. She lived in a cottage near the Turnbill Store, and would be seen walking around the village in flowing robes, sun hats, red socks and sandals.
Miss Butler loved horses and the local children believed that she slept in the stables with her horses at night and would ride around the village like Lady Godivar.
Mr Van Heerden was the station foreman. His dog “Prince” was known as the smartest dog in the village. Mrs Van Heerden would often tell Prince to go fetch meat, and he would run with a basket between his teeth, over the river to the station and return with the meat in the basket.
Prince would also take a list of groceries needed by the Van Heerden household to the shop and return with the items in the basket.
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