Ancestry24

The common belief that the historic manor-house of Groot Constantia was erected by Simon van der Stel at the end of the seventeenth century is completely fallacious. Although the proud structure of the present day probably rests on the foundations of Governor Simon’s original building, there is not a vestige of a superficial trace of resemblance between the two buildings.

In her beautiful Historic Houses of South Africa, Miss Dorothea Fairbridge advanced what is on the surface, a perfectly logical argument, that “Simon van der Stel built the house which is the best example of seventeenth century architecture left to the country”. She had never come across any evidence to the contrary, she wrote; while there is ample evidence to show that it was built by Simon van der Stel. The glowing description of Kolbe, in the face of his fierce hatred for the Van der Stels, implied great beauty: and who but a Van der Stel would have decorated the floor of his house with the star in red stone that we find at Groot Constantia? The severe simplicity of the gables also suggested a link with Van der Stel: they radiated “that feeling of classical severity that made me think they were built for Simon van tier Stel”.

She was probably strengthened in her belief by the writings of Mrs. A. F. Trotter at the turn of the present ‘century, a lady who did her research on a bicycle, and who was an artist of no mean ability. “Here”, wrote Mrs. Trotter, ”he built a house … gabled like the houses of the fatherland . . . yet individual and distinct; the first great homestead of the Cape”. She was sceptical, however, of the genuineness of the white-washed lime walls and speculated whether Constantia . . . “being built early, arid almost certainly of good bricks from the Netherlands, was originally left unplastered”. An intelligent observation, ’suggested no doubt by Sparrman’s reference in 1772 to “the old or red Constantia”. However, this probably refers to the type of wine manufactured on the estate, rather than to the colour of the house, for Sparrman was an enthusiastic botanist deeply interested in the viticulture of the Cape. After the fire, it was shown that the original building was built of small red Klinker bricks, but there is evidence that, at the time of remodelling at any rate, the building was plastered and whitewashed.

Nothing new was added to our knowledge of the history of Groot Constantia until 1926. On December 19th of that year, the manor-house was completely gutted by fire. Nothing was saved, and only the bare walls remained.

In the following year, the Public Works Department, entrusted the task of restoring the house to the well-known Cape architect, F. K. Kendall, who subsequently published his findings in book forth, entitled The Restoration of Groot Constantia. His conclusions, persuasively drawn, suggested that at one stage almost the entire house had been rebuilt and considerably enlarged. He accepted the drawing of J. W. van der Heydt as being in conformity with his findings in the walls and probably representing the original appearance fairly accurately. Previous to this, the Van der Heydt drawing done in 1741 from a point in the orchard above the house had been regarded in the same light as the illustrations in most of the travel chronicles relating to the Cape.

Examination of the front wall of the house revealed that small Dutch Klinker bricks existed up to the level of the window-sills, but that above that level a larger and more modern brick was used. In the central gable an indiscriminate mixture of Klinker and “modern” was found. At the end of the building, in the wall of the front (drawing) room two narrow voids were discovered, stretching from floor level to two segmental arches, and filled up with Klinker bricks. This provided the clue to the front of the house, for Kendall was able to show that these levels corresponded with those of the casement windows set further back in the wall, and that originally these spaces contained casement windows as well. He postulated that when the house was remodelled, the sash-window was already in vogue in the Cape, and the front was broken down to the level of the sills to include them in the walls; and, to prevent incongruity of sashes and casements in the same room, the latter were walled up in the drawing room. The appearance of Klinker bricks mixed indiscriminately in the upper part of the building with the modern suggests that when the original building was broken down, a great quantity of bricks was in good enough condition to be used again.

Kendall then proceeded to correlate these findings with the Van der Heydt drawing. He located the exact spot in the orchard from which the artist had looked down upon the farm, and he discovered that, allowing for modern developments, as far as the skyline, avenue of oaks, the sea and the mountain were concerned, it was “a remark-ably conscientious and accurate representation in all respects”. He concluded that the omission of the gable was probably accurate. Moreover, the windows, with the aid of a magnifying glass, can all be shown to be casements: not only are they of casement proportion, but the heads of the front ones are in line with those at the end of the house. The accurately-drawn dormer is so eccentrically situated that it was probably one of a pair on the front roof; and indeed this would be corroborated by his remark that “from the upper front windows you have a charming vista of meadows, vineyards and several pretty country seats”, were Kolbe not so unrealiable a chronicler.

The ridge of the roof in Van der Heydt’s drawing is on the same level on all three sides, whereas the present building has a much higher ridge on the front roof than on the sides, necessitated by the extra width of the middle portion of the house. When the plaster was stripped off the back cross-wall, it was found that it was built throughout of a mixture of Klinker and “modern” bricks, and that it had been inserted into the wing walls by chases cut into them to receive it. It thus appeared that this back wall was a product of the remodelling, for its sash-windows corresponded with those in the front of the house. This theory was borne out by the discovery of portions of an old wall well on the inside of the present one, running lengthwise through the middle of the dining-hall. Whitewashed and plastered with lime and showing unmistakable signs of previous exposure, this wall was originally the outside wall of the house. The implications of this are fourfold. Firstly, it eliminated all speculation of Van der Stel regaling his friends with gigantic feasts in the dining hall as we know it to-day; Valentijn must have enjoyed the “matchless fine and delicious fruit” of. his host in more modest surroundings and even Le Vaillant in 1780 was not privileged to be entertained here. In place of a dining-hall, Van der Stel had a fine wide gallery or passage covered with a lean-to roof and opening through a door in the centre onto a concrete platform from which led down steps into the courtyard below, as is the present arrangement. The discovery of this platform, at a slightly lower level than the floor of the hall, supplied conclusive evidence of the extent of the cross-wall. Records refer to this gallery, and there are instances of similar design in other old Cape houses—possibly this was the original one.

The second point that this discovery settles is the question of the pitch of the roof. Had a wider span been used on the front roof, this portion would have been much higher, as it is to-day; but it would have been difficult to build, especially at a time when the construction of such a building was more of an experiment than anything else.

The fact that the original walls of the house that were uncovered were lime plastered and whitewashed seems to allay the fears of Mrs. A. F. Trotter that the original structure was left unplastered. As early as 1675 there is a reference to prisoners being sent to Robben Island “to gather mussel-shells and others, for the burning of lime”, and all descriptions of the settlement remark upon the whiteness of the houses. There is no reason why Simon van der Stel should have been different in the construction of his own house.

The fourth point concerns the so-called Van der Stel arms worked into the stones on the floors of the entrance porch and dining-hall. In both cases the design is identical with that in the banqueting hall in the centre of the room. It therefore appears obvious that these floors were laid at the time when the banqueting hall was built–that is, when the house was remodelled. On the other hand, we know from Kolbe that Simon van der Stel discovered and worked a quarry of the red stone used in the design in the Steenberg, and it was much used in floors and steps. Also the floor design undoubtedly indicates the arms of Van der Stel impaled upon the star of the Sixes, the family of his wife. One can therefore speculate that the design laid down at the time of remodelling the house was a copy of an earlier design dating from the time of the Van der Stels.

The period of remodelling of the façade and courtyard of the house cannot be determined with accuracy, but, according to the evidence of old-records and references in travel-books, and the style of architecture, the year 1792 appears to be the most likely date.

When Hendrik Cloete purchased Groot Constantia from Jan Serrurier in December 1778 for 60,000 Cape guilders, the estate “was in a ruinous state, the buildings were all destroyed and scarcely a vineyard was bearing” according to an attestation by his son Peter Laurence Cloete, in 1827. He also stated that his father had “rebuilt all the buildings on it, and increased the plantations”. As Hendrik Cloete had bought the estate by a mortgage bond for the full amount to be paid off in instalments, and since he had paid an additional 30,000 Cape guilders for the slaves and movable property, it is conceivable that for no small space of time his financial position did not warrant the spending of a large sum of money on the erection of an expensive and lavish building not essential for the good running of his farm. By 1791, however, he had met with sufficient success to invite the architectural giants of his time-Thibault and Anreith—to construct a wine-cellar at the back of his house. There is a quaint tradition that Anreith worked on the pediment behind e screen, and would not allow his patron a glimpse of the work until it was completed.

Groot Constantia 1741

It does not appear that the house was altered until after the completion of the wine-cellar. Being a good farmer, Cloete built the most necessary things first. Then, as Mr. Kendall writes, “it is highly probable that the proprietor would finish his constructive energies with a flourish by adding magnificence .and comfort to the house itself”. By being in constant touch with Anreith and Thibault in connection with the wine-cellar (”the production of which must have in itself been a strong incentive to beautify the house”) Cloete invited them to remodel his house according to the latest style.

The earliest illustration of the present facade of the house—with a window in place of •a statue in a niche—appeared in Milbert’s Voyage Pittoresque a L’Isle de Franee au Cap de Bonne Esperanee (1812 Paris). A sketch by Bowler in 1854 likewise shows a window in place of the niche. This would suggest that the statue and niche are of ‘later erection: but this is contradicted by Kendall, who—feeling it unlikely for two windows to be placed one above the other in the same gable—examined the inside of the gable for previous patching and repair—and found no trace. He therefore concluded that the niche and statue are as old as the gable itself, and that Bowler copied unfinished details from the earlier artist; or, by some strange co-incidence, they both independently made the same mistake. Cloete family tradition assigns the statue of Plenty to an earlier date than 1854—indeed, Dorothea Fairbridge says to before the time of Anreith. This is hardly possible since Anton Anreith’s arrival at the Cape predated the erection of the front gable by at least fourteen years! There is a reference to “a vile painting, of a strapping girl, and ugly enough, reclining on a pillar” (not pillow as Kendall writes) by a Frenchman De Saint-Pierre, who visited the Cape in the seventeen-seventies. “I took it for a Dutch allegorical figure of Chastity : but they told me it was a portrait of Madame Constance, daughter of a Governor of the Cape”. ‘This is confusing from our point of view, but the reference is to a painting and not a statue, and it must be assumed that De Saint-Pierre at least recorded his basic facts accurately. The present-day statue of a girl leaning against a rest is very suggestive of this earlier painting, and provided De Saint-Pierre’s description is correct, we can speculate that Cloete requested Anton Anreith merely to copy the old design, rather than create a new one. For it is quite possible that the statue of Plenty was designed by Anreith as well. Hendrik Cloete would have been in close contact with him in connection with the wine-cellar pediment, and when Thibault began remodelling the house, Anreith was invited to assist. The fortunate partnership of Anreith and Thibault might well be personified in the front gable of Groot Constantia.

Writing from Cape Town on the 1st of October, 1792, Cornelis de Jongh, an accurate and pleasant Dutch visitor to the Cape, praises Hendrik Cloete as “an artistic argriculturalist who has made innumerable improvements to his farm, having built a new wine-cellar, altered the house, and planted new species of tree and vine . . . “  I feel justified in accenting this entry as indicative of the date at which the “alterations” were completed, or at least, under way.

This date is in conformity with the place of Groot Constantia in the ordered sequence of evolution of the architectural style at the Cape: the façade is certainly the product of a later development than existed in the time of Simon van der Stel. It is more likely the “country” version of the double-storeyed town house with the dak kamer on the roof, such as the Martin Melk house next to the Lutheran Church in Strand Street. At the same time it was probably the precursor of the common triangular-topped square gable seen so extensively in the country districts, particularly in the Worcester-Robertson area. But its Renaissance cap distinguishes it as something apart, and earlier in conception than these.

There is something very comforting about Groot Constantia, lying so close to the great Mother City, and yet breathing the life of another, an easier and more carefree world of the past. All the old ghosts are there—Hendrik Cloete with le Valliant, Lady Anne Barnard and a whole train of distinguished guests; and Kolbe, Valentijn and “if you dream there long enough, you will see wandering among the flickering shadows, the shadow of Simon van der Stel”.

E. H. BURROWS. Africana Notes and News,  December, 1948        Vol. VI, No. 1

Top image is Groot Constantia in 1812

Benjamin Osler also known as Bennie born in Aliwal North on 23rd November 1901 and died in Cape Town on 23rd April 1962, Springbok rugby player, was the son of Benjamin and Isobel Osler. Bennie’s ancestors have been traced back to Edward Osler, a prominent merchant and ship-owner, with a hint of piracy involvement.Bennie went to various schools, including the Western Province Preparatory School, Rondebosch Boys’ High School, and Kingswood College, Grahamstown. From 1921 he read law at the University of Cape Town, qualifying in 1925. During this period he represented the University on the rugby field, but from 1926 to 1930 played for Hamiltons and from 1931 to 1933 for Villagers. He acted as captain of all three clubs and on various occasions captained Western Province, which he represented from 1922 to 1933.

He gained his Springbok colours in 1924, when he played against Ronald Cove-Smith’s British team in all four test matches. Four years later (1928) he also played in all four tests against Maurice Brownlee’s New Zealand touring side, and in 1931-32 captained the Springbok team (which went to the British Isles) in all the tests of that series. He rounded off his rugby career in 1933 by playing in all five tests against the visiting Australians, acting as captain in the second test. He had scored forty-six points in the seventeen consecutive tests in which he played Osler is generally regarded as the best fly-half South Africa has produced so far (1979), a man who could dictate play. The decade during which he was a Springbok is even called the ‘Osler Era’ by sports writers, owing to his influence on the game. While he played for South Africa the country won all the test series, his province carried off the Currie Cup throughout, and each club for which he played won the Grand Challenge Cup. He had no equal as a tactical kicker and it was in particular his almost perfectly-placed corner kicks to wings which gained many tries for the Springboks. He could launch long outside kicks from any corner and as a drop-kicker he often clinched matches. Nobody was more feared by opponents than Osler.

He was also an attacking fly-half who could send his full-backs off with incredible speed when circumstances permitted or, if not, could himself shoot through an opening like lightning. Autocratic on the field, he would tolerate no passes from scrumhalfs that were above waist height; if the centres next to him blundered even once, he usually mistrusted them afterwards and would rather kick the ball – a course of action which can be regarded as one of his few weaknesses. As a captain he attached great value to tactical planning before a match, and he believed in strict team discipline.

During the Second World War (1939-45) Bennie went with the South African forces to East Africa where he contracted both malaria and amoebic dysentery which probably contributed to his relatively early death.

Unlike other great players Osler had little interest in coaching or the administration of the sport when he retired. After working as a salesman for a long time, he eventually went farming on a small scale, at first near East London and later near Bellville.

The brothers Bennie and Stanley Osler

He married Gladys Hobson and had two children. Photographs of him appear inter alia in The Bennie Osler story and Springbok saga (both infra).

Osler’s Cornish Connections

Benjamin. Falmouth born circa 1776 son of Edward and Mary (Paddy) Osler of Falmouth and husband of Jane (Sawle) Osler born 1775. father of Susannah, Stephen Sawle, Mary Anne, Amelia, Elizabeth, Sarah, Joseph, Jane, Benjamin, Phillippa and Julia. Leader of W.J. Cornish 1820 Settlers. Returned to Cornwall with wife and some members of his family 4.1822.

Stephen Sawle born in Falmouth 27th September 1804, died 21st October 1867 in Simonstown. Son of Benjamin and Jane (Sawle) Osler and husband of Catherine Osler (born Dakins, formerly Wright) of Llaway Glen, Montgomeryshire, Wales. 1802-1881. father to Benjamin, James Goodriche, Catherine and Jane; and also Christina, dtr of Orange Kleyne (Klein). Founder of the Osler family in SA.

Susannah Osler born in Falmouth circa 1800. daughter of Benjamin and Jane (Sawle) Osler married 1st John Coleman (1792-1829) of Cock’s party at Reedfountain, Eastern Cape on 17th June 1820, 2nd time to Mr Fineran from Quebec.

The small Cornish party, under the leadership of Benjamin Osler of Falmouth, Cornwall, sailed in the ‘Weymouth’, which left Portsmouth in January 1820. Having arrived in Albany so that he might supervise the first arrivals, Sir Rufane Donkin considered that a more central and accessible site should be chosen for the administration of the settlement. Ignoring the fact of Graham’s Town’s better defensible position and that it was already established as a military base, the site he chose on 9 May 1820, was just west of Thorn Ridge. This was to be the centre of the civilian administration and also the seat of magistracy. Sir Rufane declared it was to supercede Graham’s Town as the capital town of Albany, and it was to be named Bathurst in honour of Earl Bathurst, Secretary for the Colonies. In his enthusiasm Donkin allotted plots to the Earl and also his own sons and nephews, while 500 acres of Glebe were allotted for a clergyman and chaplain of the Church of England, the vacant post to be filled in due course by a suitable man. The post of administrator, however, was filled by the transfer to Albany from the Western Cape of Capt Charles Trappes.

By 9 June the Cornish party of Benjamin Osler was enroute to their location from Algoa Bay. Osler’s party, it had been decided, was to be located some 12 miles southwest of the new town of Bathurst, and halfway to the Kowie River mouth. This was in the curve of the Mansfield River, a left bank tributary to Kowie River, today known as Grove Hill. Osler named the location Pendennis in memory of the similarity the area bore to his Cornish hometown of Falmouth and its Pendennis Castle.

Pitching their tents for protection from the cold winter nights and the intermittent drizzle, the party immediately set to clearing the land so that ploughing and sowing of their first crop could be done. Soon after arrival, they were to be joined by a young man, John Coleman, 28 years of age and a gardener from Cock’s party who had sailed with them in the Weymouth. Coleman was not altogether an unexpected arrival, for he had made his intentions clear earlier and on the 17 June, he was married by the Rev William Shaw to Benjamin Osler’s eldest daughter, Susannah. Theirs were the first marriage in the whole settlement.

The proximity to Bathurst of Osler’s location at Pendennis meant that these settlers were closely concerned with the early development of that town. Lots were already being offered for sale and the Colonial Secretary had ordered erection of a prison. The building of the Bathurst Residency got under way by October. All this activity afforded employment to bricklayers, carpenters, slaters, sawyers and stone-masons, who were able to direct their energies into a rewarding field while they waited patiently for the crops to ripen. Hopes for the future were bright, but by the end of November it became apparent that ‘rust’ had affected practically all the wheat sown since their arrival and the crops were useless. With little resources to withstand such a disaster, the administration decided that the issue of rations was therefore to be continued, but they became an additional charge against the deposit money. When that had been exhausted, it was a liability for future repayment. By Christmas Day that year, the circumstances of many were desperate and prospects for the future grim.

Undaunted by these hardships and their considerably reduced circumstances, the settlers sought what work they could find. The Bathurst Residency, long delayed in its completion by the number of unfortunate disputes that had arisen, was still an avenue for employment. William Mallett, a mason with Osler’s party joined with Thomas Marham of Bethany, James’ party’s location, and together they contracted on 5 November 1821, for slating and plastering work on the Residency to the value of £16. 10. 0d.

Lots had continued to be sold at Bathurst and houses built on them, but again, as a year earlier, ‘rust’ began to appear in the wheat and by the end of the year it was apparent to all that the wheat crop had once again failed. This was now a major calamity. Though rations were continued, they were reduced to half portions. Despite what the settlers had previously received, and even for those in dire need who had no money or hope of ever redeeming what they already owed, a parsiminous administration ruled they were only to get half a pound of rice per adult per week. Meagre indeed, but to ameliorate their difficulties, the stringent pass laws restricting settlers to their locations were relaxed and many now went in search of work, not only in Albany, but further afield if they could afford to get themselves there.

Lord Charles Somerset had by now returned to the Cape from his bride hunting furlough in England, and once again took up the reins of office as Governor.

He was furious to find the number of rather illogical decisions taken by Sir Rufane were actually detrimental to the scheme as he had originally envisaged it. He thus immediately set about reversing them. Bathurst was demoted from its pre-eminent position, which consequently caused another sharp depression when the Magistracy was summarily removed to Graham’s Town and the many settlers who had invested their small capital in establishing business premises in order that they might better serve the community, now faced ruin and impoverishment as it was quite evident the town of Bathurst would stagnate. It did and many then returned their attention to trading. Fairs were permitted at Fort Willshire and to these came the native tribesmen from beyond the Colony’s borders. James Weeks was one of the Cornish settlers who took to offering the more conventional manufactures. He and others traded tobacco and cloth in exchange for hides and skins, ivory, cut wood and simple items of use that could either be sold again in Graham’s Town or taken down to Algoa Bay and bartered there for the farming implements in such short supply. But the air of depression continued, it was no good having the basis for an exchange of goods if the majority the inhabitants, both settler and tribesmen, were so impoverished that goods and hard cash were virtually an unknown commodity amongst them. Osler left his location in April 1822 to return with his wife and five younger children to Cornwall. What remained of Osler’s party slowly broke up. Headed by John Dale, it began to disintegrate further. Osler’s daughter, Susannah and her husband decided to make their home at Simonstown where they were to be joined by her brother, Stephen Sawle Osler, who had elected not to return to Cornwall. By the beginning of 1824 William Mallett had moved away to Uitenhage and matrimony was to call Joseph Richards to a date in Graham’s Town where on 23 September that year, he was married to Sarah Attwell, the seventeen year old daughter of Richard Attwell of Crause’s party. Grace Weeks had died and the end of the year saw Charles Pearse returning to England to rejoin his wife with and family who had been unable to embark with him.

The small party of Cornish settlers, comprising only eleven men and their families at the outset, was already diminished in number by nearly half, and the few that did remain on Pendennis were to become so insignificant numerically that from then on their story melds with that of the settlement itself, conversely reflecting their great adaptability and absorption into the new country.

Source:
Dictionary of South Africa Biography Vol 5.
Cornish Immigrants to South Africa by Graham Dickason.
History of South African Rugby Football (1875 – 1932) by Ivor Difford

Further reading and resources:
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~bathonia/OslerBathFrancisConnections.htm

Osler Library – http://www.mcgill.ca/osler-library/

Acknowledgements: Michael Bath

Rev. FORBES CUMMING BOTA was born at Gildon, Baviaans River in the District of Bedford, Cape Province, on the 11th April, 1874. His father was an elder in the United Presbyterian Church at Glenthorn in the same district. He died in 1881 leaving four sons including the Rev. F. C. Bota. In 1891 Rev. Bota went to Lovedale where he qualified as a teacher. He was one of the brightest students. at Lovedale at that time. In 1897 he went to teach at Gillton, Tyumie, Cape Province, later going to Macfarlane. In 1905 he entered the Transvaal and went to teach at Zoutpansberg. In 1916 he joined the South Africa Native Labour Contingent going to France, and after the Great War he returned to South Africa and resumed teaching. In 1924 he went to Tiger’s  Kloof Institution to study theology, and in 1929 he was ordained minister of the Congregational Church. He is now stationed at 30, Doran Street, Jeppestown, Johannesburg. He is a descendant of the royal stock of the Tembus. Is married and has two daughters and one son.

Mr. C. BARLEN-DHLAMINI. Born 1872 in Natal. Had no opportunity of attending school but with the help of friends he quickly learned to read and write and afterwards coached himself as best he could. After some time he founded the Nellie Valley Townhip and established a school. Was appointed Postmaster of the village. Later the Wesleyan
Church sent him to Vryheid as an evanelist. Was secretary of the Ihiso Lomuzi at Nyanyadu, and assistant secretary of the Natal Native Vigilant Association. A frequent contributor to the Native Press.

Mr. SOLOMON BALA was born at Fort Beaufort and educated at Blvthswood. Became a teacher in mission schools. Later joined the Police Force at Tsomo, and was soon transferred as clerk in the lower grade in the Magistrate’s Office, Lusikisiki. After some time he was transferred to Port St. ‘John and from there to Mount Ayliff, where he remained until he retired on pension in 1923. Mr. Bala has lived the life of an upright Christian and is a lay preacher and sometime “steward of the Wesleyan Church. A great friend of the late Sigcau, Paramount Chief of the Pondos. Married Miss Mbuli.

Rev. JUMA RICHARDSON ALBERT ANKHOMA was born at Irehaye, Bandawe, Nyasaland. In 1891 the family moved to Dwambazi, near River Dwasulo. His father, Kassele Ankhoma, who was a warrior in the Atonga section of the tribe, married Chief Kaluluma’s sister. During the time of Dr. Henderson in Nyasaland, Rev. Ankhoma was a boy  attending school at the Training Institution at Bandawe where he spent three years. From 1901 he took part in the building of churches. In 1909 he went to Johannesburg and in 1912 became a minister of the Apostolic Faith Church of which he is now the overseer. In 1918 he was chairman of the Nyasaland National Congress.

Dr. Daniel William Alexander, Doctor of Divinity, Archbishop and Primate of the Province of South Africa and East Africa, in the African Orthodox Church-an independant Episcopal Church with apostolic succession through the Original Patriarchal See of St. Peter at Antioch.

Born 25th December, 1880, at Port Elizabeth, Cape Province. Second eldest child of Henry and Elizabeth Alexander (father a native of the French West Indies, Martinique). Educated at St. Peter’s Primary and Secondary Schools and the Sisters of Mercy (Catholic). Married Elizabeth Koster 28th August, 1901, at Pretoria. Boatbuilder by trade. Joined the British in the Anglo-Boer War, was captured at Colenso and sent to Pretoria.

After the capture of Pretoria joined the Anglican Church and was appointed chaplain at the Old Prison, eventually studying for the ministry under the Fathers Bennet and Fuller of the Community of the Resurrection, and Canons Farmer and Rev. H. Mtobi. Elected secretary of the A.P.O., Pretoria Branch, and the secretary of the committee for the purchasing of the Lady Selborne Township, Pretoria.

Resigned the Anglican Church and went to Johannesburg and joined the African Life Assurance Society as agent on their starting the Industrial Branch, and opened the Pretoria office after two and a half years. Resigned and was elected Grand True Secretary of the I.O.T.T., Northern Grand Lodge, before the separation. Re-elected 1920-21. Refused nomination 1922.
In 1924 organised the African Branch of the African Orthodox Church and was appointed Vicar-Apostolic by Bishop George A. McGuire, M.D., D.D., D.C., and in the following year was elected Bishop for the Province of South Africa. On arrival in New York was given Catholic Orders by Bishop W. E. Robertson and Archbishop McGuire respectively to the Priesthood, and on the 11th September, 1927, was consecrated Archbishop and Primate of the Province of South and East Africa, in the Church of St. Michael and All Angels, Boston, U.S. America. The Degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred by the Faculty (Honorary)) on the Archbishop.

Editor of the African Orthodox Churchman, a monthly magazine of the Province, and author of An Orthodox Catechism. Dean of the Seminary of St. Augustine for the ministerial students for the Church. Address: 3, Brimton Street, Beaconsfield, Kimberley, South Africa.

Rev. J. Z. TANTSI was a Tembu by birth and. was born at Ngcobo in the Cape Province. He worked for a number of years in the Cape Province, and afterwards went to Johannesburg where he obtained work. He became a local preacher of the Wesleyan Methodist Church. When Rev. Mokone established the Ethiopian Church Rev. Tantsi joined him, and at once studied for the ministry. After some time he was ordained a minister. He took a leading part in the affairs of the Church especially during the Ethiopian and African Methodist Episcopal Church union. He was elected a delegate to the General Conference of the Church in America.
Rev. Tantsi was the father of Dr. J. Y. Tantsi, who was educated at Wilberforce University in America. Rev. Tantsi was a good Christian gentleman, a  powerful preacher and a hard worker. He took great interest in the welfare of his people. He was much respected by those who knew him. He died at his home at Ngcobo, after rendering great service to the Church he loved. His son is to-day a presiding elder and superintendent of the church under Bishop Young.

PRINCE GWAYI TYAMZASHE was ! born at Blinkwater in the district of Fort Beaufort on the 22nd of January, 1844. He was the eldest son of Tyam. zashe; Tyamzashe, the son of Mejana, son of Oya, of the Rudulu clan, cornmonly known as the Mangwevu. Gwayi as a boy saw all the horrors of the early Kaffir Wars, and was with his mother, Nontsi, during the terrible Nongqause cattle-killing episode, while his father Tyamzashe was a head councillor at the King’s Court. At that time Sandile was the Paramount Chief of the Xosa Tribe.

After the great armed protest of the Xosas, under Sandile and his brother Anta, Gwayi and his parents became detached from the main fighting body and eventually fell into the hands of the missionaries at Dr. Love’s mission station-now known as Lovedale. The late Mr. Goven was then in charge of the mission and he soon induced the raw native fugitives to be converted. Govan actually went so far as to pay those natives who attended infant classes. Gwayi Tyamzashe liked these classes. He was followed by many other natives. The signs of progress moved quickly. Messrs. Smith and James Stewart came to Lovedale, and Gwayi and his friends soon found themselves on the highway to civilisation and education. At all times Lovedale was open to all classes of pupils, and Gwayi found himself rubbing shoulders with European pupils, amongst whom were William Henry Solomon (late Chief Justice of the Union of South Africa), his brother, Richard Solomon, Schreiner, Grimmer and others.

Soon Gwayi qualified as a teacher and taught for some years at Gqumahashe, a village just across the Tyumie River. Just at that time Tiyo Soga was reading for theology in Scotland. This caused Gwayi to leave teaching and return to Lovedale for theology. Before doing so, however, he went in for a University examination in which Latin, Greek and Hebrew were essential subjects. This examination was above the ordinary matriculation. It was a red-letter day at Lovedale when Gwayi Tyamzashe passed this examination; flags were hoisted and the day was proclaimed a exam holiday.

Gwayi completed his Theological Course in 1874 and was immediately called to the Diamond Fields. In 1884 Gwayi and his family, consisting of his wife and three children, James, Henry and Catherine, left Kimberley for the wild north-Zoutpansberg. His journey to that part of the country was a heart-breaking one; the story of which would fill a volume. Leaving Kimberley with two ox-wagons, several milch cows and a pair of horses, he slowly made his way north. There were no roads to speak of; the country was unexploed as yet; the drifts across the rivers were mere sluits and no bridges existed anywhere; the country was still wild, and, worst of all, the Dutchmen, who occupied the Transvaal, were hostile towards the black races. When Gwayi and his caravan arrived on the Witwatersrand-as Johannesburg was then called-he was arrested for having no ” pass.” He was handcuffed behind his back and hurried off to Pretoria in front of four fiery horses of the “Zarps” (Zuid Afrikaanse Republiek Poliese). His wife, however, hurried over to Pretoria and personally interviewed Oom Paul (President Paul Kruger) whereupon Gwayi was not only released, but also given a free pass to his destination.

At Zoutpansberg Gwayi Tyamzashe opened a number of mission stations which exist to this day. He lived at Zoutpansberg for six years, and on being called back to Kimberley, he returned to the Diamond Fields. It was, however, a different Gwayi that arrived at Kimberley. He was physically a mere shadow of the former Gwayi, owing to a relentless attack of asthma which he contracted in the damp and marshy country of the Zoutpansberg. He lingered for six years in Kimberley and died on the 25th October, 1896. Prior to his death he had a serious case against the European Church Union which culminated in victory for him in the Supreme Court at Capetown.

Rev. J. TWAALA was born in Natal where he received his early education. He became a teacher and after some time he studied for the ministry of the Wesleyan Methodist Church. He was a very brilliant speaker, a powerful preacher and a hard worker. He was very progressive and took great interest in the welfare of his people. For a number of years he was in charge of the Wesleyan Church in Johannesburg. During his time the congregation grew very large. He was respected by both the Europeans and natives of the circuits to which he was appointed minister. He died during the influenza epidemic at Witbank on the same day that his wife died.