Just Off the Highway | Ep 43 | Forgotten in the Veld: Mission to rescue neglected heritage
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ส.ค. 2024
- Near Alberton in Johannesburg, Al Prodgers goes Just off the Highway to find a neglected memorial to a tragic rail collision in 1927, but the journey to uncover the story behind the event is a detective trail that spans three continents.
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So interesting! Thanks for keeping South African history alive!
My pleasure. Thank you for your encouraging comment.
This was great. Please dont stop as Heritage seems to have taken a back seat in South Africa
Thanks Njabulo! I'll keep going as long as I can.
Somebody cared enough to plant some beautiful trees. How sad that the graves of those poor, bewildered people are not shaded from the unforgiving weather, as was intended.
What a heart-breaking story.
Thank you so much for telling us!
Yes, the remembrance has been desecrated. Thanks for your comment.
Excellent detective work, Al.
What always shocks me is how fast history is forgotten. Not even 100 years ago and no-one remembers anything about it. Very sad state of affairs.
I have come to the conclusion that 25 years after one dies, many people still miss you. 50 years after you die, a couple of your oldest grandchild still remember you. 100 years after you die, no-one even knows who you were.
Yes. Sad, but true. Makes me wonder about my own priorities. Thanks for commenting.
That was so awesome I subscribed instantly after the podcast. Love the old Toyota. Fantastic to see a south african channel featureing our country loved it.
Thanks for your kind and encouraging words, Andre! I make new episodes as often as I can, but not as often as I'd like, so please stay subscribed for notifications.
@@JustOfftheHighway I will do
A piece of lost history.... interesting and just down the road....
Yes. Only about 60km out of Johannesburg.
Well done Chum. I'm not easily impressed but after listening to this episode, I'm floored. Fantastic work from all concerned.
Thank you very much! Glad you enjoyed it.
May their souls rest in peace
Yes. R.I.P.
Haai Al, baie dankie! It does my heart wonders to watch your videos! I'm just as disturbed as you are by the condition of this memorial, especially since it does not seem like it would be a massive undertaking. The hard work would be to adjust our culture to start treasuring places such as these, which will need education. Thankfully the education has now started with this video of yours, so let's keep up the momentum!
Thanks for your comment, Jan. Absolutely! We have to make a choice to remember, respect and preserve.
Since writing the above, I did a quick search on where loco 196 now lives, and it turns out that it's not very far from where I live here in the South East of England. The Mizens Railway is a miniature railway, so having the full-size 196 sitting just inside the property as a "gate guardian" adds quite a bit of interest - even though we cannot ignore the stark contrast between the current reality and it's previous life. Here is a Google Maps pin where you will find 196's latest resting place: maps.app.goo.gl/XVeD5yw26ud1mLDi6
I'm thinking of getting hold of the Mizens staff to explore the possibility of setting up a small memorial plaque next to 196 to act as a "twin" of sorts to the memorial there in the middle of the veld.
Wow! That is a brilliant idea.
Well done on your investigation. So interesting.
Thank you very much!
Have lived in SA for over 35 years , now living in Ireland , did a lot of traveling in SA , been to Retief Pas and the Kaalvoetvrou Monument, would like to know more about it . First time go have watched your videos , great stuff.
Thanks for that suggestion. I've been to that monument and I think it could be a significant part of a great story.
I grew up in the eastrand very close to Alberton, IL go check it out❤ my mom worked for the municipality... we can check who owns the land
That would be fantastic! Thank you. Please do let me know if you get an answer.
Goog article?
This is a sad but wonderful story. It is very important to look after our monuments. Thank you for this.
Hi Etta, thanks for your comment. I agree.
Thank YOU So Much I respect You and your work
That makes me feel great. Thanks for your comment. I really appreciate it.
Very interesting and sad!
It is indeed. Thanks for your comment?
Dankie ! You are realĺy a 'man on a mission'.....
Dis 'n plesier! Yes, it would probably take a few lifetimes well spent to make a dent in all the fascinating stories, but I'm loving the bits I can do.
Wow! Humanity...❤
Courage and sacrifice, indeed.
Al, you are a master story teller! Great content
Thanks very much for that compliment. Glad you're enjoying.
Wow! What an intriguing story. I do hope more light will be shed on this somehow. Great job Al!
Thanks so much. Yes, it's a fascinating story, still incomplete. I've already received a few more clues in the comments.
I loved this video on hidden history. Thank you.
My pleasure! There are so many stories to tell before they get lost or destroyed.
I thank you. For your job keep it up 👆
Will do. Thank you!
Thank you for this beautiful and very sad story.
Thanks for commenting. I'm very glad you enjoyed it.
What an interesting story. Thank you.
Thanks for watching and for your words of encouragement.
The audio quality is on point , and attentionable ❤️
Thank you. I do my best.
What a wonderful story, thank you.
The dead trees, as well as the digging next to the memorial, are making me more curious.
As for myself, I also have a heart for preserving our history.
Hi Fanie, previous comments called it "treasure hunting". I suspect that's a polite term for grave robbery, but there was no actual grave. And the trees might have been cut down for firewood? Thanks for your comment. I started the channel in the hope that I could connect to others with an interest in preserving heritage and I'm hugely heartened that so many people are responding. 🙏
Wow 1927
It would be good if this memorial survives long enough to make it to its centenary.
Thank you Al, as usual you bring the best ,please keep it up, I look forward to more (And thank you Michel)
Thanks so much! Will do.
Hello AL, been living in Alberton for seventy four years....traveled from Alberton Station many many times.
Alberton heritage in decay....Alberton Townhall so neglected, old Police station also....
Other countries keep their historical buildings....but, sadly we don't.
Thank you for a really wonderful channel.
Hi Veronica, thanks for commenting. Yes, as I travel round I see much of value that is being lost/destroyed, but dedicated people are still working hard to preserve what they can.
Lekker om in Afrikaans te Kan tik op youtube, I love your videos, dankie nogmaals vir jou mooi videos, once again thanks
Dankie vir die kommentaar. Dis heeltemal 'n voorreg en 'n plesier om bietjie deur die land te reis en videos te maak.
I thoroughly enjoyed this🔥👌 A thick slice of local history 🇿🇦 I admire your passion and dedication in searching for answers and giving us a satisfying story. Thank you sir🙏🏻
Thanks! It's a privilege to be able to bring them to you.
Grateful towards your Passion
Hi Herman, thanks for your encouraging words.
So interesting, well done 👍
Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Incredible point in history we need to perserve it.
Agreed. I wish we could find out who is responsible for protecting it.
An intriguing story. Probably brushed under the carpet quickly by the authorities.
Makes you wonder. Bad publicity had a way of falling down the memory hole.
I love your investigative videos Al !
Thank you!
What an intriguing tale! I'm sure most (if not all) the viewers share your frustration with the lack of information. Thanks, however, for your diligent research and most interesting and entertaining way of sharing it.
Thanks for your encouraging comment!
If you are concerned about neglected memorial stones, you may want to investigate the memorial for the Irish, who fought and died for the Boer republics, during the second Anglo Boer war. It’s in front of your house, at the foot of the Brixton (Sentech) tower, close to the sports grounds and the SABC buildings.
I remember that monument. I believe it has been moved to Orania.
A fascinating interesting story. Very sad for those times.
Yep. So many loose ends as well. Thanks for commenting. 👍
Wow! Great research done for this episode. And Al, you just bring it together so well in your storytelling. Very well done! Thanks!
Thank you so much for your interesting program. Looking forward to your next episode.😊😢
Thanks so much for your kind comment and generous support, Ulandi!
@@Wilma-gz2qm My pleasure. Thanks for your kind comment. I'm glad you're enjoying Just Off the Highway.
You out did yourself with this one Al. I agree. The sadness that the locomotive has been restored but the memories of those on those delapidated stones is such a terrible yet stark contrast. Surely SAR knows?
Thanks! I will see if I can contact someone and send them the episode. Whether or not anyone will care...
@@JustOfftheHighway It's a vital piece of SA history. Is there not a heritage committee that at the very least can clear up the site? Not that it will help. I lived in the old railway houses in PE across from the railway yard. Place is delapidated now. PE heritage asked questions online about it and I was able to fill in some history for them, having lived there. They want it declared a heritage site too but I guess there are no funds for a restoration. It's Girdlestone street in PE if you want to see it and it's across from a railway museum called the South End museum. Strangely, I loved across from it but never went in. My grandmother even died on that intersection when a drunk driver drove into her and my grandfather. Had to cross it every day to get to school. Gosh, if I had the money to buy it or restore it, I would. You're good at solving mysteries. If you're ever interested,you could help me solve one. My dad and his brother presumably was in an accident on the same street, the same weekend, perhaps even the same night as 'the ghost og Uniondale'. He doesn't remember anything from the accident other than his brother died.
Good day Al. I enjoy your videos. This one made me think.
You know that some places you pass frequently without realy noticing it. Then one day.... It happened to me.
On the corner on the tollroad between Riebeeckstad and Theunisen at the Harmony Road entrance is a graveyard. In all my searches I could only find out it might be a mine graveyard. Old lady alone I would love to walk there but rather not for safety sake.
How I first found out about it, was on Google Maps. I searched for Virginia graveyard when this one came on.
Maybe you might be more successful to find out what is the story behind these graves.
Hi Cornelia, thanks for your comment. Sounds intriguing. I will certainly have a look.
Nice one Al - great fact and story.
Thanks, Rob! Glad you enjoyed this one.
Thanks that was a very informative story perhaps you can look at alberts farm in johannesburg some time it has 3 memorial stones like that and the only natural spring in johannesburg
Thanks for the info. I didn't know that, and I will put it on the list to check out.
I hope someone can give more details. Those days gathering info wasn't very easy. My late brother-in-law managed the then Pietersburg workshop. When they were alerted of a derailment or accident they downed tools & sped to the scene. I'm surprised that it took so long for people to arrive at this scene of the accident.
I guess the longest delay was notifying someone of the tragedy. Communication systems were far less effective.
Also some 'treasure hunting' took place in front of the memorial stone.
Somebody was definitely digging where a grave would have been.
Absolute disgrace 😢 why were the trees copped down. So sad
Very interesting and amazing research👌
Glad you enjoyed it. Thank you.
Great programme - well done!
Thanks very much for your encouraging words.
Thank you interesting ❤
My pleasure. Thanks for commenting.
Very interesting, thank you. I looked on the map at Glenroy & Mapleton, unless I missed something, the spot is near Tsakane, Brakpan area? Very sad that the steam engine is not in our own Railway museum, there is one in George. I would love to see this monument restored and made a special place, it deserves to be well preserved.
Hi Dale, yes, it's close by. Not much chance of it being restored though. It might be only a short time before it's destroyed altogether, perhaps for the stone.
Vind dit interresant dat daar soveel bome rondom die gedenksteen geplant was .
Ek glo die 'Skatte jagter' het 'n Bloutjie geloop !
Hy het beslis nie gekry waarvoor hy gesoek het nie.
Amazing. Would love to know the story behind the stone.
You and me both. Unfortunately, that was all I could find. Thanks for commenting.
Hi Al,
Awesome historic and iconic inside into a forgotten part of history. Keep it up.
Do you know if the pictures of the fatal and tragic accident you found and showed in the video the actual accident?
Reason i ask is the loco 196 is a NGR tank loco and as far as i know they came to Natal as tank locos. Belpaire boiler 4-8-2 T. Known as a Dubs loco to some. Some mods were made over the years to them for extra coal but kept the tanks. Even in the years they ended up on mines.
The wreck images show a non tank engine, belpaire boiler 4-8-2 i think (cant see the leading and trailing wheel sets). Therefore a class 7 or maybe a class 5?
There is some Wikipedia stuff available but would like to see if books can confirm it.
End of the day all this does not really matter. Tragic lives and a story are lost and great to hear the story and remember the lives.
Good work and keep it up
Regards,
Paul
Hi Paul, as far as we were able to research, I believe the photos are from the actual accident. Unfortunately, I don't have the knowledge to look at the details like you did. (Until I started researching this story, the only tank engine I'd ever heard of was named Thomas. 😜) Could it be that the photo shows the other engine involved in the collision? Perhaps that one is of the type you describe? We used the only source materials we could find, but it is entirely possible that the internet fooled us. Thanks for your comment. I'm glad you enjoyed the story. Cheers, Al
Amazing content superb production. Im subscribed. Dankie vir local content ❤❤❤
Thanks! 🙏 I appreciate your support. Please share the episodes you like to help the channel grow.
Love your car
Thanks! She's a beaut and fun to drive.
Perhaps this would be a project for one of the High Schools in Alberton???Alnerton High ???
I wonder who chopped the trees down?
That question bothered me too. I thought perhaps for firewood, I can't be sure.
@@JustOfftheHighway One of the stumps (the left-most one at timecode 08:00 and onwards) seems to have burn-marks on it. It is likely that locals needed firewood, or that there could have been a major veld-fire in the recent past.
It looks like those trees died of the black plague.
They should have left a few trees. It is so desolate!
The Railways should at least put the names of the deceased & what happened on another stone. The actual story should be out there. The fact that the convicts assisted is equally important.
The same comment as above did a fantastic job
Absolutely
Thank you very much!
Thank you for the south african content im now officially subscribed
Thanks! I appreciate your support.
❤
🙏
Wow !
Thank you. The story stunned me too.
❤❤❤❤
🙏
🌹
Thanks!
Thank you …very interesting.
Thanks for your comment. Glad you enjoyed it.
You will cry if you travel to Winburg in the "Free State" ..... so many vandelised graves from the Anglo Boer war. Both those of the British and Boer cemeteries. The locals have vandelised and destroyed most of the tombstones. It is a disgrace and shameful!!!
So sad and such a disgrace 😢
That is awful. The graves of the fallen should always be respected. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is usually very good at maintaining them.
Ek staan verstom!
Ek kon dit ook nie glo nie.
The fact that this tragedy wasn't even printed in local papers, shows how strictly information was controlled in the colony..
Part of the tragedy is that an Australian newspaper was what provided information.
Possibly control, but I'm guessing that SA newspapers haven't uploaded all their old editions the way other countries have done.
Shouldn't the railways be responsible to upkeep the place? It would be good to have the story told on a plaque so that it will not be forgotten again.
The fact that the train is in the UK just might preserve it. Look at the future (which is none) of the examples at Nylstroom and Polokwane. They are rusting away and used as sleeping place for vandals and nyope users. Check it out.😢
I suppose just like the railways has fallen apart, that would mean absolutely nothing to them 😢
A sad situation. Many lost opportunities.
Who cut down the trees?
Don't know. Could be people making firewood.
That bothers me too. So sad
Al. I know of a story. That. Happened between. Morgenson. And. Standerton. Where. The. Farmer. Had. Drought and. He. Shot. At. The sky. And. The. Lightning struck. Him. Dead. And. The ground. Left. Footprints behind. And. A. Another story. Played. Of. Just. Outside. Villiers on. A. Farm.
You make some really good points. 😉
Hi Jan, that sounds fascinating. If you'd like to share more details, please email me at the address below the episode.
The American Indians say if you want rain, shoot an arrow at the sun.
Cutting the trees down for firewood is a tangible indication of how little respect there is for South Africa's amazing past. Intentional?. Try follow what was a route of events that shaped this country - most vandalised and stripped of anything usable . Al , I'm just as frustrated as you are - is there an answer?. Just plain shocking.
I think many people are uninterested in heritage, simply because they are struggling day-today to survive. Others like to show their contempt by neglecting or destroying. Either way, the worst course is passivity and despair. I believe in keeping stories alive. Stories are far more resilient than stone.