Landmark deteriorates
2008-11-27
Marguerite Lombard
WELLINGTON’S blockhouse could be one of the town’s great tourist attractions, but instead it has become a place for vandals and vagrants. The Department of Public Works (DPW), which owns the property, says it does not have the funds to re- store the building. According to Dimitri Georgeades of the DPW in Cape Town, the most realistic solution would be for the Wellingtonners to raise at least a portion of the money needed to do the renovation work. The local community police forum should also be approached to help police the property and to prevent vandalism. For years the Wellington Municipality took care of the property, but stopped doing so in the 1990s when it discovered that the property was owned by the government. Even then it took the DPW some time to confirm that it did indeed own the blockhouse. Today the building is overgrown, and vandalised. The blockhouse was built during the South African War (1899-1902) and is on the Hermon road just north of Wellington’s station. The multi-storey stone building is built on the Krom River and is one of the most southerly blockhouses built by the British to protect major routes and safeguard British supply lines. The blockhouse could play an important role in providing the public with information on local history and how the war impacted the British and Boers living in the town. The British had a large encampment near Wellington’s station, and throughout the war the station area was a hive of activity with hospital trains arriving with the sick and wounded, and supply trains full of troops, horses and wagons leaving for the battlefields in the north. Several smaller forts made from corrugated iron sheeting were also built in Wellington - one was on the corner of Church and Fontein Streets. These forts were all dismantled after the war. The DPW visited the Wellington blockhouse site in September, and according to their assessment it could cost well over R100 000 to renovate the building and make it accessible to tourists. The roof and the wooden floor inside the building will have to be replaced, and a platform could be added to allow visitors to view the interior of the blockhouse. Other suggestions include a low wooden fence that would be less prone to vandalism, a gravelled road, and lighting at night that could help protect the building from vandalism.
More
News
|
