My grandfather, William Duckitt, and his wife (whose
maiden name was Mary Whitbread), with their three sons,
William, Fred and Charles, came over from Esher in Surrey
early in 1800. My grandfather held an appointment in the
Treasurer-General’s office in London ; he was asked by the
Hon. H. Dundas, who was then in the Ministry, to go out
to the Cape and superintend the establishing of model farms
in suitable localities, as everything in the shape of cereals,
hay, etc., was so inferior and fearfully expensive. So
we inherited the love of farming and gardening from our
ancestors. In an old journal written by my grandfather
there is an interesting account of the voyage to the Cape in
a man-of-war ; he brought out a staff of thirty servants, also
farming implements, some stock, sheep and cows. They
I4. B
MY OLD HOME
had exciting times on board, having been fired on in the
Bay of Biscay by a French frigate, and returning a
broadside ! What the result was he does not say — but they
ultimately arrived safely in Simons Bay, and began farming
operations as soon as they landed, planting fruit trees on
what I fancy must have been the spot where the Admiralty
gardens now are. My grandfather must have been wonder-
fully active, from what he says of the long distances he rode
on horseback. He had the choice of three farms, and finally
settled at Claver Valley, where he afterwards died.
Groote Poste, in the near neighbourhood, which became
my father’s property in 1839, had been built in the old
Colonial style, with its quaint high gables and neat
brown thatch, and long wings of flat roofs on either side,
a mixture of Dutch and oriental, built in 1808, very
likely by masons from Batavia. This dear old place,
was prettily placed on a slope, which necessitated the
front part of the house having a high stoep and cellars
underneath — which cellars were most useful for storing
wine, fruit, winter pumpkins, etc. The rooms were all
on the same floor, and above were spacious lofts for
storing grain and winter pears and quinces. This most
delightful of homesteads had been built for, or became
the property of, Lord Charles Somerset — one of the
early Governors of the Cape — who had a sort of model
farm there, and frequently resorted to it for shooting.
Groote Poste was admirably situated — to the north lay a
panorama of five hills, on the middle one of which,
“ Capoc Berg ” (? Kapot, “ cloak,” perhaps from the white
cloud which often rests on it), is an interesting monument
or beacon, erected by Sir Thomas Maclear, the then
Astronomer Royal, who took many valuable surveys and
2
MY OLD HOME
observations from there. Standing on that hill one gets
a lovely view of the country for almost one hundred
miles round.
Table Mountain stands due south, and from no other
place have I ever seen so perfect a view of the “ Table ” and
“ Twelve Apostles.” On the west the wide Atlantic
stretches before your gaze, with only little “ Dassen Island ”
like a speck on the horizon, and further off Robben (2. e.
Seal) Island, and many a time has one seen the lights
from the different lighthouses, and those on the Green
Point shore, when riding over the hills in the evening.
Page 1
Presented as published in 1902. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
My grandfather, William Duckitt, and his wife (whose maiden name was Mary Whitbread), with their three sons, William, Fred and Charles, came over from Esher in Surrey early in 1800. My grandfather held an appointment in the Treasurer-General’s office in London ; he was asked by the Hon. H. Dundas, who was then in the Ministry, to go out to the Cape and superintend the establishing of model farms in suitable localities, as everything in the shape of cereals, hay, etc., was so inferior and fearfully expensive. So we inherited the love of farming and gardening from our ancestors. In an old journal written by my grandfather there is an interesting account of the voyage to the Cape in a man-of-war ; he brought out a staff of thirty servants, also
farming implements, some stock, sheep and cows. They
had exciting times on board, having been fired on in the Bay of Biscay by a French frigate, and returning a broadside ! What the result was he does not say — but they ultimately arrived safely in Simons Bay, and began farming operations as soon as they landed, planting fruit trees on what I fancy must have been the spot where the Admiralty gardens now are. My grandfather must have been wonderfully active, from what he says of the long distances he rode on horseback. He had the choice of three farms, and finally settled at Claver Valley, where he afterwards died.
Groote Poste, in the near neighbourhood, which became my father’s property in 1839, had been built in the old Colonial style, with its quaint high gables and neat brown thatch, and long wings of flat roofs on either side, a mixture of Dutch and oriental, built in 1808, very likely by masons from Batavia. This dear old place, was prettily placed on a slope, which necessitated the front part of the house having a high stoep and cellars underneath — which cellars were most useful for storing wine, fruit, winter pumpkins, etc. The rooms were all on the same floor, and above were spacious lofts for storing grain and winter pears and quinces. This most delightful of homesteads had been built for, or became the property of, Lord Charles Somerset — one of the early Governors of the Cape — who had a sort of model farm there, and frequently resorted to it for shooting. Groote Poste was admirably situated — to the north lay a panorama of five hills, on the middle one of which, “ Capeoc Berg ” (? Kapot, “ cloak,” perhaps from the white cloud which often rests on it), is an interesting monument or beacon, erected by Sir Thomas Maclear, the then
Astronomer Royal, who took many valuable surveys and
observations from there. Standing on that hill one gets a lovely view of the country for almost one hundred miles round.
Table Mountain stands due south, and from no other place have I ever seen so perfect a view of the “ Table ” and “ Twelve Apostles.” On the west the wide Atlantic stretches before your gaze, with only little “ Dassen Island ” like a speck on the horizon, and further off Robben (2. e. Seal) Island, and many a time has one seen the lights from the different lighthouses, and those on the Green Point shore, when riding over the hills in the evening.