A TOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 224, 22 September 1925, Page 8

A TOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA.

THE TRANSVAAL,

(By FREDERICK STUBBS, F.R.G.5..)

From the beautiful Province of Natal, described in a previous article, I passed into the Transvaal (literally across the Yaal), and as one of the principal obI jects of these articles is to give information that may be useful concerning the various countries I spend my life in visiting, I hope the reader will bear with mc whilst 1 give some description of this wealthy region. The area is 110.450 square miles, somewhat larger than New Zealand, and twice as large as England 'and Wales. The population is 2,100,000, of whom 550,000 are Europeans. Much of it is from 5000 to 0000 feet above sea level; dry, sunny, cold in winter, hot in summer, less beautiful than some of the other provinces, healthy. At the lower elevations it is wet, foggy, and less healthy. Fruit and tobacco are grown freely, and herds of cattle. But the natural wealth of the Transvaal lies, ot course, ehielly in its marvellous mineral I deposits, especially its gold, which 1 shall ! describe in my next article. | The Transvaal came to bo occupied by i Europeans owing to the dissatisfaction of 'the Boers (not without justification) with j the British Government of Cape Colony. | Hence began the Great Trek of 1831, which, gave the impetus, continued many years, until at last it took the trekkei . across the V'aal, and U>d to the foundation of Pretoria. The old-time Boers were often ignorant, obstinate, bigoted men, difficult to manage; 'but they were hardy, brave, enterprising, great hunters, witn a passion for liuerty, loving solitude and wide spaces. And so they trekked 'with their ox wagons and cattle, year after year, lighting wild men and wild ; beasts, and lire and blood, until they secured the conditions that promised freedom and prosperity. With the death lin 1853, of Andries Pretorius, last of the famous leaders of tho Great Trek, the long migration came to an end, and in 185(5 the South African Republic was proclaimed with M. W. Pretorius, son of the old leader, as President. Pretoria. In 1860 it was decided to build a new capital, and so, a thousand miles from Capo Town, Pretoria, called after the President of the Republic, arose. PreI torius was succeeded some years later (by his lieutenant, Paul Kruger, who. tliough an uneducated man, yet by native ability and force of character, ruled his people with wisdom and moderation for 20 years, right up to the time of the great Boer War. After the war the Transvaal became a British possession, and in 1910, on the union of the four provinces, Pretoria was established aa the administrative capital oi the Union. It is one of the most beautiful cities I know, with fine well-paved thoroughfares, splendid buildings, lovely parks, beautiful gardens, and suburbs, and excellent climate. It is situated at an attitude of 4471 feet, and occupies a long narrow valley situated between two low ranges of hills. The population is 03,000, of whom more than half are Europeans. Most of the streets are laid out in regular parallelograms, and many of them have been planted with ' avenues of oak, willow, jacaranda, and plane trees. Indeed, one of the streets I drove through presented an avenue of colour more glorious, I think, than I have ever seen elsewhere. There are I a number of fine buildings in Pretoria,, including the residence of the GovernorGeneral. ! The Union Buildings. j The Administration buildings are the ' finest in the world. Two million five hundred pounds have been spent upon them. They are situated a mile outside the city, and the site consists of a series of wide terraces, rising higher | and higher, and forming a worthy i approach to the main buildings. These are of classic style, and consist of a great range of buildings built in cream and red free-stone on a base of granite, , stretching along the side of the hill, in part like a splendid Italian palace, with | loggias and stately columns, and foun- j tains playing; elsewhere is a semi-circular | colonnade that forma «i wide Greek : Amphitheatre, the crescent points of | which are marked by domed towers, each ! surmounted by a bronze statue of Atlas holding aloft the world. The view from i these buildings is magnificent, including' 'as it does the whole city with its miles lof tree-bordered streets, its pretty resijdences, its public parks, its buildings and , squares, and away to the west, a long | range of mountains. ! Another unforgettable visit I paid was Ito the Zoological Gardens, with their : spacious well-laid-out gardens, their semi- , tropical vegetation, and fine collection of I animals —one of the prettiest zoological gardens I know of, though certainly not equal to that of Sydney. The aviary is said to be the second largest in the I | world, that of New York being first. Kuger's Cottage. ] Kruger's house also proved quite inter-' esting. It is really only a good-sized cottage. A large number of Kruger mementoes are kept there, including the ■ chair on which the old man sat each ! morning on the stoep (verandah), aim received all and sundry. Many years ago, Queen Victoria sent Kruger a girt lof two stone lions, but the President hated everything English, so tbe lions were purposely dumped on the veldt and lost. To-day, however, those same British lions 6tand on either side of the three steps, leading to the stoep. There must have been much that was lovable about tbe old man, for his memory is still held in veneration by the Boers, and a fine monument has 'been placed in Princess Park. On Sunday, I visited both the Cathedral and the very fine Presibyterian Church. The latter is built in Cathedral style, has an exceptionally fine organ and choir, and the service itself is more ornate than any Presbyterian service I have seen outside Scot-, land. I was interested and pleased to | learn that the able minister sometimes conducts the service in the Episcopal : Cathedral, while the Bishop of Pretoria leads the worship of the Presbyterians— a most sensible and Christian procedure.!