Part 1 | From the towering inlet to the town that disappeared forever | Oviston to Midshaft
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- Опубліковано 22 сер 2024
- In this, part 1 of a 3 part series of videos, we start our journey at Oviston on the banks of the Gariep Dam where the inlet tower of the tunnel is located. We then slowly work our way southwards along the R390, over the Vaalkrans Pass and onto the ruins of the 2nd town, Midshaft.
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Music: JoyStock and UA-cam Music Library
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Thanks guys!! Thanks for documenting the jewel that was South Africa. A first world country in a third world continent. How sad that 300 years of development is being eroded by incompitance and greed. Sadly, all to soon, all that will remain are your wonderfull videos.
Well done to you both!!!!🙏🙏🙏👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Hi Lionel. Thanks for your message, we really appreciate it. Glad to hear you enjoyed the videos. We can only hope that the future will bring us a good, positive outcome - if not for us, then for our children and our grandchildren. Thanks again for your positive feedback. Keep well. Best regards, Wayne and Lynda.
I worked two seasons as the Lifesaver at the Oviston swimming pool. It was an awesome and idyllic time of life. In 2022 my wife and I did a " back to our youth" road trip. So sad to see the pool insuch a dilapidated condition.
I was a schoolboy in Venterstad School in 1967(right next door to Oviston) and then was moved over to Oviston School when it was established. My dad was a construction worker and was part of the Oviston tunnel, Hendrik Verwoerd dam project(now Gariep Dam)
Wonderful memories of a wonderful time and part of the reason of my great and undying love of the Karoo..
Hello Ron. You can be very proud of your Dad having worked on those projects!
We lived in Midshaft in the very early part of the 1970s (1971-73) and went to school in Steynsburg (std 6) and stayed in the boarding school while my stepdad worked on the tunnel. We also lived on a farm just outside of Steynsburg for a while called Kalkfontein. Good carefree days.
We know the farm Kalkfontein. It would be very interesting to hear what was life like during those years at Midshaft. Keep well. Best regards, Wayne and Lynda.
Hi. It was really carefree days. Did a lot of horse riding in the veld and riding young calves in the kraal while on the farm. Midshaft and Steynsburg was just as great. Loved the school @WaywardWilderness
@KingdomLifestyleMinistries Thanks for sharing your story. I hope these videos bought back some good memories for you? Keep well. Best regards, Wayne and Lynda.
Great video , thanks
Thanks David, really appreciate your message. Best regards, Wayne and Lynda.
Imagine what the ANC would have paid for a tunnel like this today, considering what they pay for a 10m bridge over a stream. And imagine how long it would take to complete, if ever.😂
Ummm...the ANC would have scuttled the whole project. Firstly they would employed the wekas to be...Race, Gender and Stupidity would have been their injuredneers Secondly, they would have noo monies left to have completed the projects. As they would have stolen the lot, another milking cow would have gone down the drain...🤑🤢😵💫
Yup, those were the days......
Thank you for making this video. I lived in Oviston from 1972 to 1977 second from the end on the right of mopane road. I did sub a and b at the junior school at the end of the road which looks like its now Siloam village. My dad worked on the tunnel at that time before we moved onto Mossel bay where he built the Gouritz bridge, finished in 1977. Onto Hong Komg to do the mtrc underground after that, then back to Pretoria in 1985 to do phase 1 of the HDTC water tunnel in Lesotho. We had great times as a family at the swimming pools and the weekly movie night at the town hall, now destroyed unfortunately, I remember watching ‘Sammy going south’, the first movie that made an impression on me at around 7 years old. There were a lot of different nationalities working there, tunnellers are a close bunch and often travel to jobs together, Italians especially i remember. There was also a Brit the next road up who we were friends with who was related to the founder of the scouts back in the UK. We ended up with their dog Emma who travelled with us all the way to Klein Brack while on the Gouritz job eventually. I still have my medal from the Spring Walk where we walked to Venterstad and back, i made it to the road junction and got a silver medal, seemed far for me!
Hi Mark. Thanks very much for your comment. What a great story, and so many great memories. You certainly got around and got to see a lot. Your dad must have some amazing stories to tell. Thanks for sharing. Keep well. Best regards, Wayne and Lynda.
This is a good documentary...thank you so much🤙🏻
Hi there. Thank you so much for your message. It means a lot to us that you guys enjoy what we do. Keep well. Best regards, Wayne and Lynda.
Thank you as a 75 old, this make at first sad but then i felt proud about that i could help to fight on our borders that these type of contracts could be finished to help our farmers in the Eastern Cape. All was not invain yet.😢😢
Hello Kobus. Thank you, we owe a lot to past generations of countrymen and woman who made our country great. Glad you enjoyed the videos. Keep well. Best regards, Wayne and Lynda.
I was one of 2 subA pupils in the first year the school opened. The other sun A was a girl called charmaine wiese.. Remember the old and new swimming pool.. our family left in 1968.. oviston was complete and my dads next job was in PE
Hi Grant. Thanks for sharing your story. I hope these videos bought back some good memories for you? Keep well. Best regards, Wayne and Lynda.
Great video in uk much water infrastructure is Victorian in origin..
Canals Resovoirs Railways Viaduvts etc were mostly built by the great Victorian engineers, Brunel Stevenson etc.
The design engineer was British, and there were engineers etc from other countries involved in the construction of the tunnel. There were Brits, Italians and French as well I think. There were political reasons for involving foreign engineers in the project.
Dear Wayne and Lynda. I came across part 3 so I watched this series backwards. 🤣 Thank you for your insight, research and the presentation which I thought was very good! I have been to the Gariep Dam when it was overflowing a decade ago, a very impressive event indeed! Amaising that you were able to get those videos of the swimming pools in part 3 from so long ago! I have respect for the workforce that spent a decade constructing this project. Well at least under the then Verwoerd (assassinated in 1966) Government the Ministers of Agriculture and Water Works had the insight to channel water from the dam right through to the Eastern Cape to assist our farmers those days! I guess that in our modern times is is more important to spend and build multi billion rand soccer stadiums etc etc that rather spend money on sustaining our agriculture sector amongst other national strategic sectors. I enjoyed your 3 part series, well done, stay well and healthy and safe travels going forward. Andre, Port Alfred. Ok, I''ve just watched another you tube video on the same subject and I see where you got the vintage videos and pictures from!
Hello André. Thanks for taking the time to watch all the videos especially since you started at part 3 😀. You are quite correct about having the foresight to build such a project, especially if you consider that the Dam and the tunnel go hand in hand - quite amazing. We learnt a lot during the filming of the series, so always good to hear that our viewers gained something from the videos. Thanks so much for your message, we really appreciate it. Keep well. Best regards, Wayne and Lynda.
@@WaywardWildernessThanks for the awesome response it is much appreciated. Have a great day and be safe.b Best regards, Andre.
I enjoyed the video, thank you for making the effort to produce it. How did you arrange access via the farm to travel down the pass to Teebus? Who did you contact?
Hi there. Glad to hear you enjoyed the video. I had to get special permission from the land owner to get access to the farm. I am not sure if he would allow too many people access through the property as there are a number of locked gates that need to be unlocked etc. I would probably have to arrange access and ask if we could take a guided group through - but even this might not work.
Baie interesante i ligting in die video.
Die musiek is egter bietjie steurend en die video is onnodig langdradig! Wie wil nou graag na afgebreekte huise se fondsies vir so ń lang tyd kyk‽
Hello Daan. Baie dankie vir jou kommentaar. Ek neem kennis van alles wat hier gesê word, so leer mens. Groete en mooi bly.
WTF..
is wrong with South Africa...now...😢😮😢.
Politics that divide South Africans and avarice evil.
Simple reason, those days we had builders who took bricks and concrete to build structures like these. Today we take what these builders built and turn it into bricks and concrete again.
You know what went wrong. !!!!!
I would really like to know how does thi tower exactly work to transfer the water up then down to the tunnel every time I look at it it just puzzles me
Under time and under budget?
It must have been a massive under taking. Had to be built in conjunction with the Dam.
Its an interesting place to see I have never heard of but is fenced off or is there any excess roads somewhere to get to the town ruins
It is fenced off and is now private property, so no access unfortunately.
The music is very distracting and does NOT enhance you video. Sorry.
Hi Erroll. Thanks very much for your feedback. I will definitely keep this in mind for future videos. Appreciate you letting me know. Best regards, Wayne and Lynda.
My thought as well, about the music. Great vids! Thanks!
Hi Alan. Thanks very much for your comment. As mentioned, will keep this in mind. Best regards, Wayne and Lynda.
Your music is so loud I can not hear one word you are saying.
Ag really. Despite the visual which speak for themselves and maybe reading up a bit your moan is volhme of the narrators voice. Have you tried earphones or plug in speakers?
You do no credit to the video by having the jarring music, so gave up watching
Hi Peter. Thanks for your comment. As mentioned in the earlier comments, I will definitely keep this in mind for future videos - all part of the learning process. Best regards, Wayne and Lynda.
So enjoyed this piece of history. Your drone footage is brilliant. Thanks.
Hi Jennifer, thanks very much. Glad you enjoyed the video. Keep well. Best regards, Wayne and Lynda.
I FIND YOUR VIDEOS AWESOME..MUSIC AND ALL...I ALSO FEEL A STRONG SENSE OF NOSTALGIA WHEN LOOKING AT RUINS OF THE PAST...YES GODS WORD IS TRUE...EVERYTHING HAS A BEGINNING AND AN END...AGOOD THING WHEN THINGS WERE BAD ...AND A SAD THING WHEN TIMES WERE GLAD... THANK YOU❤
Hello Ellen. Thanks so much for your comment. Glad to hear you enjoyed the videos. Keep well. Best regards, Wayne and Lynda.
I worked two seasons as the Lifesaver at the Oviston swimming pool. It was an awesome and idyllic time of life. In 2022 my wife and I did a " back to our youth" road trip. So sad to see the pool insuch a dilapidated condition.
I worked two seasons as the Lifesaver at the Oviston swimming pool. It was an awesome and idyllic time of life. In 2022 my wife and I did a " back to our youth" road trip. So sad to see the pool insuch a dilapidated condition.
Hi Robert. Thanks for your message. That must have been a great experience and I can only imagine the lifestyle back then - maybe similar to my childhood growing up in rural Rhodesia? Thanks for sharing. Keep well. Best regards, Wayne and Lynda.