I never investigated the truth behind the story, but remember as a young child hearing the old people telling us about a blast they heard about from their parents.. So obviously nobody was still alive that was a witness to the tragedy. We took it as a old woman's tale.. It was told as "half of jhb and the suburbs was flattened".. So thank you for sharing this with us.
@@JustOfftheHighway well you definitely got me back on track with the old story. If you are into old tragic stories, you would like to look at the two mayor bus tragedies.. Henley- on- klip (1970? Not sure) and Westdene (1980?) .. I was just out of high-school with the Westdene ( also never followed up on it, although it was big news back then) bus tragedy but met someone who was in the bus years later. Her sister didn't make it out but she did.
@@JustOfftheHighway I live in Henley and the bus/train tragedy is still spoken about.... There's a beautiful memorial to the children who died at their school in Daleside... Also "memoribilia" pertaining to it at the Henley Library... Much about it on Google too of course...
On 6 September 1952 there was also a huge explosion on the rail station in Welkom, FS. That was in the early days of the town when mining started to escalate in the Free State goldfields.
Thanks for the compliment. I intended the episodes to be easily consumable for people with general interest and little time, but, if there's interest, I'll try to evolve them into something more substantial.
A similar although smaller incident happened in either 1973 or '74 where a truck that transported around 10 or 15 tons of explosives to the West Rand gold mines, exploded on the R28 between the Westonaria turn off and where the R28 crosses the Potch road. Blew a massive crater where the two southbound lanes were. Fotunately no one was injured. The story was that the driver of a passing car noticed smoke underneath the truck and then pulled the truck over and notified the driver. The driver brought the truck to a stop at the side of the road then ran in the one direction to stop all traffic and his assistant did the same in the opposite direction. Luckily it was a section of the road that ran through some maize fields and the only damage appart from the damage to the road and a lot of broken windows in the area was a crumpled large electricity pylon and a little bus stop shelter that was leaning over away from the blast area. I had a piece of about 100mm of a leaf spring of the truck for years thereafter. The largest piece that remained of the truck was a short section of the crankshaft. I am certain if someone with a metal detector were to scan the area they would still recover pieces of metal from the truck.
@ Andre Venter I was living in Westonaria at the time at the time we thought it was a Sinkhole this happened just after the Sinkhole at Venterspos Tennis Club the shock waves from the truck was felt in Westonaria many shop windows were shattered -Our light fittings fell to the floor - we were too afraid to go indoors incase it was a sink hole.
@@majbudricks5404 I remember the Venterspos tennis court incident. Then there was the abandoned little dorpie, Bank - also abandoned because of sinkholes. Scary times those with the mines draining the dolomites that caused the sinkholes
@André Venter Bank was demolished few abandon house left in Venterspos. Poor Whites were or are still living there unfortunately most are single Mothers on Drugs Social Workers are taking children from the age of 12 years old who have never seen a inside of a school ,toddler and babies to places of safety . Very sad situation
Thanx for bringing this up on such a clear way. This must have been one of the most devastating disasters in history. What bothers me most is the lots of road transport lorries which transport explosives on road. Accidents happened very quick and unforseen.
As a person who worked with explosives all my life, I can assure you that the explosives used today is MUCH safer. You can burn it or even strike it with a hammer and it will not explode.
WOW.!!! I took up the opportunity to watch this video for a second time this morning... I wish for a longer more detailed story. Thank you for posting this videos on your website... Very interesting.. May you be blessed with more stories to share with us.........
I received your comment notification by email and it was the first mail I read this morning. Thanks so much for your kind and generous words. You really gave me a positive start to the day.
There was also the dynamite train explosion in 1932 near Leeudoringstad in the Western Transvaal. A fully loaded train with 320 tons of explosives exploded. Find more details by searching for Leeudoringstad.
Hi there, speaking of dynamite. There is a small little town on the R502 between Orkney and Bloemhof called Leeudoringstrad. In the 1930's(I think) a train carrying the explosives was en route from Johannesburg to Kimberley and when entering the staion at Leeudoringstad the crew saw that the train was on fire and instead of stopping at the station they gunned it down the track and out of town where the explosion blew up the train, a nearby farm school and house and leaving craters that can be seen today. Not all the train crew made it out alive and they are in my eyes heroes that saved the town. Let me give you a quick oversight of the layout of the track and town. The station was a mile or so out of town towards Orkney and because of the momentum they already had coming into the station they decided to gun it past the town and hope the make it to the Bloemhof side out before the explosion and it expoloded at about 5 miles out if town. This happened past sunset and the bang coul be seen and heard as far as Kleksdorp and Bloemhof. Check out the video the local people made in memory of this.
Thank you so much for your work. And you are right, although I lived in Pretoria for the past 27 years, its the first time I hear of it. I wouldn't mind that "hour long episode". Keep up the good work. Liked&Subscribed.
Thanks so much , you have earned a subscriber. You! This gave me chills...... I'll share this story, I can promise is definitely not known by South Africans.
Thanks for this initiative to tell local stories! I've just stumbled over your channel, and I'm already a big fan 😀 Could you perhaps do a story on the existence of Mamelodi township? It apparently started as a concentration camp for black people in thr Anglo boer war.
I grew up in Staffordshire, GB, not too far from the village of Fauld, scene of the 1944 bomb dump disaster which, I believe, is still the world's largest non-nuclear man-made explosion. It took the top off a hill, and a farming community with it, yet my late mother, living not far from the incident, had never heard of it and, initially wouldn't believe the story. Dynamite and bomb blast, as you rightly saw, does some funny things in terms of who it hurts or spares.
what an interesting story I researched it after listening to this recording, I tried reading more on the story and there is so little written on it. I spent 6 years studying at Wits right near where it happened and I never even heard about this story. That is very strange to me.
I was born in Braamfontein 1947 i use to walk there and my mother father and sister ashes were speed under the tree of rememberance. I lived there and went to school at Spes Bona primary school it made way for the Civic center. Roseneath primary school down at empire road was a replcement school. High school was Con Cowan in Melpark. This school made way for Rand Afrikaans University I was 16 when they moved every one out of braamfontein for business development. We were moved to South Hills to the a house built by Jhb municipality.
Thanks for adding that personal detail. How quickly we forget the people who need to be remembered and the children's lives changed by something like "business development".
Nice video, thanks Sir. Did you know that Alfred Nobel invented dynamite and essentially had worldwide patents on it. I don't remember all the nitty-gritty details, however there was a direct link between his company and the dynamite factory in South Africa. PS: I love your Toyota Corona Mk II. Is it a 1900 engine?
Hi, thanks for your comment. Yes, I would have to check my source material, but I seem to recall the dynamite was manufactured locally under licence. Perhaps Lyttleton? Would have to check again.And yes, she's a 1972 with the 1900.
@@JustOfftheHighway- lovely car you have there. I'm a tad jealous. There was a huge dynamite factory on Somerset West for about a century until sometime in the 1980s. Not its all developed land. I remember, being in the Strand, on a Wednesday morning they would test dynamite. The flat always used to shudder from the shock wave. The dynamite factory even had it's own postage cancellation mark for use on mail.
I've been reading the "Mannheim sage " books by Lorina Erasmus. Obviously fictional, but the Braamfontein explosion is mentioned. Very sad time in Johannesburg history. Strange how we never learned about this in school.
Hi, thanks for making that connection. I only vaguely remember a TV series with that name (or similar). I agree that it's strange the event wasn't taught. Perhaps authorities didn't want Joburg residents to think that explosives were unsafe?
I remember finding out about this when I went to Braamfontein cemetery with my mom and aunt in the late 70s or early 80s. We happened to see the memorial and I was fascinated. We looked up old history books in the library to find out more. I also asked my grandmother and although it happened 4 years before she was born, she remembered hearing about it growing up. It's covered in a few History of Johannesburg books that I've collected over the years too. I was in Braamfontein cemetery a couple of weeks ago to help document the desecration of the cremation graves, I wish I'd thought to go and have another look at the memorial again. ( I did see the new memorial to the Rand Revolt victims though.. Another event in Joburg's history that interests me) I'll go and find the dynamite memorial again next time I'm there.
Thanks for this. And for your work at the cemetery. Yes, the Rand revolt was another fascinating, polarising event. I should go look at the new memorial.
Interesting. I suspect that in 60's South Africa there might have been some racial sensitivity around the story. Earlier sources I've found don't mention that they were white houses. The devastation was so widespread I believe it's unlikely.
@@JustOfftheHighway You correct about Political opinion, so there is no chance of a memorial being erected to Black people in a White Cemetary. Apartheid didn't start in the 1960's, it's been with us from the year dot.
@@JustOfftheHighway Tell me just because it was a poor area it had to be Black. Blacks were imported to service the Mines, they weren't the original miners as well. Refer the 1922 miners strike, White miners were striking agains the Black people coming in and taking the work.
Andrew, I think we're misunderstanding each other. I'm not saying it was any one specific racial group. Fact is, 60 tons of dynamite wouldn't have discriminated. What I've presented is what I believe to closest to the truth. You're welcome to disagree, but I won't be drawn further into a pointless racial argument.
@@JustOfftheHighway Apologies, I heard as such. Keep it coming as there is a vast amount of history to be uncovered on the Rand. I'm massively interested but don't have the time for the research. Very interesting so please keep it coming.
Thanks for this... I drive past that cemetery and railway very often. Now that I know the history behind the unfortunate souls buried there, it makes me even more sad to know the decrepit state it is currently in.
Please scroll down to a comment by @AndreVenter. He gives lots of detail about an explosion near Westonaria in 1973/4. Very interesting. I think you might be referring to the same one.
Sometime in the '70s there was a ship sailing past the Namibian coast and ran aground, cannot remember where. The problem with the ship was its cargo. It was carrying illegal arms for SA from Israel. The ship could not be salvaged. The authorities did not want to off load the cargo as it was felt that it would draw undue attention and awkward questions asked. So it was decided to blow the ship up... with dynamite. They brought in so much dynamite and loaded it on the ship into every space they could find. They took off in a helicopter and when they were several miles away they detonated the dynamite. The shock wave buffeted the helicopter. Windows were shattered in Walvis Bay. The United States picked up the explosion on seismographs and accused SA of detonating nuclear weapons. The was literally nothing left of the ship. Apparently walking in that area of the beach you would only find small pieces of metal. I have tried googling the story but cannot locate
Wow! That's an amazing story. If true, it would certainly have been kept secret, so probably the only way of getting more details would be if someone involved leaked information.
I will keep looking for the story. It was wriiten up in a military journal I came across when I was searching for information of the 3 Cubans who were caught as POW in Angola and brought to Voortrekkerhoogte Detention Barracks.
120-odd years before the London Underground "Terrorist attack" there was Braamfontein Station dynamite explosion in Johannesburg, South Africa, likely a "Terrorist attack" on Kruger's Transvaal Republic.
@Christine , the explosion at the silos in Beirut were because of tons and tons of potassium nitrate fertilizer that were stored in a warehouse close to the silos that ignited.
" In the Boer War, for the first time in a war conducted by a major European power, the British used concentration camps, starvation and disease as the crucial weapons to subdue the enemy. These atrocities were directed by Sir Alfred Milner, a Rothschild agent who had founded the Round Tables.( Which would later be the CFR -Council on Foreign Relations ) The stakes were high, the Rothschilds needed the enormous capital represented by gold and diamond riches of South Africa to finance their final drive for world power." - Eustace - The Curse of Canaan
Further to my comments below, could you also fo a story on the African miners that stayed in the mining compounds in Cullinan in the late 1800s early 1900s - who have worked at the Cullinan Diamond Mine. While there they were there, they were apparently only allowed to go home once every three months and every time were given something to empty their stomachs to prevent theft of diamonds through swallowing. I wish to know the truth around this one... The old abandoned dilapidated old build style ruins of the compounds are still there in the big bushes next to the open pit Cullinan Diamond Mine - it is very spooky there. And how about a story on Paul Kruger at the time of the Anglo war where he fled with his cronies to Switzerland, taking all the Kruger coins with him and invested it in Switzerland....making locals believe that it was hidden somewhere here in RSA...the truth around this one would mean a lot to us 😁
Hi Cynthia, thanks for your kind comment and detailed information. The bit that I've read about the various Kruger "treasures" is convoluted, but Cullinan is a place I would like to visit. I'll see what threads I can pursue.
@@JustOfftheHighway Dit was n baie hartseer tyd gewees. Paul Kruger was daar, en die Engelse verslaggewer het geskryf dat die "flaxed hair deceased girls" het hom trane in sy oë gegee. Dankie vir n baie interessante maar ook n baie belangrike stukkie Geskiedenis.
A quick look through the books tells me a "braam" is a bramble/blackberry. It was the name of the original farm and the "fontein" was somewhere near where Melville is today. Cool, hey?
@@JustOfftheHighway Sal vir jou uitvind, my skoonpa (oorlede) het meer as 25km soos die kraai vlieg daarvandaan geboer, die slag was so oorweldigend op die plaas dat hulle onmiddelik in die kar geklim het om te gaan kyk wat aangaan. Dit was die trein wat net plofstof op gehad het, oppad na die koperbelt in Zambia en DRK. Dele van die trein is km's van die ontploffing opgetel is. Grootste deel kon geen rekenschap van gegee word nie.
I know this happened on the 19 of February not the 16th. My father was there and I was born on the 19th. He told me what happened on my birthday at the station
Hi, thanks for watching! Please hit "Subscribe" while you're here. And you can browse many more "Just Off the Highway" stories on this channel.
I never investigated the truth behind the story, but remember as a young child hearing the old people telling us about a blast they heard about from their parents.. So obviously nobody was still alive that was a witness to the tragedy. We took it as a old woman's tale.. It was told as "half of jhb and the suburbs was flattened".. So thank you for sharing this with us.
My pleasure. Thanks for your comment. Fantastic to hear from someone connected to people who actually experienced it. Makes it all the more real.
@@JustOfftheHighway well you definitely got me back on track with the old story. If you are into old tragic stories, you would like to look at the two mayor bus tragedies.. Henley- on- klip (1970? Not sure) and Westdene (1980?) .. I was just out of high-school with the Westdene ( also never followed up on it, although it was big news back then) bus tragedy but met someone who was in the bus years later. Her sister didn't make it out but she did.
Thanks for the suggestion. Tragedies that are so fresh and painful are beyond the scope of my channel.
@@JustOfftheHighway I live in Henley and the bus/train tragedy is still spoken about.... There's a beautiful memorial to the children who died at their school in Daleside... Also "memoribilia" pertaining to it at the Henley Library... Much about it on Google too of course...
@@cousinjack2841 Here's a UA-cam account ua-cam.com/video/j9xqv9pTO2k/v-deo.html
I've lived in this area my whole life and I love history. I never knew about this disaster. Thanks again Al. Am sharing. I love your programs.🙏😇🕊🌹
Hi Michele, thanks for your comment and especially for sharing!
On 6 September 1952 there was also a huge explosion on the rail station in Welkom, FS.
That was in the early days of the town when mining started to escalate in the Free State goldfields.
Thanks for sharing that bit of history.
Glad I clicked on this ad. You do get the occasional gem. Keep it up. I'd love to learn more about South African history.
Thanks for the comment and encouragement. I'm glad you're enjoying the episodes.
Hi Al
Please make these episodes longer with more detail.
Love your work
Thanks for the compliment. I intended the episodes to be easily consumable for people with general interest and little time, but, if there's interest, I'll try to evolve them into something more substantial.
Please try 🙏
A similar although smaller incident happened in either 1973 or '74 where a truck that transported around 10 or 15 tons of explosives to the West Rand gold mines, exploded on the R28 between the Westonaria turn off and where the R28 crosses the Potch road.
Blew a massive crater where the two southbound lanes were.
Fotunately no one was injured. The story was that the driver of a passing car noticed smoke underneath the truck and then pulled the truck over and notified the driver. The driver brought the truck to a stop at the side of the road then ran in the one direction to stop all traffic and his assistant did the same in the opposite direction.
Luckily it was a section of the road that ran through some maize fields and the only damage appart from the damage to the road and a lot of broken windows in the area was a crumpled large electricity pylon and a little bus stop shelter that was leaning over away from the blast area.
I had a piece of about 100mm of a leaf spring of the truck for years thereafter.
The largest piece that remained of the truck was a short section of the crankshaft.
I am certain if someone with a metal detector were to scan the area they would still recover pieces of metal from the truck.
Wow! That's a powerful story. Would love to interview those people. Thanks for sharing another fascinating bit of South African heritage.
@ Andre Venter I was living in Westonaria at the time at the time we thought it was a Sinkhole this happened just after the Sinkhole at Venterspos Tennis Club
the shock waves from the truck was felt in Westonaria many shop windows were shattered -Our light fittings fell to the floor - we were too afraid to go indoors incase it was a sink hole.
@@majbudricks5404
I remember the Venterspos tennis court incident. Then there was the abandoned little dorpie, Bank - also abandoned because of sinkholes.
Scary times those with the mines draining the dolomites that caused the sinkholes
@André Venter
Bank was demolished few abandon house left in Venterspos.
Poor Whites were or are still living there unfortunately most are single Mothers on Drugs
Social Workers are taking children from the age of 12 years old who have never seen a inside of a school ,toddler and babies to places of safety .
Very sad situation
🙄😁👁️ I remember that also very clearly 🧐👌
Born & bred in Johannesburg and NEVER heard of this disaster. Thank you.
Pleasure. Thanks for the comment.
Thanx for bringing this up on such a clear way. This must have been one of the most devastating disasters in history. What bothers me most is the lots of road transport lorries which transport explosives on road. Accidents happened very quick and unforseen.
Thanks for your comment. Yes, that's a scary thought. I'm no expert, so I assume all safety precautions are followed. Otherwise...
As a person who worked with explosives all my life, I can assure you that the explosives used today is MUCH safer. You can burn it or even strike it with a hammer and it will not explode.
WOW.!!! I took up the opportunity to watch this video for a second time this morning... I wish for a longer more detailed story. Thank you for posting this videos on your website... Very interesting.. May you be blessed with more stories to share with us.........
I received your comment notification by email and it was the first mail I read this morning. Thanks so much for your kind and generous words. You really gave me a positive start to the day.
I would totally watch the 1 hour version. I knew about the disaster but this is the best description of it that I've seen by far.
@@BobyourUncle Thanks very much! Glad you enjoyed it. Please subscribe and share it around.
I was born and raised in Johannesburg but it's my first time to hear this story it's so interesting 😲😲
Thanks for your comment. Yes, Joburg is full of histories and mysteries.
I got off at Braamfontein Station to go to Bree Street Primary School for six years of my life... and it's the first time I hear about this!
Weird, isn't it? Seems too big an event to be so easily forgotten.
So glad you are back...just off the highway! Bringing to life history I have never heard of. Much appreciated Al!
@@izakbarnard8859 Thank you! Thanks for watching.
Thank you for sharing this sad interesting story of our Country 🙏🏾🇿🇦
My pleasure to share it with you.
Loved this. My dad worked at Modderfontein all his life so I probably know a bit more about dynamite and disasters than most
Thank you. I wish I could've spoken to an expert.
@@JustOfftheHighway it was a lovely video. My grandson and I are both obsessed with history xxx
Very, very, interesting story! I never knew if this explosion in Braamfontein, before. Wow!
Thanks Lucian. Glad you enjoyed the episode.
I, too, had never heard of this massive explosion. Thank you for bringing us this gem of Johannesburg history.
My pleasure. Glad you enjoyed the episode.
I am immensely impressed! I came across this video while researching the subject to make my own video, but I think not anymore...
Thanks! Always room for another p.o.v. I hope you'll go for it.
There was also the dynamite train explosion in 1932 near Leeudoringstad in the Western Transvaal. A fully loaded train with 320 tons of explosives exploded. Find more details by searching for Leeudoringstad.
Thanks for that detail. I will look it up.
Thank you AL for sharing, I grew up in Pretoria and also never heard of this.
You're welcome. Glad I could share it with you.
I have known about this since I was a kid in the 1970s. Jose Burman wrote about this event in his book on South African disasters.
I still got the book...
Nice one Al!! Not many people know about this. Well told
Thanks Leon! Glad you enjoyed the episode.
Thanks Al I've been waiting for this one!
Thanks for your support, Mike. Glad you like it.
Im 51 and its the first time i hear about this
. Awesome vids
51? Still a youngster. One of the amazing South African stories that almost fell through the cracks. Thanks for the compliment.
Hi there, speaking of dynamite. There is a small little town on the R502 between Orkney and Bloemhof called Leeudoringstrad. In the 1930's(I think) a train carrying the explosives was en route from Johannesburg to Kimberley and when entering the staion at Leeudoringstad the crew saw that the train was on fire and instead of stopping at the station they gunned it down the track and out of town where the explosion blew up the train, a nearby farm school and house and leaving craters that can be seen today. Not all the train crew made it out alive and they are in my eyes heroes that saved the town. Let me give you a quick oversight of the layout of the track and town. The station was a mile or so out of town towards Orkney and because of the momentum they already had coming into the station they decided to gun it past the town and hope the make it to the Bloemhof side out before the explosion and it expoloded at about 5 miles out if town. This happened past sunset and the bang coul be seen and heard as far as Kleksdorp and Bloemhof. Check out the video the local people made in memory of this.
Thank you so much. This is a fascinating story. I will certainly look into the event. Appreciate the detail you shared.
Goodness, I'm almost 80, and I have never heard of this explosion. Thank you very much for the armchair travels. ❤️🌹🐝
Absolute pleasure! Thanks for your kind comment. I hope you'll take a few minutes to browse my other episodes.
Thanks very much for telling us about something I did not know of. This should have been part of our history books. Sad loss of life to all involved.
Thanks for your comment. Yes, it's amazing how major events simply slip between the cracks of history.
Would be very happy with longer episode. Love it
Thank you very much!
Me too
Thank you so much for your work. And you are right, although I lived in Pretoria for the past 27 years, its the first time I hear of it.
I wouldn't mind that "hour long episode". Keep up the good work. Liked&Subscribed.
Thanks very much for your comment and encouragement. And for subscribing!
Very cool story never knew it was so bad.
Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed the episode. Feel free to browse around my channel for more stories.
The legend lives on... Good for you sir.
Thanks for the words of encouragement! Much appreciated.
Thanks for episode, I'm always interested in these type of stories but few of South Africa are told. I'm from KZN.
Thanks for your comment. KZN is a magical place filled with intriguing stories. I hope to travel there again soon
There was a similar dynamite train explosion in Welkom when I was a little girl about 70years ago
Thanks, I didn't know that.
Very interesting. Thankyou!
My pleasure! Feel free to browse around my channel. There are lots of other South African interest episodes.
A fascinating account by an engaging raconteur…
🙏 Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the episode. It's amazing that the event has slipped through the cracks of history.
Thank you for sharing this.
Absolute pleasure. I hope you'll browse some other episodes and spread the word.
Please also report on the Leeudoringstad train explosion as a result of a hot axle box.
Thanks, I'll do some research.
Very good doccie, thanks 😊
My pleasure! Thanks for your comment.
Great story telling!
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.
Agreed. His narrative skills are exceptional.
@@yvetteworrall8909 Thanks very much for your kind words. I hope you'll browse through the other episodes.
Geezahs, it’s the first time I hear this. 😢. I’m enjoying your stories Al.
Thanks very much! Yes, I can't believe that this cataclysmic event has been so thoroughly lost to popular memory.
Brilliant!
Thanks for the encouragement.
Ironically 28yrs of anc has caused more damage to Jhb than the dynamite blast of 1896
😆
Thanks so much , you have earned a subscriber. You! This gave me chills...... I'll share this story, I can promise is definitely not known by South Africans.
Thanks! I'm so glad you enjoyed it.
The eternal problems of bureaucracy...
That this event is almost unknown - er - blows me away...
😆 Thanks for the comment!
Thanks for this initiative to tell local stories! I've just stumbled over your channel, and I'm already a big fan 😀
Could you perhaps do a story on the existence of Mamelodi township? It apparently started as a concentration camp for black people in thr Anglo boer war.
That's fascinating. I will definitely pursue this story. Thanks!
Thank you. Very interesting video
My pleasure! Thanks for commenting.
I grew up in Staffordshire, GB, not too far from the village of Fauld, scene of the 1944 bomb dump disaster which, I believe, is still the world's largest non-nuclear man-made explosion. It took the top off a hill, and a farming community with it, yet my late mother, living not far from the incident, had never heard of it and, initially wouldn't believe the story. Dynamite and bomb blast, as you rightly saw, does some funny things in terms of who it hurts or spares.
Wow! I'd never heard of that disaster either. Thanks for sharing.
Longer episodes would ne wonderful
Thanks for the encouragement!
I worked in braamfontein, after finishing school in 1999
what an interesting story I researched it after listening to this recording, I tried reading more on the story and there is so little written on it. I spent 6 years studying at Wits right near where it happened and I never even heard about this story. That is very strange to me.
Weird, isn't it? Perhaps it was overshadowed by later events? I can't figure it out.
I was born in Braamfontein 1947 i use to walk there and my mother father and sister ashes were speed under the
tree of rememberance. I lived there and went to school at Spes Bona primary school it made way for the Civic center. Roseneath primary school down at empire road was a replcement school.
High school was Con Cowan in Melpark. This school made way for Rand Afrikaans University I was 16 when they moved every one out of braamfontein for business development. We were moved to South Hills to the a house built by Jhb municipality.
Thanks for adding that personal detail. How quickly we forget the people who need to be remembered and the children's lives changed by something like "business development".
Very good! Dankie. Geniet dit baie!
Baie dankie!
Never knew the facts. Thank you.
Thanks for your comment. I'm glad I could introduce the story to a new audience.
excellent
Thanks!
True storey...seen pictures of the accident
Unbelievable destruction. Thanks for your comment.
As a former braam resident, wow
Thanks for your comment. It's quite disturbing when you realise what happened before all those tall buildings were built.
I was an extra in the sa tv show "Trucking" in this same cemetary.
Wow! That was a looong time ago. I think I auditioned for that one, but I didn't get the part.
Nice video, thanks Sir.
Did you know that Alfred Nobel invented dynamite and essentially had worldwide patents on it. I don't remember all the nitty-gritty details, however there was a direct link between his company and the dynamite factory in South Africa.
PS: I love your Toyota Corona Mk II. Is it a 1900 engine?
Hi, thanks for your comment. Yes, I would have to check my source material, but I seem to recall the dynamite was manufactured locally under licence. Perhaps Lyttleton? Would have to check again.And yes, she's a 1972 with the 1900.
@@JustOfftheHighway- lovely car you have there. I'm a tad jealous.
There was a huge dynamite factory on Somerset West for about a century until sometime in the 1980s. Not its all developed land.
I remember, being in the Strand, on a Wednesday morning they would test dynamite. The flat always used to shudder from the shock wave. The dynamite factory even had it's own postage cancellation mark for use on mail.
Try to get to the Modderfontein Dynamite Museum one day, it's fascinating
The Somerset West factory was a sister company of the Modderfontein factory, both owned by Harry Oppenheimer
I'm glad the episode brings back memories. Thanks for sharing. Every bit of the jigsaw puzzle is important.
Complements on this very interesting presentation
Thanks very much! I hope you'll browse the other episodes. There's a wide variety.
I miss staying in Braamfontien.
I used to work there. Remember delicious lunch spots and great entertainment at night.
I've been reading the "Mannheim sage " books by Lorina Erasmus. Obviously fictional, but the Braamfontein explosion is mentioned. Very sad time in Johannesburg history. Strange how we never learned about this in school.
Hi, thanks for making that connection. I only vaguely remember a TV series with that name (or similar). I agree that it's strange the event wasn't taught. Perhaps authorities didn't want Joburg residents to think that explosives were unsafe?
The incident has similarities to the recent Lebanon explosion
Yes, I'd forgotten about that one.
Love the history
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.
I love history ♥
I'm glad this is resonating with you. Thanks for the comment.
I remember finding out about this when I went to Braamfontein cemetery with my mom and aunt in the late 70s or early 80s. We happened to see the memorial and I was fascinated. We looked up old history books in the library to find out more. I also asked my grandmother and although it happened 4 years before she was born, she remembered hearing about it growing up. It's covered in a few History of Johannesburg books that I've collected over the years too. I was in Braamfontein cemetery a couple of weeks ago to help document the desecration of the cremation graves, I wish I'd thought to go and have another look at the memorial again. ( I did see the new memorial to the Rand Revolt victims though.. Another event in Joburg's history that interests me) I'll go and find the dynamite memorial again next time I'm there.
Thanks for this. And for your work at the cemetery. Yes, the Rand revolt was another fascinating, polarising event. I should go look at the new memorial.
It must have been very tough for the mining company
Probably several mining companies. And mostly for the people of Johannesburg.
I learned about this as a child in Std 2 (year 4)
You must've attended a better school than I did. 😜Hope you enjoyed the episode anyway.
I read in the 60's that it was 'White' Railway employees homes that were flattened. That's why the monument is in a then White cemetary.
Interesting. I suspect that in 60's South Africa there might have been some racial sensitivity around the story. Earlier sources I've found don't mention that they were white houses. The devastation was so widespread I believe it's unlikely.
@@JustOfftheHighway You correct about Political opinion, so there is no chance of a memorial being erected to Black people in a White Cemetary. Apartheid didn't start in the 1960's, it's been with us from the year dot.
@@JustOfftheHighway Tell me just because it was a poor area it had to be Black. Blacks were imported to service the Mines, they weren't the original miners as well. Refer the 1922 miners strike, White miners were striking agains the Black people coming in and taking the work.
Andrew, I think we're misunderstanding each other. I'm not saying it was any one specific racial group. Fact is, 60 tons of dynamite wouldn't have discriminated. What I've presented is what I believe to closest to the truth. You're welcome to disagree, but I won't be drawn further into a pointless racial argument.
@@JustOfftheHighway Apologies, I heard as such. Keep it coming as there is a vast amount of history to be uncovered on the Rand. I'm massively interested but don't have the time for the research. Very interesting so please keep it coming.
Thanks for this...
I drive past that cemetery and railway very often. Now that I know the history behind the unfortunate souls buried there, it makes me even more sad to know the decrepit state it is currently in.
Pleasure, Ismail. Sometimes just remembering is the only form of respect we can offer at the moment.
Wasn't there also such an explosion on the West Rand, near Roodepoort or Krugersdorp?
Please scroll down to a comment by @AndreVenter. He gives lots of detail about an explosion near Westonaria in 1973/4. Very interesting. I think you might be referring to the same one.
I seem to remember my father showing me the location at Stormill, he remembered it from long ago, maybe in the 1930s or 40s.
@@wallylangsford3369 Wow! Then it seems like yet another incident. I had no idea.
Sometime in the '70s there was a ship sailing past the Namibian coast and ran aground, cannot remember where. The problem with the ship was its cargo. It was carrying illegal arms for SA from Israel. The ship could not be salvaged. The authorities did not want to off load the cargo as it was felt that it would draw undue attention and awkward questions asked. So it was decided to blow the ship up... with dynamite. They brought in so much dynamite and loaded it on the ship into every space they could find. They took off in a helicopter and when they were several miles away they detonated the dynamite. The shock wave buffeted the helicopter. Windows were shattered in Walvis Bay. The United States picked up the explosion on seismographs and accused SA of detonating nuclear weapons. The was literally nothing left of the ship. Apparently walking in that area of the beach you would only find small pieces of metal. I have tried googling the story but cannot locate
Wow! That's an amazing story. If true, it would certainly have been kept secret, so probably the only way of getting more details would be if someone involved leaked information.
I will keep looking for the story. It was wriiten up in a military journal I came across when I was searching for information of the 3 Cubans who were caught as POW in Angola and brought to Voortrekkerhoogte Detention Barracks.
Fascinating stuff. Many untold stories.
Yes I lived there....
it's very mysterious
Pity there was no way to do a modern forensic examination.
Wawawawaw so true
120-odd years before the London Underground "Terrorist attack" there was Braamfontein Station dynamite explosion in Johannesburg, South Africa, likely a "Terrorist attack" on Kruger's Transvaal Republic.
Ek het nou net subscribed, Altyd nice om Suid Afrika se geskiedenis te hoor
Dankie dat jy "ge-subscribe" (ingeteken?) het. Ek hoop jy geniet dit om deur die ander episodes te kyk vir meer geskiedenis en stories.
As a young girl we used to get off at Braamfontrin station, it was nearest to Sunnyside where our folks lived.
I have a photo of the hole with my grandparents at that hole they lived in Endark street
That's fascinating! Photos of the event are rare. I hope someone in the family kept a record of their story too.
Sjoe this sounds like Lebanon where silos of wet grain exploded
Yes, that was a huge explosion.
@Christine , the explosion at the silos in Beirut were because of tons and tons of potassium nitrate fertilizer that were stored in a warehouse close to the silos that ignited.
" In the Boer War, for the first time in a war conducted by a major European power, the British used concentration camps, starvation and disease as the crucial weapons to subdue the enemy. These atrocities were directed by Sir Alfred Milner, a Rothschild agent who had founded the Round Tables.( Which would later be the CFR -Council on Foreign Relations )
The stakes were high, the Rothschilds needed the enormous capital represented by gold and diamond riches of South Africa to finance their final drive for world power." - Eustace - The Curse of Canaan
I have heard about this story
Further to my comments below, could you also fo a story on the African miners that stayed in the mining compounds in Cullinan in the late 1800s early 1900s - who have worked at the Cullinan Diamond Mine. While there they were there, they were apparently only allowed to go home once every three months and every time were given something to empty their stomachs to prevent theft of diamonds through swallowing. I wish to know the truth around this one... The old abandoned dilapidated old build style ruins of the compounds are still there in the big bushes next to the open pit Cullinan Diamond Mine - it is very spooky there.
And how about a story on Paul Kruger at the time of the Anglo war where he fled with his cronies to Switzerland, taking all the Kruger coins with him and invested it in Switzerland....making locals believe that it was hidden somewhere here in RSA...the truth around this one would mean a lot to us 😁
Hi Cynthia, thanks for your kind comment and detailed information. The bit that I've read about the various Kruger "treasures" is convoluted, but Cullinan is a place I would like to visit. I'll see what threads I can pursue.
First time i hear about this story
Glad I could share it with you.
Yes it is i know a lot of stories in different parts of this country you never know it all
@@sarelras4103 Agreed. I often start reading about one topic and get completely sidetracked by fascinating stories that seem mostly overlooked.
🙄😢👁️ now please try covering the incident of the Braamfontein dynamite factory itself blowing up in the late 60's , early 70's 🧐😬⁉️
Hi, do you mean Modderfontein?
Flipping hell!!
Yup. Precisely!
What was the date In 1896?
The train arrived on Sunday, 16 February, so the explosion would've taken place Wednesday the 19th.
@@JustOfftheHighway Dit was n baie hartseer tyd gewees. Paul Kruger was daar, en die Engelse verslaggewer het geskryf dat die "flaxed hair deceased girls" het hom trane in sy oë gegee.
Dankie vir n baie interessante maar ook n baie belangrike stukkie Geskiedenis.
Dankie vir daardie ekstra detail.
The Great Braamfontein Explosion happens February 19 1896. I stil have a News Paper of my grandparents .
What is the history around the name "Braamfontein? What does braam mean?
A quick look through the books tells me a "braam" is a bramble/blackberry. It was the name of the original farm and the "fontein" was somewhere near where Melville is today. Cool, hey?
Daar was ook n denamiet trein wat in Zambia teen n aankomende trein vas gery het.
Wow! Weet u wanneer was dit?
@@JustOfftheHighway Sal vir jou uitvind, my skoonpa (oorlede) het meer as 25km soos die kraai vlieg daarvandaan geboer, die slag was so oorweldigend op die plaas dat hulle onmiddelik in die kar geklim het om te gaan kyk wat aangaan.
Dit was die trein wat net plofstof op gehad het, oppad na die koperbelt in Zambia en DRK.
Dele van die trein is km's van die ontploffing opgetel is. Grootste deel kon geen rekenschap van gegee word nie.
Skrikwekkend.
That my you so much
My pleasure. I hope you browse more episodes.
I know this happened on the 19 of February not the 16th. My father was there and I was born on the 19th. He told me what happened on my birthday at the station
Ek het nie eens hiervan geweet nie Dankie
Dis 'n plesier. Ek hoop dat u dit geniet het.
Piet Koen's father saw the carnage.
Thanks for the comment. I'm not familiar with the name. Can you provide more detail please?
Did the driver make it?
According to my sources, yes he did.
Yes he did....at the gates of ......
No cellphones then...
Indeed. Few photographs.
"Refurbishment?" 🤦🙈🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I know this graveyard
Yes, many famous graves in the old Braamfontein cemetery.
Thank you. I love your stories
Thank you very much! I'm glad you enjoy them. Please do share on your social media. This project needs subscribers to keep going.
Are you serious
As a heart attack.
Sunday 16 February 1896
Disaster was on the Sunday 19 February
Closed for repairs, or completely stolen like the rest of our railways
Sak Sarel... Die Brug lê voor.......👁
😆