HS0005

Did You Know?

The Heliograph Site in De Aar dates to around 1900, during the Second Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902). De Aar was a key railway junction in the Cape Colony, making it strategically important for British military operations. The site was used for visual signalling via heliograph, a device that reflected sunlight using mirrors to send Morse code messages over long distances, often between hilltop positions. Heliograph stations were part of a broader British military communications network in the arid Karoo region, where telegraph lines were vulnerable to Boer sabotage. The De Aar heliograph likely linked British garrisons and observation posts across the surrounding flat, sunlit terrain, enabling rapid transmission of troop movements and intelligence. Contextually, De Aar was occupied by British forces early in the war and served as a major supply depot and hospital base. The use of heliographs was common in this theatre due to the clear skies and long sightlines, though exact operational details of this specific site are not widely documented. The site is a rare surviving example of early military telecommunications infrastructure from the conflict.

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