Did You Know?
Werkswinkel Putsonderwater refers to the workshop buildings associated with the railway settlement of Putsonderwater in the Northern Cape. The settlement grew around a station on the railway line from De Aar to Upington, which was constructed in the early 20th century. The year 1914 aligns with the period when the railway line was being extended into the arid interior, and such workshops were essential for maintaining locomotives and rolling stock in a remote and harsh environment. The name 'Putsonderwater' translates to 'well without water', reflecting the area's severe water scarcity, which made railway operations and settlement survival dependent on boreholes and water tanks supplied by the railway. The workshop itself would have been a modest, utilitarian structure typical of early 20th-century South African Railways (SAR) architecture, likely built from local stone or corrugated iron, serving as a maintenance depot for steam locomotives. Putsonderwater became a byword in South African culture for a desolate, remote place, partly due to its evocative name and its isolation on the edge of the Kalahari. The settlement never grew into a large town, and its population remained tiny, with the railway being the primary reason for its existence. By the late 20th century, as rail traffic declined and steam locomotives were phased out, the workshops and much of the settlement fell into disuse. Today, Putsonderwater is largely a ghost settlement, with only a few remaining structures and the railway line still passing through. The site is historically significant as a reminder of the infrastructure that opened up the Northern Cape's arid regions, though specific records of the workshop's daily operations are scarce. The broader context includes the strategic importance of the De Aar–Upington line during the 1914–1915 Afrikaner Rebellion and World War I, when the railway was used to move troops and supplies in the region.
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