TS0002

Did You Know?

The Ou stasie perron (Old Station Platform) at Deëlfontein, near De Aar in the Northern Cape, dates to 1884, a period when the Cape Government Railways was rapidly extending its network inland from the coast. The line through this area was part of the main route connecting Cape Town to the interior and eventually to the diamond fields of Kimberley. Deëlfontein was a small railway stop on this strategic corridor, serving the surrounding semi-arid Karoo farming region. The platform itself would have been a modest structure, typical of rural stations of the era, used for passenger and freight handling, including livestock and wool. During the Second Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902), the railway line through De Aar and its environs, including stops like Deëlfontein, became a key military asset. The British used the line for troop and supply movements, and the area saw the construction of blockhouses and other defensive works to protect the railway from Boer commando raids. Deëlfontein was also the site of a British military hospital during the war, as the dry Karoo climate was considered beneficial for convalescing soldiers. The station platform would have been a busy point for the arrival of wounded and the transfer of medical supplies. Today, the old platform is a heritage remnant of this railway and wartime history. The original station buildings have largely disappeared, but the platform structure remains as a tangible link to the late 19th-century expansion of the Cape rail network and the strategic importance of this remote Karoo junction. The site is not a major tourist attraction, but it holds local historical value for those interested in the region's colonial and military past.

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