Spreeuw Fontein & Toornits Kraal (Spreeufontein Nr. 26)

26 op die kadaster · op rekord 1834–1990 · wys op die kaart

Plaasnommer: Nr. 26
Op die kadaster: 26, heel plaasgeregistreer as SPREEUW FONTEIN
Distrik: Prince Albert
Grootte, soos die kaart dit stel: 23139 morgen 450 roods (1834)
Moderne opgemete oppervlakte: 15666.1 ha

Die historiese grootte en die moderne opgemete oppervlakte is twee aparte metings en word hier nie aangebied asof hulle mekaar bevestig nie. Die eerste is wat 'n landmeter op 'n kaart geskryf het, gewoonlik in morg. Die tweede is wat die moderne kadaster teken.

Waarom hierdie plaas hier is

Cornelis Floris Johannes Meyer het dit gehou. Verbind aan die Oosthuizen, Marincowitz of Van der Merwe-lyne DEUR HUWELIK, nie deur bloed nie, 5 treë op die kortste pad. 54 km van Klaarstroom.

Cornelis Floris Johannes Meyer
ouer van Johanna Catharina Willemina Meyer
getroud met Jacobus Strydom
kind van Daniel Jacobus Strydom
ouer van David Jan Strydom (Daniel son)
getroud met Susanna Maria Oosthuizen

Elke tree is 'n aangetekende afkoms of huwelik in hierdie model, en die kortste een wat die rekord ondersteun; volg die name om dit na te gaan.

storie 'n Geskrewe geskiedenis speel op hierdie grond af The Prince Albert gold rush
storie 'n Geskrewe geskiedenis speel op hierdie grond af The fifteenth of April, 1841
storie 'n Geskrewe geskiedenis noem hierdie grond Vrolykheid No. 177: a farm history
storie 'n Geskrewe geskiedenis noem hierdie grond Rondabel No. 124: a farm history
…en nog 2, volledig gelys verder af op hierdie bladsy.

Stories

about this farm Die Prins Albert-goudstormloop
'n Erdvark krap in 1871 'n goudklont op Spreeuwfontein uit; twintig jaar later tel 'n skaapwagter 'n tweede een op en vyfhonderd mense daag op. Uit 1 042 kleims kom 504 ons. Die delwersdorpie het Gatsplaas geheet, na daardie eerste gat.
about this farm Die vyftiende April 1841
Een landmeter meet die Koup twee seisoene lank op. Agt jaar later, op een dag, maak die Kroon 'n dosyn leningsplase titelgrond - en die distrik se kaart lê vir 'n eeu vas.
mentions this farm Vrolykheid Nr. 177: 'n plaasgeskiedenis
Die plaas waar die papier en die mense verskil. Stretch se opmeting van 1833 dra al klaar die name van gedeeltes wat eers 'n eeu later gesny word; twee titels gaan op een dag in 1841 uit, een aan 'n Oosthuisen en een aan 'n 'N. Hitge' wie se akte deur vier latere gedeeltes aangehaal word; 'n Triëstenaar trou in 1844 met 'n Hitge en hou die plaas toe hy in 1890 sterf; en 'n sterfkennis sit die Hitges uiteindelik self op die grond.
mentions this farm Rondabel Nr. 124: 'n plaasgeskiedenis
Van 'n weduwee wat met 'n merk geteken het tot die Marincowitz-plaas van vandag: die gedokumenteerde geskiedenis van Rondabel Nr. 124 - die Venter-huishouding van 1829, die toekenningsdag van 1841, die Oosthuizen-Theron-vennootskap van 1868, die onderverdelings van 1910-34, en die twee grafte by die opstal wat niemand nog gelees het nie.
set here Wat onder die Koup lê
Vier keer het mense hierheen gekom, oortuig dat daar iets van waarde onder die grond lê: goud in 1871 en 1891, olie in die middel-1960's, uraan van 1969 tot 1985, en skaliegas van 2011 af. 'n Boorbeitel lê nog op Rondabel. Die gate wat SOEKOR vir olie geboor het, het die kerne gelewer wat die skaliegasskatting vyftig jaar later laat krimp het.
about this farm Gesny, en toe weer aanmekaargewerk
Hierdie projek het 124 grensdade op rekord: 96 onderverdelings en 20 konsolidasies. Gesorteer op datum vertel hulle een storie met 'n draaipunt. Die distrik het honderd-en-vyftig jaar lank net gesny; van 1970 af word net weer aanmekaargewerk.
set here Vredendal: drie vanne op die stene, een gesin in die huis
Vredendal is a werf name on Spreeufontein No. 26, the farm the district called Gatsplaas. Five graves carrying three surnames, an 1886 slate slab whose inscription dates a woman to the day and whose line runs unbroken back to Enkhuizen in 1744, and then a household: the van der Merwes, and a man who died on his own birthday.

Wat die rekord hou, in volgorde

1834 document SG diagram 432/1834
Bf.W.Q.5-26
1841-04-15 to 1848-07-21 ownership Cornelis Floris Johannes Meyer (15 Julie 1791–21 Julie 1848)
Perpetual Quitrent · grant · confidence high
1850 boundary change subdivision: becomes Vredendal (Spreeufontein Nr. 26 Gdlt 1)
1871~ to 1874 ownership Lodewyk Bothma (1802–1874)
owner · confidence medium
1872 boundary change subdivision: becomes Spreeufontein Nr. 26 Gdlt 2
20 Augustus 1891 document newspaper
1903 boundary change remainder: becomes Klein Waterval (Spreeufontein Nr. 26 Restant)
14 Mei 1939 document death notice
entry no. 40
1939 burial J.M.M Botma
Botma burial ground, Vredendal / Gatsplaas (Spreeufontein Ptn 1)
1990 boundary change consolidation: becomes Plaas 215
undated boundary change subdivision: becomes Vredendal
undated boundary change subdivision: becomes Lot A (Spreeufontein Nr. 26 Gdlt 3)
undated boundary change subdivision: becomes Lot B (Spreeufontein Nr. 26 Gdlt 4)
undated boundary change subdivision: becomes Lot C (Spreeufontein Nr. 26 Gdlt 5)
undated document SG diagram verso 432/1834 (verso)

Grond uit hierdie plaas gesny

Vredendal (Spreeufontein Nr. 26 Gdlt 1) 1/26 · 5197.5 ha
Spreeufontein Nr. 26 Gdlt 2
Lot A (Spreeufontein Nr. 26 Gdlt 3) 3/26 · 3222.5 ha
Lot B (Spreeufontein Nr. 26 Gdlt 4) 4/26 · 5237.3 ha
Lot C (Spreeufontein Nr. 26 Gdlt 5) 5/26 · 4.3 ha
Klein Waterval (Spreeufontein Nr. 26 Restant)

Begrens deur, soos die kaart hulle noem

N Ongeluk's Fontein
S Waterval
E Riet Fontein
W Varsche Fontein

Ook begrens deur, soos die moderne kadaster dit teken

Grond wat aan hierdie plaas raak op die Landmeter-generaal se huidige poligone en wat geen kaart wat hier gehou word, noem nie. Afgelei uit die meetkunde, nie van 'n dokument afgelees nie.

Dokumente

Skandering van Landmeter-generaal-kaart, 432/1834, 1834

Landmeter-generaal-kaart, 432/1834, 1834
SCAN199.TIF

Skandering van Kaart se keersy, 432/1834 (verso)

Kaart se keersy, 432/1834 (verso)
SCAN200.TIF

catalogued, no scan held

Sterfkennis, akte entry no. 40, 14 Mei 1939
record-image (28).jpg

Skandering van Koerant, 20 Augustus 1891

Koerant, 20 Augustus 1891
gatsplaas vredendal spreeuwfontein goud.pdf

Kadaster

Die Landmeter-generaal se kaartindeks vir hierdie perseel

Navorsingsnotas

Site of the 1891 Prince Albert gold rush. Known locally as "GATSPLAAS" - [FAMILY] Frans: it was Gatsplaas when the gold was found; documented in an official 1939 death notice as a burial place (DOC-0017), while the 1891 press called it Spreeuwfontein. Granted 15 Apr 1841 to C.F.J. Meyer, folio 973. Broken up from 1850. Eastern neighbour of Varsche Fontein. [FAMILY] Vredendal, where Frans's mother grew up and which his maternal uncle holds via a trust, is part of this farm - which portion is not yet established [TO VERIFY].

[3 Aug 2026, SRC-202] WHERE IT WENT, AND WHERE IT CAME FROM. The 1990 consolidation LG 7373-90 (DOC-0168) takes the REMAINDER of this farm, together with the Restant of its Gedeelte 2 and its Gedeelte 6, into DIE PLAAS NR 215 (PAR-000134) of 10 710 ha. That extends this farm's record past the 1939 end it had here. The same document gives the remainder its own diagram, KAART 1/1903, and - more useful - the ORIGINAL GRANT: GRONDBRIEF NR P.A.Q. 6-1. Neither was held before. [TO VERIFY against the grant itself, which is not held.]

[9 Aug 2026] GATSPLAAS WAS PORTION 1 OF THIS FARM, and it was renamed VREDENDAL before F.J.W. van der Merwe bought it in or before the 1950s . So the name belongs to PAR-000020 rather than to farm 26 as a whole.

[8 Aug 2026, DOC-0218] A POSSIBLE ORIGIN FOR THAT NAME. The eastern neighbour, Riet Fontein No. 12 (PAR-000156), has a watercourse called the GATS RIVER drawn across its 1868 diagram, running towards the boundary the two farms share. A place taking its everyday name from the river beside it is ordinary. NOT PROVEN: the 1868 sheet does not use the name Gatsplaas, and "gat" is a common element in Karoo place names. [TO VERIFY] whether the Gats River is drawn on Spreeufontein's own diagrams.

[9 Aug 2026] THE 12.8% SHORTFALL ON THIS FARM IS NOT A PUZZLE, IT IS TWO EMPTY FIELDS. checks.py reports farm 26's portions summing to 13,661.6 ha against 15,666.1. The four portions that carry an area are Portions 1, 3, 4 and 5; PORTION 2 (PAR-000021) AND THE REMAINDER, KLEIN WATERVAL (PAR-000025), CARRY NONE. The gap, 2,004.5 ha, is those two rows. Nothing here contradicts anything; the model simply has no figure for a fifth of this farm. Fill either row from the cadastre and the sum closes.

Werknotas, hier gewys omdat dit 'n private navorsingsbou is.

Die werksnotas op hierdie werf word in Engels gehou en word nie vertaal nie. Hulle verander met elke navorsingsessie, en 'n vertaling sou uit pas raak met die oorspronklike. Alles anders — die stories, die getranskribeerde dokumente en die koppelvlak — is in Afrikaans.

Oop vrae

Six parcels whose surveyed extent is far from their polygon with no reason recorded prioriteit 2 · LEAD-0093
For each, is the extent mistyped, or did ground leave the farm without a note?

Wat dit sou uitmaak The deduction table. It lists portion, name, extent, diagram and deed on one line.
Is the ruin on Spreeufontein Portion 1 a gold-rush building, and are the workings above it diggings? prioriteit 2 · LEAD-0121
Two photographs of 29 March 2024 carry real device coordinates on Spreeufontein Portion 1: a collapsed dry-stone building at -32.969131, 22.290139 (855 m) and broken rock and spoil 232 m south and 74 m higher at -32.971036, 22.289128 (929 m). Do either belong to the 1891 rush, or to Gatsplaas, or to ordinary farming?

Wat dit sou uitmaak Any contemporary map or report locating the diggings or the village; or a visit recording the ruin's plan, dimensions and any datable material - a fireplace, window openings, mortar, bottle glass, a dump. [14 Aug 2026] TWO CALL NUMBERS NOW ANSWER THE FIRST HALF OF THIS: CCP1/2/1/78 ref A12 for 1891 and CCP1/2/1/23 ref A30 for 1871. What they will not give is a coordinate for the ruin in IMG-0010; only a visit or a map does that.
Spreeufontein drew mineral interest again in 1910-1912, and this record ends the story in 1891 prioriteit 2 · LEAD-0190
Two NAAIRS index lines put mineral activity on Spreeufontein a generation after the rush: an ALLEGED FIND OF CINNABAR in 1910-1911 (KAB SG 3/2/1/35 sys 01 ref MDC770) and THE SPREEUWFONTEIN (PRINCE ALBERT) GOLD MINING SYNDICATE LIMITED, registered under Act 25 of 1892 in 1912 (KAB LC 295 sys 02 ref 1210). What happened on that ground between about 1908 and the First World War, and who was behind the syndicate?

Wat dit sou uitmaak Either file. Both would give names, dates and what came of it.

Wat die rekord kortkom

30 years, and the ground changes hands to nobody we can follow first order · B1 succession
On Spreeuw Fontein & Toornits Kraal (Spreeufontein Nr. 26), Cornelis Floris Johannes MeyerH is the last owner recorded from 1841-04-15, and the next entry is Lodewyk BothmaH from 1871~, 30 years later, with no person in common. No document records the handover at all.

What would settle it The Deeds Office transfer register for this farm between 1841 and 1871. A transfer names its predecessor in title, so one deed closes the whole gap.
The record stops in 1874 and never resumes second order · B2 trail-ends
Spreeuw Fontein & Toornits Kraal (Spreeufontein Nr. 26) was worked as far as 1874, with Lodewyk BothmaH the last owner on record. 152 years follow with nothing. Who held it after that, and is it still one farm?

What would settle it The current title deed traced backwards, each transfer names the one before it, or the Surveyor-General's subdivision diagrams, which are what usually explain a farm going quiet.
“Riet Fontein” is named as a neighbour 4 times and we hold no parcel for it second order · B3 unheld-farm
4 separate surveys in this model put Riet Fontein on the boundary of ground we do hold (PAR-000005, PAR-000020, PAR-000025). It has no parcel of its own here, so nothing is known about who held it or when, while it borders farms at the centre of the project.

What would settle it The Surveyor-General's farm index for the registration division will give it a farm number and a diagram; the cadastre pull in `data/fetch_cadastre.py` then places it on the map.

Found by breaks.py reading the model against itself, not written by hand, each one is a shape of missing record, not a fault in the data. The whole set is on the questions page.