26-924: Hankey is a small town on the confluence of the Klein and Gamtoos rivers in South Africa . It is part of the Kouga Local Municipality of the Sarah Baartman District in the Eastern Cape . Hankey was established in 1826 and is the Gamtoos Valley's oldest town. It was named after the Rev. William Alers Hankey , (1771–1859) an ex-banker and the secretary of the London Missionary Society (LMS). He
52-693: A linen draper in Leven , and working as a clerk in Dundee , he entered the Wesleyan theological college at Hoxton , and in 1804 was appointed minister of the first Scottish Congregational chapel in Aberdeen . On 24 September 1809 he married Jane Ross, the daughter of a prosperous Aberdeen engineer; they had seven children. His daughter, Elizabeth (Eliza), married John Fairbairn , the renowned educator, politician and financier, on 24 May 1831. In 1818 Philip joined
78-463: A hill on the edge of town. As is the case with most South African towns, there are residential areas previously reserved for non-white residents set up on the outskirts of the town. In the case of Hankey these are Centerton on the western edge of the town ( on the opposite bank of the Klein River ) and Weston, located about 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) to the south-west ( on the opposite bank of
104-588: A partner in "Houblon & Hankey" with a John Houblon , who was presumably the same who became the first Governor of the Bank of England ) and Susannah Alers, and educated, according to his father's 1793 will, at the University of Edinburgh . Some descendants used Alers as part of their surnames, including Captain Conrad Byron Alers-Hankey, Royal Navy (who helped rescue HMS Calcutta when
130-648: Is an estuary where the Gamtoos river enters the Indian Ocean . It is located between Jeffreys Bay and Port Elizabeth and the Gamtoos River Mouth Nature Reserve is in the area. The towns of Hankey , the oldest town situated in the Gamtoos river valley, and Patensie are situated in the lower catchment. Further inland are the towns of Steytlerville , Joubertina , Uniondale , Willowmore and Murraysburg . Tributaries include
156-634: Is approximately 645 kilometres (401 mi) long with a catchment area of 34,635 square kilometres (13,373 sq mi). The Gamtoos river system is formed by the Groot, the Kouga and the Baviaanskloof rivers. The latter is a tributary of the Kouga. Although the rainfall in the catchment area is low, it supports a commercial irrigated agriculture in the lower catchment in which oranges , tobacco , citrus fruit and vegetables are grown. There
182-578: The 1926 Havana–Bermuda hurricane struck the Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda in 1926, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his conduct at the 1940 evacuation of Dunkirk ), while others used it as a forename, such as Alexander Maurice Alers Hankey and brothers Maurice Pascal Alers Hankey, 1st Baron Hankey (the creator of the modern UK Cabinet Office) and Donald William Alers Hankey . The purpose of
208-943: The Cape galaxias ( Galaxias zebratus ), a South African fish species endemic to the Cape Floristic Region , were found in the Krom River and subsequently they were also found in the Gamtoos River system. Until then it had been thought that its distribution was restricted to the area between the Keurbooms and the Olifants River . Although in South Africa this relatively delicate fish is only classified as near threatened , in Australia species of
234-828: The Gamtoos River ). Hankey is located on the junction of the R330 and the R331 roads and the Avontuur Railway passes through the town. [REDACTED] Media related to Hankey at Wikimedia Commons Gamtoos River Gamtoos River or Gamptoos River is a river in the Eastern Cape Province , South Africa . It is formed by the confluence of the Kouga River and the Groot River and
260-521: The Loerie River , Klein River , Hol River , besides the Groot and the Kouga that form the Gamtoos. Saartjie Baartman - the "Hottentot Venus" - was born around 1789 in the vicinity of the Gamtoos river. In 1877 during a severe drought in the region, the Gamtoos River dried up completely. During the floods of October 1867, according to John Croumbie Brown , the level of water in some parts of
286-507: The Cape government. D'Urban was dismissed by Charles Grant, 1st Baron Glenelg , the colonial secretary on the 1 May 1837. Philip returned to the Cape as unofficial adviser to the government on all matters affecting the indigenous people of Southern Africa. His wife, Jane, died in 1847 . In 1849 Philip severed his connection with politics after the annexation of the Griqua lands and retired to
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#1732783865299312-597: The Damant Bros. The first irrigation scheme on the Klein Rivier was started by James Wait in 1827 and completed in 1830. It extended for 3.5 miles and he was awarded 50 cattle and the use of 50 workers. What the papers said about the opening of the scheme on the Klein Rivier: "......the course swung into action sending streams of water down its winding length ....." People came from far and wide to view
338-516: The abolition of slavery in England , where Philip's charges against the colonists and the colonial government found powerful support. In 1823 he went back to England to lobby for the indigenous and coloured people's civil rights. His recommendations were adopted by the House of Commons, but his unpopularity in South Africa grew. The British government, however, forced the Cape government to conform to
364-468: The delegation headed by John Campbell to investigate the threatened closure of London Missionary Society 's stations in South Africa and reported that the conduct of the Cape Colonists towards the indigenous people was deserving of strong reprobation. In 1822 Philip was appointed superintendent of the London Missionary Society's stations in South Africa. It was the period of the agitation for
390-484: The establishment of the village was to grow mielies and corn for the LMS main station at Bethelsdorp and also to carry out evangelistic work. The first property was "Wagondrift" owned by the Damant Bros. And although the town was planned for 250 families it started with 25 families. The first inhabitants consisted of a large number of Khoi, a few Mfengos , a few farmers and mixed "Gamtouer" (1700) descendants. The LMS founded
416-598: The mission station at Hankey , Cape Colony , where he died in 1851 . His grave is situated behind the old "Philip Manse" in Hankey beside the railway line and is maintained by the Congregational Church. Philip's son, William, and nephew John Philip Fairbairn, born 1834, drowned in the Gamtoos River on 1 July 1845 when their small boat overturned. The town of Philippolis in the Free State province
442-655: The river rose by up to 21 m (70 ft). Two bridges cross the Gamtoos close to its mouth in the Kouga . The original 180-metre (600 ft) bridge on the R102 was opened in 1895 in order to replace the ferry that had been in use up to that time. A modern concrete bridge was built during the construction of the N2 in the early 1970s. Presently this river is part of the Fish to Tsitsikama Water Management Area . In 1995 specimens of
468-414: The same genus were driven to extinction by competing salmonids and other introduced species of fish. [REDACTED] Media related to Gamtoos River at Wikimedia Commons John Philip (missionary) John Philip (14 April 1775 – 27 August 1851), was a missionary in South Africa . Philip was born at Kirkcaldy , Fife , Scotland to a local schoolmaster. After starting as an apprentice to
494-603: The spectacle and Dr Philip later declared it the greatest work of its kind ever undertaken in the Colony. Part of this irrigation scheme can still be seen today and forms part of the Hankey Golf Course. The second irrigation scheme on the Gamtoos River, a provincial heritage site in Hankey today, was carried out by William Enowy Philip, the son of the Superintendent of the LMS, Dr John Philip. His inspiration
520-666: The station in 1822, terminated it in 1875 and in 1876 it became independent from the LMS. It became a Congregational Church as it is today. The first trustees of the LMS were Dr John Philip and the Rev. William Alers Hankey. The first missionaries were Messrs Miles, Melville, Williams, later the Philips' (Will Enowy and Thom Durant Philip) Dr John Philip was superintendent. Some of the residents were Windvogel, Diederich, Abraham, Stuurman, Dragoonder, Armoed, Scheepers, Mahtjies, Gerts, Matroos, Konstabel and Kettledas. The first white farmers were Messrs. Wait, Salmon Ferreira, Stefanus Ferreira and
546-527: The superintendent of the London Missionary Society established a mission station on the farm Wagendrift and named it after Reverend William Alers Hankey, the treasurer of the London Missionary Society . An irrigation tunnel constructed under direction of William Philip, the son of Dr John Philip, is today protected as a provincial heritage site . On 19 August 2002, the remains of Saartjie Baartman were laid to rest on Vergaderingskop ,
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#1732783865299572-399: The tunnel, William Enowy Philip, drowned on 1 July 1845 in the Gamtoos River "apparently in a desperate but vain attempt to save his ten year old nephew, John Philip Fairbairn. William was only 31 years old at the time." according to the family history book, compiled by Peter Philip in 1980, "A Fifeshire Family:The Descendants of John and Thomas Philip of Kirkcaldy." In 1822 Dr John Philip ,
598-488: The views of Philip and the ordinance of 1828 was passed granting all free coloured persons at the Cape every right to which any other British subjects were entitled. The French Capetonian actor, polyglot and playwright Charles Etienne Boniface however produced a play in Dutch against Philip: "De nieuwe ridderorde of De Temperantisten". It was printed in 1832 (repr. 1954). In 1834 , Sir Benjamin d'Urban became governor and
624-497: Was anxious to promote the interests of the indigenous people. After the annexing of land north of the Great Kei River , Philip returned to England, in 1836, in the company of two converted Christians, Andries Stoffels, a Coloured South African, and Jan or Dyani Tzatoe (Tshatshu) a Xhosa, and James Read Sr and James Read Jr, both missionaries, who gave evidence before a parliamentary committee and aroused public opinion against
650-897: Was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, (though the Missionary Society's successor body's obituary gives the place of his birth as London) as William Alers, the natural son of the London banker, merchant, Jamaica planter and treasurer of the Foundling Hospital, Thomas Hankey of Fetcham Park (the Hankey Bank, which was to become part of the Royal Bank of Scotland , had been founded in 1685 by Thomas Hankey's great-great-grandfather, Captain Samuel Hankey, who had also been
676-561: Was the window in the hill between Backhousehoek and Vensterhoek and was dug using pick and shovel and wheelbarrows. The length of the tunnel is 228 meters and the speed of construction was very slow – about 1 to 2 feet a day. It was started in April 1843 and completed in August 1844 – 15 months later. It was in use from April 1845 to 1970 – a period of 125 years. Note: This was the first ever tunnel scheme in South Africa. A tragedy: The builder of
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