Bertie Lubbe's Return Visit to Oranjemund - 30 years later!

[Malcolm Bertoni]

Hi Mike and Ian

Good to see an ex-Affenrucker on the forum. 

Interesting that I know none of the guys mentioned being there in 1975.  I know that when I left in early 1974, most of the guys that I knew left not long afterwards.
We explored the long gulley for at least 10 kms.  It does a big loop and heads back towards the river, before finally petering out. The freshwater spring mentioned in my book is about 1 km from the single quarters.  Its still there. I'm not surprised that there's lots of bones and skeletons due to the water source nearby. Wouldn't be surprised if the Bushman were there in the old times as well . . .
Them good old days

Malcolm

[Michael Alexander]

Gee! Ain't that strange timing Malcolm, just yesterday I was roaming the Sperrgebiedt with Google Earth and went to Affenrucken, to follow the dry river bed east and then on the bend to the south..... trying to see where it's source was...... which turned out to be nowhere.....

I noticed the wet patch as indicated below and wondered if this was the fountain?

[Malcolm Bertoni]

Hi Mike

Yes that's it - where you've got the arrow.  There's a photo of it in my Sperrgebiet book (Fig 4).

Malcolm

[Ian Tonn]

Greetings Malcolm,

Here is another photograph from the gullies behind Affenrucken.  It could be one of those old Bushman occupation sites or it could be an Old Affenrucker occupation site.  I'm leaning towards an old Affenrucker site.

[Michael Alexander]

Ian, Thanks for the snap...... interesting bushman artwork....

For what it's worth, the company has removed all metal and rubbish from the mining area and this includes both 1 and 2 plants and parts of 4 Plant.

I see that the tyre dumps are still to be seen from Google Earth....


Malcolm, do any of you guys know what these black lines might be? From Google eartg about 20km North East of Affenrucken up towards the fence.....

[Michael Alexander]

Oh! Ian..... don't know if you have seen this link from Malcolm...

LINK: http://www.oranjemundonline.com/Forum/index.php?topic=3169.msg65411#msg65411

[Malcolm Bertoni]

Hi Mike

Looks like some sort of portable fencing or netting - just guessing here as I haven't really got a clue what it is.
It on the way to Boegoeberg, but not sure if means anything.

Ian - can you remember who the cook was at Affen in 75?

Malcolm

[Ian Tonn]

G'day Malcolm and Mike,

Sorry I can't remember who the cook was in 75.  The food was OK and I particularly remember the Appletizers and Grapetizers after the meal.  (We didn't have those in Australia).  I do remember some of the Ovambos from the Affenrucken Mess.  After our Christmas lunch in 1975 the Ovambos from the Mess gathered and sang us some songs.  We were so impressed that we asked them over to the single quarters to sing some more in the Recreation Room.   We took up a small collection for them so they could treat themselves to a little Christmas cheer.  Francois set up his tape recorder and they sang song after song and we sat back and listened to the recording.  I can still hear Richard's voice saying "come on you cats, lets have another song".  I think Emeric was the Headman.  Others I remember were Rastas, Jim and Jason (or was his name Stephen?) .  Jason was the only one who could speak a little English and he got the job of making a speech thanking us for the gift.

Here are a few photos (poor quality) from that day.  I still regard it as my best Christmas ever.  At the time I was acting 2 Plant Foreman so I had to leave Affenrucken at 11.30 to do a midnight startup at 2 Plant.  Francois gave me a copy of the recording and every now and again I would listen to it with nostalgia.  I looked for it the other day but couldn't find it.  It will turn up one day.

Cheers,  Ian.

[Michael Alexander]

Ian, What an awesome piece of history....

I have often spoke about how I have almost none of the "Ovambo" history of the period..... and nobody from that era seem's knowledgeable enough to put it all together...

Your photo's that you uploaded are part of that "missing" history.....

Would love to hear that recording....

Going to show these photo's to an old timer I know.... he might know more....

Interesting to note the traditional two scars on the one chap, you don't see that much these days!

thanks again for taking the time....

[Malcolm Bertoni]

Hi Mike

I don't know where you could find out when the single quarters closed. I tried, and there seems to be no record of Affenrucken at all. Nothing.
It might pay to talk to old Kuffner - he was up at Affenrucken in the early 80s. I know when I saw him he said it was around 1982 that he was there and the single quarters had already been closed for a few years. 

What year did you leave Ian?

Malcolm

[Ian Tonn]

Malcolm,  I left Affenrucken in Feb 1976.  I wasn't there all that long but it seems much longer.    I arrived at Oranjemund in June 1975 as a Graduate Metallurgist and C.D.M. was allocated as my base mine.  I had to do my operational training at 2 Plant.  When I first went to the Personnel Department the lady there was taking down my details and said "I see  that you will be moving up to Affenrucken to live for 5 months".  She paused, looked up and said  "they're all sand-happy up at Affenrucken!".  I didn't know what sand-happy meant.  I got to Affenrucken around September and started learning to operate all sections at 2 Plant.  The scrubbers, crushers, screens, stockpiles, recrushers, H.M.S. and slimes disposal.  Then they let me loose as acting 2 Plant Foreman for 2 months.  By this stage I had transformed into an Affenrucker.  The hair was getting long and a beard had started (mainly because other bearded Affenruckers had stolen the blade from my shaver and all the spares).  By this stage I actually preferred to be at Affenrucken over Oranjemund.  In the last week of Oct 75 the town was declared an "open town" and a temporary x-ray station was in operation between the mine and Oranjemund.  It meant you had to drive to the x-ray station and then get a bus into Oranjemund.  This meant that the boys from Affenrucken couldn't go into town, fill up the back of the Booze Bakkie and return to Affenrucken.  After the new security arrangements these guys tended to stay in town for the weekend which meant we had Affenrucken to ourselves for the whole weekend.  I thought of it as an idyllic utopian outpost.  I guess from your writings Malcolm you had similar thoughts.  I think we must have become sand-happy.

By Feb 1976 I had finished my operational training and left Affenrucken.  I spent my last 2 weeks with Ronnie Potgeiter at the Arrisdrift prospecting site and then left C.D.M. to go to the De Beers Diamond Research Labs in Joburg. 

Ian.

[Malcolm Bertoni]

hi Ian

I know what you mean about the attitude of the town people to the Affenruckers. And I agree with you that Affenrucken was infinitely more preferable to town.

I played rugby with Ronnie Potgieter in 71 and 72 I think. He's now retired at Yzerfontein.

Cheers

Malcolm

[henniek]

Fascinating stuff . I remember the mess sheff Ben von Etten - thanks for the pictures of the Ovambo kitchen staff  .. I enjoyed many many mid day meals at Affies .

[Malcolm Bertoni]

Hi Hennie

Ben is now living in Canada, near Vancouver. He was a great chef.

I'm still in touch with him.

Malcolm

[Ian Tonn]

Ian Brown was the Screens-man at 2 Plant.  I think he came from Three Anchor Bay in Capetown.  He liked surfing and travelling the world and was a vegetarian.  He was on the mine to save up for a holiday to Madagascar, Mauritius, Kenya and England and in November 1975 he decided to leave the mine.  We got together for a farewell tour around Affenrucken and borrowed a Landrover for the day.  Tex the brown dog wanted to come with us but we left him at Affenrucken.  We ended up near 1 Plant where there was an old scraper dumped on the beach.  The windblown sand had built up around it and there was a nice niche between the cabin and scraper where we sat because it protected us from the icy wind as we watched the surf.  We were about 8 miles from Affenrucken.

We had been there only 15 minutes or so when who should arrive but Tex the brown dog.  He had somehow managed to track us down.  It must have been the special cologne, "Eau de Affenrucker", that we wear.  To this date I am extremely impressed by his ability to sniff out an Affenrucker from 8 miles away.

We knew this dog as "Tex", but looking at Malcolm's photos I can see him described as "Ben's dog" (Ben von Etten)  -  a dog of legendary reputation.  During my time at Affenrucken I can recall 6 dogs.  As well as Tex there were 3 black labradors  -  one of them was named "Lady".  She had a nice temperament.  Then there was a small wiry dog known as "Jackals" -  because people thought he had some jackal-like qualities.  He was a little hyperactive as if he had been on the red cordial.  And then there was a bull terrier named "Buzz".  Buzzie is the same dog in the B&W photo with Bertie Lubbe.

Here are a couple more photos.  One shows Bertie giving Ian Brown the Rabbit Ears as we shelter from the wind behind the Relay Station which from memory was on the ridgeline north of the Affenrucken Gully.  The other two people are Richard and Francois.  I think the dog might be Lady.  The second photo shows Richard van Ryneveld about to give Buzz a swing around using a piece of rubber.  Richard took over as screens-man when Ian left.