South African (Off-Topic) Quiz

[+tomtwogates]

thanks trevor

 

Keeping it in the Cape - sorry Ginger!

 

Who was instrumental in saving the Castle of Good Hope from being partially demolished for the laying of the railway out of Cape Town? A early conservationist!

 

This person said to Cecil John Rhodes, who must have said that it was just the point of the Castle – “Tell Mr Rhodes that his nose is only a little point on his face. Let him cut it off and look in the glass”

[+cownchicken]

One of the Molteno's or John X. Merriman?

[+tomtwogates]

One of the Molteno's or John X. Merriman?

 

Nope, but interesting characters

[+cownchicken]

Will Schreiner?

[+tomtwogates]

Will Schreiner?

 

Negative

[+Gps Storm]

I did a task in high school about the fort and after a bit of mindbending I think I remember.....

 

Wasn't it 'Miem de Wet koopmans' or something like that?

[+tomtwogates]

 

Wasn't it 'Miem de Wet koopmans' or something like that?

 

Well done stretching the gray matter Gps Storm it was actually Marie Koopmans de Wet – she was an early conservationist and lived in her house in Strand Street Cape Town, which is still preserved as a museum.

 

She played a valuable role in the preservation of elements of South Africa's heritage long before any conservation body was established. Thanks to her personal influence she saved the Castle from partial demolition to make way for the railway from Cape Town and she prevented unsympathetic alterations to the Groot Constantia Homestead. Marie helped prevent the demolition of old trees in the Company's Garden as well as the closure of a Malay cemetery at the foot of Signal Hill.

 

Over to you....

[+Gps Storm]

Thanks Tomtwogate, I can't believe I remembered that.....

 

But most of all, I can't believe I remember the next thing that my question is about.

 

Staying in the Cape:

 

A well kept hidden secret in Cape Town is that the castle is actually a symbolic gravestone...

Who's Gravestone??

[+the pooks]

Interesting - I saw a reference to the tombstone story while googling koopmans de wet earlier this morning. (No the answer is not related and my answer would not count).

[+trevorh7000]

mmmm.. need to track down my copy of Cape Town Stories as it might have the answer - it had the Koopmans de Wet answer!

[+anlufu]

Okay - going to take a wild stab at this one. Doman the Khoikhoi chief who had a love/hate working relationship with Van Riebiek.

[+Gps Storm]

Okay - going to take a wild stab at this one. Doman the Khoikhoi chief who had a love/hate working relationship with Van Riebiek.

 

Uuuuuuuuuhhhh.... Nope!!! Sorry!!

[+cincol]

The Prince of Orange??

[+Discombob]

what about Maria's beloved kitty that died of Scurvy on the voyage over?

[+anlufu]

what about Maria's beloved kitty that died of Scurvy on the voyage over?

 

I thought it died of food poison after eating fish!!

[+GlobalRat]

Thanks Tomtwogate, I can't believe I remembered that.....

 

But most of all, I can't believe I remember the next thing that my question is about.

 

Staying in the Cape:

 

A well kept hidden secret in Cape Town is that the castle is actually a symbolic gravestone...

Who's Gravestone??

 

Interesting....... never heard of the "who" before, well kept indeed. (google I'm afraid)

[+Discombob]

it looks like you've won!

we give up - -if the great global rat cant get it, who can?

[+Carbon Hunter]

I'll have a bash at van der Stel?

[+trevorh7000]

Google was my friend.....this is highly obscure and I really doubt anyone is going to get it. It has been over ten days since the question was posed.

 

I think we need to move on. I think Gps Storm gets a credit for stumping the team and needs to set another question?

 

What think others?

[+DAN404]

This is my first ever post on the forums. I Hope I do it right!

 

Ds Jan T de Jongh van Arkel. We had a book about him prescribed at Varsity.

[+the pooks]

This is my first ever post on the forums. I Hope I do it right!

 

Ds Jan T de Jongh van Arkel. We had a book about him prescribed at Varsity.

 

Well that is a lesson. NEVER underestimate what nuggets of information are lurking hidden somewhere in forum poster's brains. Welcome on board DAN. Not that I am authorized to judge on this answer, so I will stand by and watch.

[+Gps Storm]

This is my first ever post on the forums. I Hope I do it right!

 

Ds Jan T de Jongh van Arkel. We had a book about him prescribed at Varsity.

 

Sorry my guys, I've unexpectidly been off line for a few days now but have everything up and running again.

Thanks for all the replies....

 

Hi there Dan404, Welcome to the forums and thanks for solving this one for the Capetonians.

 

The man who died was Dominee (preacher) Johannes van Arkel.

 

The Floor is yours Dan404!!!

Edited April 14, 2009 by Gps Storm

[+DAN404]

I knew that because our Church History Professor wrote a book about him and we had to buy it as prescribed material in order that he could sell some!

 

I Think we move to the Freestate with an easy one:

 

Somewhere in the Freestate a new fountain started up and brought with the water some bones. Near which town and what is the site called?

[+GlobalRat]

Somewhere in the Freestate a new fountain started up and brought with the water some bones. Near which town and what is the site called?

 

I'll pull together snippets of info and take a wild guess. Clarence. There's the Clarence formation which contains dinosaur remains, perhaps the bones? Perhaps they put in a fountain at the new golf course estate?

[+Carbon Hunter]

I'll go with Loch Logan in Bethlehem

[+DAN404]

Some more information. The owner of the farm where it happened was Floris Venter and it happened in 1910. Both answers so far not correct!

[+cincol]

I recall reading about this somewhere before. I think it is in the Paul Roux / Senekal area of the Eastern Free State. There are also a whole lot of fossilised dinosaur footprints to be seen in the area as well.

[+GlobalRat]

Some more information. The owner of the farm where it happened was Floris Venter and it happened in 1910. Both answers so far not correct!

 

Fired up mapsource and found a place called Florisbad near Soutpan?

[+DAN404]

We have a winner. There are two new caches by J007 at both sites - Soutpan (the actual pan) and at Florisbad. Globalrat you've got it. BTW the Florisbadman, discovered in 1932, has been reconstructed and can be viewed at the Bloemfontein Museum.

[+GlobalRat]

We have a winner. There are two new caches by J007 at both sites - Soutpan (the actual pan) and at Florisbad. Globalrat you've got it. BTW the Florisbadman, discovered in 1932, has been reconstructed and can be viewed at the Bloemfontein Museum.

 

That was lucky and very interesting. Will have to go dig up some further literature, should get J007 to add some more info to his/her cache. A whole host of caches to do in the area for moi

[+GlobalRat]

South Africa's tallest tree came plummeting to terra firma in 2006. Recently the tallest living tree in SA was confirmed and announced. Where is it, and how tall is the tree?

[+anlufu]

Okay - wild guess here. A 800 year old yellow wood in Diep Walle - Knysna? 152 meters.

Edited April 15, 2009 by anlufu

[+Carbon Hunter]

I'll go for a Eucalyptus near Tzaneen on Safcol land

[+GlobalRat]

I'll go for a Eucalyptus near Tzaneen on Safcol land

 

Very close.......and the right kind of tree

[+Carbon Hunter]

OK Magoebaskloof?

[+Carbon Hunter]

There is a protected plot of Eucalyptus trees there (fairly close to Tzaneen) in a ex-Safcol (SA Forestry) area - called Woodbush - the trees are amazing. What is truly amazing is that when one works in forestry and sees "normal" sized Eucs which are fairly large - and when one thinks of big trees we automatically think of Tsitsikama - they pale in comparison.

 

the tallest tree (I think is called Goliath) is well over 80 metres tall).

[+GlobalRat]

There is a protected plot of Eucalyptus trees there (fairly close to Tzaneen) in a ex-Safcol (SA Forestry) area - called Woodbush - the trees are amazing. What is truly amazing is that when one works in forestry and sees "normal" sized Eucs which are fairly large - and when one thinks of big trees we automatically think of Tsitsikama - they pale in comparison.

 

the tallest tree (I think is called Goliath) is well over 81.5 metres tall).

 

Yep. I suspected you would get the answer for this one. The previous record holder was 81.5m tall, but this toppled over in a storm in 2006. In the same area, (Magoebaskloof) they have measured the twins (79 and 78.5m). Recently dubbed the “Twin Giants of Magoebaskloof”, these Saligna gum trees form part of a magnificent stand of tall trees on the Woodbush State Forest near Haenertsburg planted in 1906. They plan to divert the Magoebaskloof hiking trail to take hikers past these specimens.

 

Incidentally, they are the tallest measured trees in Africa and it seems that they may be the tallest cultivated Eucalyptus saligna in the world.

 

Over to you.

[+Carbon Hunter]

(Unfair advantage being in forestry for a while )

 

I liked the question on the grave in the Kasteel. Now Maria van Riebeeck's tombstone is in the slave Garden in Adderley Street - but where is her tomb?

[+GlobalRat]

(Unfair advantage being in forestry for a while )

 

I liked the question on the grave in the Kasteel. Now Maria van Riebeeck's tombstone is in the slave Garden in Adderley Street - but where is her tomb?

 

Now there's some school history. As far as I can remember Jan and Maria ended their years in South East Asia. I think Jan died in Java or thereabouts, Maria, lets try Borneo?

[+Carbon Hunter]

(Unfair advantage being in forestry for a while )

 

I liked the question on the grave in the Kasteel. Now Maria van Riebeeck's tombstone is in the slave Garden in Adderley Street - but where is her tomb?

 

Now there's some school history. As far as I can remember Jan and Maria ended their years in South East Asia. I think Jan died in Java or thereabouts, Maria, lets try Borneo?

 

Nope

[+tomtwogates]

She died of smallpox in Malacca - so guess she her tomb is there?

[+Carbon Hunter]

She died of smallpox in Malacca - so guess she her tomb is there?

Yes - that's it - in Malacca in St Pauls church - but her tombstone was transferred back to Cape Town - a new one has replaced it.

 

Her sone - Anton was also a governer in Malaysia.

 

tomtwogates - you're it

[+Discombob]

dammit dammit, i knew that one!!

I was wandering around Mellacca and we stumbled across her grave, not even knowing she was buried there!

[+tomtwogates]

Okay Discombob, maybe this one is for you?

 

There are two padraos in Cape Point Nature Reserve (Now Table Mountain National Park) that commemorate Bartolomeu Dias and Vasco da Gama's voyages around the Cape of Good Hope (the original by Dias a limestone pillar inscribed with the Portuguese coat of arms and a suitable inscription, surmounted by a cross on 6 June 1488, was never found).

 

These two were erected in 1965 - apart from the commemoration of the two significant voyages they perform a useful function - what is that function?

[+the pooks]

As a bush barometer:

If they cast a shadow - it's sunny

If they are wet - it's raining

If they are invisible - it's misty

It they are black - it's night

 

Edited to add: If they are missing - vandals about (use a stick instead)

Edited April 16, 2009 by the pooks

[+Carbon Hunter]

As a bush barometer:

If they cast a shadow - it's sunny

If they are wet - it's raining

If they are invisible - it's misty

It they are black - it's night

 

Edited to add: If they are missing - vandals about (use a stick instead)

 

How about they mark the safe route for ships into the harbour when aligned?

[+Team Ginger]

As a bush barometer:

If they cast a shadow - it's sunny

If they are wet - it's raining

If they are invisible - it's misty

It they are black - it's night

If they are missing - vandals about (use a stick instead)

 

Love it!!!! hehehehehehehehehe

[+tomtwogates]

 

How about they mark the safe route for ships into the harbour when aligned?

 

Warm, but not yet close enough

Edited April 16, 2009 by tomtwogates

[+Discombob]

oohh, if memory serves me corectly, there is a dangerous hidden rock in false bay, and when lined up it allows sailers to figure out where the rock is and avoid it.

 

I also recall they are painted black on one side to allow sailors to see them easier against the sun

[+GlobalRat]

Was going to say navigational beacons, but I think that's pretty much described by DBob