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journey across the mountains. Molteno's report therefore chose the route of the current pass. It created a select committee in 1856, which allocated funds, led to the surveying of the chosen route, and the employment of a team of paid labourers (not convict labour as was common at the time). The report envisioned the pass as a means of connecting the underdeveloped Karoo hinterland with the port at Mossel Bay, thereby stimulating exports from the hinterland and the overall Karoo economy.
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A measure of its success was that Mossel Bay's port structures had to be expanded almost immediately, to cope with the massive growth in exports. By the 1870s, in spite of the frequent repairs from flood damage, one eighth of the country's entire export wool produce was being transported through the
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carved the name "Herrie" into the sandstone in 1929. Herrie was a fictional circus elephant in
Langenhoven's satirical works "Sonde met die bure" (Trouble with the neighbours, 1921) and "Herrie op die ou tremspoor" (Herrie on the old tram track, 1925). The stone was declared a national monument in
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developed his revolutionary technique for breaking up and cutting through large boulders. The first stage of building required the clearing of vegetation. He discovered that piling the recently cleared vegetation onto the rock and burning it caused the necessary heat to split the rock up. This was
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The Bains favoured a more eastern pass through the
Swartberg, along the slopes they had explored in the Toorwater Poort. It was an easier, more efficient crossing to construct for engineering purposes, however it was 50 km east, which would have meant an extra 4 or 5 days travel for every
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The initial allocated budget of £5,000 was at the time considered vastly insufficient, but in the end the project costed only slightly more, at £5,018. The likely possibility of frequent flood damage to the completed road in the ensuing years also needed to be considered.
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The
Swartberg is amongst the best exposed fold mountain chains in the world, and the pass slices through magnificently scenic geological formations. The Swartberg chain runs roughly east–west along the northern edge of the semi-arid area called the
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The pass itself had its origins in a series of petitions from the local people on both sides of the mountains, and in the
Molteno report, which ordered the pass's construction in response.
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A procession of 50 carts, 12 wagons and 300 horsemen crossed it for the opening, and Andrew Bain suggested the name of "Meiring" for the pass, in honour of the farmer, Petrus
Meiring.
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people had long inhabited the valleys on both sides of the range, and undoubtedly made successful crossings of these mountains. However these journeys were unfortunately not recorded.
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The over 2000 m high
Greater Swartberg range in the distance, viewed from farmlands near the town of Oudtshoorn in the relatively well-watered south.
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Construction commenced in August 1856, supervised by Adam de
Schmidt, and under the overall management of the Bains. It was on this project that
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The initial report had conceived of the pass as a way of connecting farmers and businesses in the southern
African hinterland, with the port at
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The "Herrieklip" (Herrie Stone) in
Meiringspoort is a stone approximately 15 km from the southern entrance to the gorge where the poet
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helped further by pouring cold water on the heated rock afterwards. The technique meant that blasting became rarely necessary.
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was an
Italian immigrant farmer, who had just been elected to represent much of the Great Karoo region in the new
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mountain range formed an almost impenetrable barrier for much of the subcontinent's history - separating the
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in the south made the first successful recorded crossing of this point of the range. His name,
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and a friend, Charles Pritchard. After several days journey the four riders reached the
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in the south. The mountains it crosses are those of the Swartberg range (
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Mossel Bay, the intended port and harbour for the Karoo hinterland
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for "Meiring's pass") is a South African mountain pass on the
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of the arid southern African hinterland. The indigenous
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The pass was also the first major project of the young
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Geological Journeys. Norman, N. and Whitfield, G. 2006
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mountain range, seen from the south in stormy weather.
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474:Meiringspoort - South African Mountain Passes
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279:View of the Swartberg Mountain barrier from
37:View of the road, on the Meiringspoort pass
485:Meiringspoort and Swartberg Nature Reserve
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149:The pass is a gateway that connects the
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196:. Much of the Swartberg is part of a
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508:Mountain passes of the Western Cape
160:It runs between the modern town of
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433:Romance of Cape Mountain Passes
164:in the north, and the town of
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310:The Herrieklip, Meiringspoort
302:View of a portion of the pass
16:Mountain pass in South Africa
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435:. New Africa Books. 2004.
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293:Thomas Charles John Bain
291:The great road engineer
139:Swartberg mountain range
51:Swartberg mountain range
261:Petrus Johannes Meiring
255:In 1800, a farmer from
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201:World Heritage Site
80:33.4163°S 22.5497°E
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356:Andrew Geddes Bain
332:Andrew Geddes Bain
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135:N12 national road
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85:-33.4163; 22.5497
47:N12 national road
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456:. Struik. 2008.
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316:John Molteno
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242:Little Karoo
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190:South Africa
188:province of
186:Western Cape
182:Little Karoo
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364:Thomas Bain
281:Klaarstroom
246:Great Karoo
194:Great Karoo
162:Klaarstroom
155:Great Karoo
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58:Coordinates
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462:1770073876
410:References
397:Herrieklip
387:Mossel Bay
71:22°32′59″E
68:33°24′59″S
452:L. Nell:
431:G. Ross:
336:Swartberg
271:The route
236:The vast
170:Afrikaans
145:Geography
131:Afrikaans
250:Khoi-San
153:and the
43:Location
443:. p.89.
373:Effects
257:De Rust
215:History
184:in the
166:De Rust
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406:1973.
393:pass.
328:Thomas
198:UNESCO
503:Karoo
464:p.94.
458:ISBN
437:ISBN
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228:The
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