Page 48 - Bulletin 14 2010

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Wallace’s ‘evidence’ for the old road

Wallace contended that he had succeeded in correlating features shown on the Trig. Survey maps

with the accounts of early travellers such as Daniel Heyns, Anders Sparrman, Admiral
Stavorinus, and William Hickey. He claimed as evidence the following:

 In February 1699 Daniel Heyns, Councillor Extraordinary of India, Inspector of the Cape,
accompanied Adriaan van der Stel on a journey with wagons with the intention of

reaching the Baai Fals. Wallace found the description of the journey to be meagre but it

seemed that some of the party reached present-day Glencairn. He inferred that in doing so
the party had crossed the mountains from Steenberg farm.

 Sometime in 1720 Corporal Muller and some men were despatched from Die Kaap and,

having marched through the night to Fish Hoek, captured three officers and six men from
a pirate ship, the Great Alexander, who were hunting game and seeking water there. They

were brought back to Die Kaap, and to Wallace this proved that there must have been a

well-defined track over the mountains, watchmen along the coast, and that the country
beyond the Steenberg mountains was not a terra incognita.

 In April 1772 Anders Sparrman, Swedish botanist, over-nighted at the half-way house on
his first journey to Simon’s Town, where he arrived the next morning. Wallace argued

that this stop was Klein Plaats farm on Steenberg plateau, rather than Steenberg farm, for
otherwise Sparrman would not have reached Simon’s Town on foot by noon the

following day. Sparrman did not describe the road on this occasion but in a later account
stated: “Before we could get over the mountainous part of the road …..” Wallace

interpreted this to mean that Sparrman had not travelled along the coast.

 In 1774 and 1780 William Hickey travelled in a light wagon drawn by horses, and

complained about the roughness of the road and the bad wine that he got at the half-way

house. Wallace assumed him to be referring to the Ou Pad and the half-way house to be
Klein Plaats.