Page 41 - Bulletin 20 2016

38

inspected the land requested by Mrs. Hurter “eight miles behind Simon’s Town at the foot of
a rocky hill”. He was accompanied by Mrs. Hurter’s son, Jacobus Arnoldus Hurter and as the
land was being measured out a surprising turn of events took place. Mrs. Hurter’s son now
said that a mistake had been made and that Mrs. Hurter would be “completely satisfied with
about half the extent of ground” (49) . This then amounted to 61 morgen 371 square roeden and
st
which Mrs. Hurter was at last granted under fifteen year erfpacht / quitrent on January 1 ,
1809. The reason for this change of mind will be later shown to be that, until now, the
Hurters had been allowed the use of Olifantsbos for free, or a small yearly rent at the most.
Under erfpacht / quitrent rental was determined by the size of a property. Therefore, Mrs.
Hurter cut her expenses by asking for, and only paying rent for, the land under cultivation
while continuing to enjoy the benefits of the surrounding grazing land, for free. This held, as
we shall see, until someone else applied for some of this surrounding and legally vacant,
government land.

Also in that year Jan Michiel Endres was to meet his financial ruin or, at least, that of the
Auret estate. John Osmond, (a wealthy shipwright and land speculator of Simon’s Town) had
apparently desired Buffelsfontein for some time. He wanted it not so much as a farm but as a
country residence from where he could entertain prominent citizens and visitors to Simon’s
Town. This he confided in a letter to the Field Cornet, under whose jurisdiction this area of
the Peninsula fell (50) .

Behind the scenes Osmond had been purchasing Endres’ outstanding bonds until 1809 when
he chose to foreclose. In the ensuing inventory of Buffelsfontein it was revealed that there
existed, apart from sundry equipment on the surrounding land, a four-roomed homestead and
pack-shed below the Buffelsfontein and a lime-shed at Buffels Bay. Most likely the house

and pack-shed had been built during the time of Jeremias Auret while the lime-shed suggests
that a few slaves had been kept employed on site collecting and burning seashells for lime
which, it can be expected, was then offered for sale in Simon’s Town. Whatever the case,
Osmond purchased the entire property, minus smaller items of no use to him, for 8,000 gilden
th
on September 15 , 1809 (51) .

38