Page 42 - Bulletin 20 2016

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At around this time, and no doubt spurred on by news of the impending sale of
Buffelsfontein, others began to express interest in land surrounding Buffelsfontein. On
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August 16 , 1809, H. Lotz applied for a tract of land to the south of Buffelsfontein around
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the watering place known as the “Groendam”. In a report dated December 31 , 1809, the
Deputy Fiscal, P. S. Buissine, wrote to the Earl of Caledon that he had inspected the area
under question and found it to be “4,000 square yards” in extent. He further noted that he
could see no impediments to prevent His Excellency from granting this property as Mr.
Osmond is said to have been quite willing to allow an access road across Buffelsfontein, so
long as it followed a route of his choice (52) . For whatever reason, Lotz failed to follow up on
his application and therefore, offered no future obstruction to Osmond who, it would soon
became apparent, also wanted this last stretch of land from Buffelsfontein to Cape Point.

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Meanwhile, J. P. Kirsten had submitted an application as early as June 22 , 1809 for an area
of land to the north of Buffelsfontein along the Atlantic seaboard. Addressed only in January
of 1810, a survey soon proved that some of this land including the watering place known as
the ‘Blaauwberg Dam’ (which lay along a watercourse that flows through the valley to the
south of the present day Gifkommetjie parking area) and was, in fact, on Buffelsfontein.
Receiving objections from Osmond, Kirsten “desisted” and withdrew his application, later
taking up a grant of land 5 morgen and 65 square roods in extent to the north along the Krom
River, under a fifteen year erfpacht / quitrent (53) .

Around this time another memorialist, Frans Daniel Rossouw, petitioned “to be allowed to
graze cattle at the mouth of the ‘Blueberg’ River on the same conditions as permitted to J. P.
Kirsten, I. Smit and J. H. Dreyer”. This can be taken to mean small tracts of land, for the
present, held under fifteen year erfpacht / quitrent which would at least establish first
right/claim of residency in the expectation that, once the issues surrounding land tenure were
resolved, these smaller areas of land could be expanded into larger properties. Also, the “Blue
Berg River” referred to by Rossouw lay just to the north and therefore should not to be
confused with the stream which fed the Blaauwberg Dam in the Gifkommetjie valley. A site
survey would confirm that the watercourse referred to by Rossouw lay a good 20 minutes
walk beyond the boundary of Buffelsfontein and therefore allowed Osmond no room to

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