Adelaide, Eastern Cape

Fine porcelain display at the Adelaide Heritage Museum.

© Chris Marais

• Email
• Tweet
• Print

If you ever find yourself in the local doctor’s waiting room in Adelaide in the Eastern Cape, chances are you’ll see a sign that reads: ‘Venison pies in aid of hospital funds.’

That’s right. The people of this historic little settlement are justly proud of their hospital, which is managed through a private-provincial partnership.

This means that just about everybody in Adelaide works very hard at raising funds to keep the neat, well-organised hospital running.

They’ll stage braais, summer dances, hold raffles and yes, bake venison pies, all in aid of the Adelaide Hospital.

This tells you much about the character of the town’s residents, most of whom hail from San, Xhosa, Afrikaner and Scottish stock.

Adelaide, less than 20km east of its sister town, Bedford, lies to the south of the Winterberg Mountains.

It’s a favoured destination for Frontier War history buffs, mountain bikers and nature lovers who visit the nearby Fort Fordyce Nature Reserve, often on horseback.

Founded in 1834 as Fort Adelaide by a British army captain, the local farming community was predominantly Boer. Many of them left to join the Great Trek (a migration away from British rule) a few years later, making way for an influx of Scottish settlers.

British forces hoisted a cannon onto the rampart-shaped steeple of the Adelaide Dutch Reformed Church during the South African War (also known as the Anglo-Boer War), but locals say it was never fired.

The church pulpit, however, carries a more colourful legend.

The story goes that sometime after the South African War, a large shipment of wood arrived from England. It was immediately turned into church pews and a pulpit, of which everyone was very proud.

Some time later, there were enquiries from Adelaide, Australia, about a missing shipment of wood. But by then it was too late.

Another site worth visiting in Adelaide is the Heritage Museum, where you can get a detailed glimpse of colonial frontier life in Victorian days.

You will see old photographs, formal dresses, inventive kitchen utensils, phonographs, rugby memorabilia from a century ago, Spode dinner services, antique furniture, and an incredible collection of Wedgwood pottery and Lalique glassware.

And then, for lunch, repair to the historic Midgely’s Hotel up the road and be sure to order the steak – it’s really good ...