Karoo Poort Guesthouse

History of Worcester (Episode 2)

Mar 14, 2023 | Heritage & Architecture

Religion played an integral part in the development of Worcester as a town in the early years. Not only was several churches built in town but heading to the downtown end of Worcester there is as much character in the mosque and the old synagogue in Durban Street. A maternity clinic, run by Roman Catholic nuns, were situated on the corner of Church and Fairbairn Streets, where The Pines lifestyle clinic is situated today with the nunnery located on the premises where The Habit Guest House is today. Other historic religious buildings include the Congregational Church (next to Beckhuis restaurant and guesthouse), Rhenish Missionary Church and School on the corner of Adderley and High Street and the Dutch Reformed Church in Church Street.

Although the new town was still underdeveloped, the congregation of the Dutch Reformed Church (Moederkerk) was already established in Worcester by 1821. The Dutch Reformed Church building on Church Square dates back to 1821-24 and is a national monument. This church is a particularly beautiful example of Gothic revival architecture, complete with a peaked steeple made of tin that was added later on to the square tower. The church has an open tower with two bells which hang in the lower part of the baroque turret and replaced the original bells in 1921 for the centennial celebration of the congregation. There are indications that the bells were too heavy and the turret collapsed, damaging the original bells, leading to their replacement. One of the bells was later moved to the nearby Rabie Hall built to accommodate parishioners that could not attend services in the main church. This bell shows clumsy repair work and is mounted in an iron clock tower next to the hall. The other original bell was sent to a missionary church in Malawi. The large square, in front of the church, was used as the outspan area for the congregation.

Church with original and Church street 1900 (Etienne du Plessis)
Church with original tower and Church street 1900 (Etienne du Plessis)
Worcester Church and street 1943
Church and street 1943 (Etienne du Plessis)
Worcester Church, street and square 1969 (Etienne du Plessis)
Church, street and square 1969 (Etienne du Plessis)
Worcester Church today (2023)
Church today (2023)
Worcester Church bell at Rabie Hall showing the repair work on the top part of the bell
Church bell at Rabie Hall showing the repair work on the top part of the bell

Railway history of Worcester

In the 1800s the journey into the interior of the country was a difficult and dangerous undertaking and generally undertaken on ox-wagon. The establishment of a railway service linking the Cape Colony with the interior was problematic. The main obstacle of extending the railway into the interior of the country was the Cape Fold Mountains that separated the main Cape Colony from the Karoo Plateau. The Cape Prime Minister, Molteno, at the time insisted on the railroad following a straight-line from Worcester to Beuafort West through the Hex River Mountains. With income generated from diamonds and ostrich feathers the daunting task of constructing a railway through the Hex River Pass could start. The 3’6” rail gauge (Cape Gauge) was adopted in 1873 as a standard for the country mainly due to the requirements for crossing the high mountains of the Hex River Pass.

Between 1877 and 1885 – while the railway line to Kimberley was under construction, travellers were carried from Cape Town to Worcester in one day, spent the night at a hotel, and the next day took the train to find their fortunes on the Kimberley diamond fields. Three hotels catered for commercial travellers: the Commercial Hotel, the Alexandra Hotel and the Masonic Hotel.

Worcester - Postcard depicting the railway station in Worcester
Worcester railway station during a bygone era

The Eskom Hex River Power station

The Eskom Hex River Power station generated electricity from 1952 until it was decommissioned in 1988. The power station was named after the Hex River as the site was located close to the Hex River, in Worcester industrial area, from which it drew water for its cooling towers. The power station electrified the railway track from Cape Town to Beaufort-West, making it the longest electrified section in Africa. It also provided electricity to many small towns and farms in the Karoo. The installed capacity was 120 MW. After the interconnection of power stations in the Eastern Transvaal (Mpumalanga) the generation of the Hex River power station was greatly reduced until it was closed in 1988. This power station replaced the Worcester diesel power station that was built in 1948 to supplement electrical power supply to Worcester. All coal supplies for the Hex River power station was transported by rail from the Witbank coalfields.

The site was located in the industrial area on the outskirts of Worcester. Eskom built housing (a new township with houses and flats) and recreational facilities (Social and Sports club on site including a swimming pool and clubhouse) for their staff.

When the Hex River power station was decommissioned the boilers etc was sold as scrap metal and the rest of the buildings were demolished. The chimneys were demolished before the rest as they were in danger of falling due to loose bricks. They were demolished by setting a fire after the base were cut and dowsed in oil before igniting the fire. Demolition took 20 minutes.

The Eskom Hex River Power station (ESCOM: Megawatt/Escom News 1972-1981)
The Eskom Hex River Power station (ESCOM: Megawatt/Escom News 1972-1981)
Worcester Demolition of the Hex River power station late Eighties
Demolition of the Hex River power station (ESCOM: Megawatt/Escom News 1972-1981)

Bibiography

ESCOM: Megawatt/Escom News 1972-1981

About author

Danél van Tonder

I’m Danél van Tonder, geologist, artist and now guesthouse owner/ manager and blogger. I enjoy learning new things, visiting new places and digging for interesting facts about places I travel to. My love for heritage and natural science and my previous life as university lecturer naturally lead me to want to translate the science and history behind every interesting place into understandable snippets. In this blog you will find articles on heritage, geology, wine, travel, adventures and new experiences. Join me in finding out more about my part of the Western Cape and beyond.

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