To help establish a Bothas Hill residents
database, we ask that you signup online which
will assist in security issues that are of concern
to you and your family. Your information will
remain confidential.
This is a FREE service to the
community. You will also qualify to
receive ongoing email security issues and info.
THE EARLY HISTORY
[ Narrator - The Late Peter Reece
- May 2005 ]
Page 5
•
The Botha's Hill railway station
is next on the left, and the rail-track
and the buildings dating from 1879 have
been maintained in their pristine condition.
The regular "Inchanga Choo-choo"
steam train passes through the station
several times a month from Kloof to
Inchanga and back, carrying tourists
and local residents enjoying re-living
the past. The old station building is
now run as a delightful coffee and breakfast
venue by some young Botha's Hill residents.
• Next up the road is the1000-Hills Spar, on the right,
which has developed enormously from
the first little Botha's Hill
Trading Store built in the
1920's. The Wayside Store, on the left,
has given way to the Botha's Hill Hardware
shop. Further, to the left, the 1000
Hills Tourism Office has taken over
the buildings of the Botha's
Hill Health Committee, Library,
and Fire Station, and information on
all the tourism routes in the whole
Outer West is available there today.
• Rob Roy Hotel
(rebuilt after the fire in 1962) stands
dominating the horizon on the peak of
Botha's Hill, with the most incredible
views of the Valley of a Thousand Hills.
Definitely worth visiting! •
Dunrobin Nursery, next
on the left, is probably the leading
plant nursery in the Outer West, if
not KwaZulu-Natal. Established in the
1950's, it has consistently provided
quality plant material, both indigenous
and exotic. A small restaurant serves
traditional teas and lunches. •
On the corner, the Botha's Hill
Hotel (built in 1884) sadly
no longer exists. Closed down after
nearly 100 years, it has made way for
a cluster-housing development. The hotel
was a favoured watering-hole for generations
of Botha's Hill, Drummond, and Assagay
residents. • The Zulu Reserve
Road, next on the right, leads down
into the KwaNyuswa Valley. A short way
down is the Valley Trust
and Health Clinic, the brain-child of
Dr Halley Stott who saw the need for
agricultural education and healthy nutrition
for the residents of the valley. Tuberculosis
had been, and still is today, a huge
health risk and the TOC-H TB
Clinic was established by Dr
Stott and professionally-manned for
those suffering this deadly ailment.
International funding now keeps the
clinic alive. • As one approaches
the Alverstone railway siding, sugar-cane
fields roll on the left and a number
of tourist destinations straddle the
road: restaurants, curio shops, a raptor
bird display, and then the large PheZulu
Safari Park with its crocodile and snake-park,
traditional tribal village, huge curio
shop, and conducted tours. At the rail-crossing,
the dusty road leads up to Alverstone
hill, one of the highest points on this
route. However, by turning left after
crossing the rail-line and taking a
meandering track down the valley, the
remains of Clough's Royal Hotel
can be found. It was established in
1855 as a stage-coach stop-off, but
closed around 1884.
There is no doubt that along this
5 Km stretch of road through
Botha's Hill, with its 160-year
recorded history, there is enough
to keep the interested traveler or
resident busy for days!
