Water Wheel May/June 2024: Water And Mining

Abstract

Cover feature New atlas gives mine closures more direction Early one Sunday nearly 60 years ago, a certain Mr Brits of Blyvooruitzicht, a mining town on the West Rand, was up and about, restless. It was 2 am and he was looking for a pill to help him sleep when what sounded like wagon wheels on a rough road caught his attention. Mr Brits peered from his window, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Seconds later, the noise returned, only much louder. Then Mr Brits watched in horror as the home of his neighbours, the Oosthuizens, “collapsed like a paper cup” . A giant sinkhole swallowed the Oosthuizens, man, wife and three children (aged six to 12) along with the family’s domestic servant. Their bodies were never found. In the ensuing panic, 170 families were evacuated. In time, a monument was erected on a hill overlooking where the Oosthuizens once lived. A simple plaque commemorates the disaster and its victims, ending with the inscription, “God het hulle te aarde bestel” – “God laid them to rest” . No doubt providence played its part, but man likely had a hand in it too.

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