Wagon restoration rekindles Great Trek nostalgia
The Great Trek of the mid-1800s may seem a distant part of our history now but to one section of the community, it still conveys the independence and decisiveness of the time.
The operator of a small nature reserve in the Eastern Cape has taken the significance of that event so much to heart that all of the accommodation and transport within the resort reflects the norms of that period.
Over the past 15 years, Gav in Margrate – a master carpenter in Rondevlei, near Sedgefield – has enjoyed being part of this vision by, firstly, researching precisely the kind of living conditions endured by the Trek Boers, and then reproducing as closely as possible the tents, furniture, and utensils used at the time for installation in contemporary surroundings at this reserve.
The most significant part of this process has been the search for derelict wooden wagons of the period that are suitable for restoration and use there.
Margrate has found, restored and supplied two full-size ox wagons already, which are used for all transport within the park. The most recent find, already restored and in use, was a mule wagon built, according to its maker’s trademarks, in Keiskammahoek in the Eastern Cape and last registered for use in Zastron in the Free State in 1953.
While the ox wagon would have been the mobile home of the period, the smaller mule wagon would have been the light delivery vehicle, similar to the “bakkie’ of today. The example he found is estimated to have been made in the early 1900s and thus a century old.
Margrate said that it took an intensive six-week period for the restoration, which involved a complete strip-down, examination of all the working pieces, and replacement of all unserviceable parts.
The original wood used for most of the mule wagon was Oregon pine which, at the time, was mostly recycled from surplus packing crates abandoned in the old port of Algoa Bay.
He found vintage and suitably aged replacement Oregon from a demolished farmhouse in the Free State. The main “traction’ component, the disselboom, had to be replaced from a piece of local ironwood – very tough going, due to its weight and hardness.
“I try to retain the appearance and patina of age even on the brand new pieces.” Margrate said, ” so it is quite an effort to blend in the new with the old.”
According to him. the greatest challenges of the most recent restoration were rebuilding a wheel (without wheelwright’s tools), replacing a technically incorrect braking system, and forging a new iron step.
Thanks to Gavin Margrate’s efforts, those of us with a nostalgic streak will now be able to experience a place where life was simpler, undoubtedly harsher, and more self-sufficient.