Sir Lowry's pass- where does the name come from?

The Dutch settlers at the Cape didn't use the word 'pass' to indicate a route across a mountain, but the word 'kloof'. Hence; the Olifantskloof (today the Franschhoek pass) and the Piekenierskloof, today the Piekenierskloof pass. Sir Lowry's pass, the site of the unfortunate wildfires during the past week, was originally the Hottentots-Hollandkloof, a centuries-old mountain pass used by the local peoples and their livestock long before the Dutch settlers came. They called it the Gantouw path ('Eland path' in the local language). 

Settlers cross the mountains

Soon after Stellenbosch was established, farmers started expanding to areas like the "Zwartland" and "Over de bergh". The hot water springs (at Caledon) was soon discovered, and the town Swellendam developed. Swellendam was the first settlement to be founded after Stellenbosch, making it the 3rd European settlement in the Cape. For the most part of the 1700s and 1800s the Hottentots-Hollandkloof was quite treacherous to pass, and many of the wagons severely damaged. It was the only way the farmers from the Overberg could transport their goods to the Cape. February and March were especially busy, as the farmers sent their grain harvests to the Cape Market.

Upgrades and a paid 'kloofmaker'

In 1728 the pass was given an official Caretaker and in 1747 a set of engineers (called the baaspademakers) was commissioned to get the Kloof in a better condition. It was already customary to use Gunpowder (buskruit) at this time to dislocate rocks. Most efforts to create a secure mountain pass failed and complaints about the safety of the road kept on streaming in. A certain Mr Kettenaar offered to maintain the pass in exchange for a piece of land for his house. The idea of a paid 'kloofmaker' became an ongoing tradition.

Toll money in the 1800s

At the turn of the century (1800) the authorities, who were at that stage British, decided to create a toll money system for the pass. These were their prices:

All vehicles with 2 or 4 wheels  -        4 skellings  (I wonder which kind of two-wheel vehicles the old Dutch settlers used. Probably not motorcycles.) a loaded wagon  -                                 4 skellings an empty wagon -                                 2 skellings am empty or loaded cart  -                 2 skellings on horseback -                                        1 skellings livestock: every 20 oxen or cows  -   3 skellings livestock: every 100 sheep -               3 skellings

At the time a 'skelling' was equal in value of about 6 pence - click here for the above table. With the new toll system the 'kloofmaker' was now also the 'tolhouer' - and had to deliver the toll money, as well as the list of names and vehicles to the Stellenbosch Drostdy every Monday. It is estimated that by 1821 the pass carried around 4500 ox wagons across the mountains.

Sir Lowry Cole commissions a new pass

Soon after 1811 the district borders were altered and the maintenance of the kloof fell under the new Swellendam Drostdy rule. Some fifteen years later their governor, Sir Lowry Cole, commissioned a new road to be built over the mountain. The new pass, located a little south of the earlier one, was opened in 1830, and commemorates his name, Sir Lowry.

Walk in the old pass' footsteps

Today you can undertake a relatively easy hike to the original ox wagon trail (3.6 km there and back) - it starts close to the Steenbras dam gate. A set of old ox wagon tracks can apparently still be seen on the old Gantouw's Pass, and was declared a national monument in the 1950's. Help us to protect this heritage by contacting the Volunteer Wildfire Services whenever you suspect a wildfire starting. Their details are:

Cape Winelands Fire: 021 888 5275 021 888 5100

Cape Town City Fire: 021 480 7700 107

Overberg Disaster Management: 028 425 1690

Article: Y Coetsee 2017

Sources: Stellenbosch Drie Eeue (1979), The Swiss at the Cape of Good Hope, 1652-1971 (1997), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Lowry's_Pass