It’s a Namibian Thing X

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Here is a picture of Oranjemund’s shop. One of the focal points for the community. I just dig the two palms standing sentry at the entrance to the establishment. I recall these two trees as being taller, so this photo is very old.

Notice that there are a lot of blinds in use. I liked the archway effect of the wooden slatted structures built to offer shade outside the shop windows. It helped to prevent the window display goods fading maybe, provided bored kids who were waiting with their mothers, a climbing frame and gave shoppers who waited outside for the shop to open again after the lunchtime recess, much needed shade from the midday sun. Our shop closed at lunchtime. Just like Gucci does at Rodeo Drive in Beverley Hills!

But such exclusivity that Gucci aspired and succeeds continually to achieve, was not quite replicated at Oranjemund’s sole provisioner of clothing, hardware, confectionary, mens and ladieswear, cosmetics and media like records and magazines. Functionality ruled over designer wear and razzmatazz glitzy interior shop layouts. Kahki predominated menswear. Hacket would have been well ‘in’ back then! Along with beehive hairstyles, slacks, Wrigleys gum and Cleopatra eye make-up. Thanks go to Sandy Buchanan for the memory jolt.

I seem to recall that maybe my schoolchum Charles Blakemore’s father was manager of the shop. If you know for sure that my memory is wrong, please correct me. I have memories of standing in front of the sweet counter and recall being dwarfed by the height of the storage units. It was my favourite place to loiter if I was inside the shop with mum who always knew where to find me. I always manged to slip away to go to this counter to stand and drool at the candy, sweets, chocolates and other magnificent yummy sticky sugary treats.

By the way, this was a roof I never climbed!

On entering the cool gloom of the shop, immediately on the left was the cosmetics counter. Straight ahead was the mens and boyswear dept. I did not like this part of the store after a certain age. It was here that I was kitted out for my boardingschool uniform. Bah!

Just a quick note: see the tar on the road in the photo above? Well, we kids used to have tarball fights. From what I remember the road covering was just a mix of tar and sand which when heated up by the sun became most pliable and easily rolled up into tiny balls which were then ideal missiles to be thrown at each other in a game of “Avoid that Tarball”. When compacted into peach sized balls, tarballs stung like heck on contact with unprotected skin. The road coverings were so soft, they also recorded the hoofprints of the gemsbok herd who still do roam around town.

Below is a photo of the fresh produce market. We O’munder kids were raised on hydroponic vegetables and fruit. All grown at the Beauvellon farm on the banks of the Orange river at the Oppenheimer bridge that links Namibia to South Africa.

Hydroponics explained here. Hydroponics is a technology for growing plants in nutrient solutions (water and fertilizers) with or without the use of artificial medium (e.g., sand, gravel, soil) to provide mechanical support. The definition of hydroponics has been confined to liquid systems only and are enclosed in greenhouse-type structures to provide temperature control, reduce evaporative water loss, and to reduce disease and pest infestations.

This is all well and good and a massive improvement on collecting the produce at Bitterfontein station and convoying it to Oranjemund. Old Joe Jowell made his fortune this way and became the 7/8th richest family in Southern Africa.

All because there was no station close to Springbok where he owned a motor dealership. Nobody was collecting and delivering goods arriving by rail at Bitterfontien, so why not collect for others and charge them for the pleasure?! Before he knew it, he had many paying customers. And before anyone else knew it, Jowell’s Transport was born and thriving and has grown into a massive haulage/transport company rolled up into Trencor. The transport side of Trencor’s business has disposed of its transport interests to management, black empowerment group Malesela Holdings and First Corp Capital Investors for R148-million in line with its decision to focus on its core container business. Such is business, but then Trencor evolved and now containers are their core business.

Jowells and CDM (Consolidated Diamond Mines Ltd) are synomynous with the pioneering spirit displayed by all the early residents at Oranjemund. They were plonked into a way of life that nothing, not even pictures could have prepared them for. I suppose there was no company induction programme for them in those days. They were just expected to settle in ASAP and get on with their life. By way of example, my aunt was a newly married 22yr old who had never left England’s shores. One day she was at the altar, a few days later she was landing 5000 miles away from England in the Namibian desert on an AirAfrica Dakota. It’s a Namibian thing.

I have been away too long. I will be back. I need to get earthed again.

It’s a Namibian Thing X

Gemsbok photo courtesy of Isabel Bradley