Military Finds of the Folly - It's not a Rusted Goon!

I think I found a Cannonball!

My husband says it's a rusted goon!  I don't think so!

Maybe I've been watching too many "mudlarking" shows on Youtube.  Maybe I just want it to be a cannonball ..... It might just be one!

This cannonball could be one that was fired at an Armistice Day Celebration at some time!  

    Found this pic on the Alumni Facebook page

  Left:  The rusted steel sphere I found on the Folly today

          

Cannons were also used during the wars in South Africa.                 

A round shot (also called solid shot or simply ball) is a solid spherical projectile without explosive charge launched from a gun. Its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the barrel from which it is shot. A round shot fired from a large-caliber gun is also called a cannonball.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Round_shot

The twelve-pound cannon is a cannon that fires twelve-pound projectiles from its barrel, as well as grapeshot, chain shot, shrapnel, and later shells and canister shot.  12-pounders were the largest caliber of long-barreled field pieces, and were used both at long range against fortifications and troop concentrations using round shot and against attacking infantry and cavalry using canister shot. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve-pound_cannon

Click on link below to read more and see pictures of Lord Roberts and the Cannons.

https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/boer-war-artillery-volunteers

Do you remember Mr Steve Hodge? (he is the only person I ever knew that owned a cannon).  He also brought it to Jeppe Boys and fired it on the property.

Fall-out of the Folly - Radioactive Finds

 

This ordinary looking green glass shard inspired this post.

                                       

This is a shard of "Uranium Glass", yes, Bomb-Uranium!  In the late 18th century a bright spark (excuse the pun) a German chemist added uranium to decorative glass for it's fluorescent effect. (I didn't wash this shard, I was afraid - It's radioactive!!

This is what an uranium glass object looks like in normal light

https://www.bidorbuy.co.za/item/228046200/ART_DECO_URANIUM_GLASS_FLOWER_FROG_c1930s.html

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1370720/Japan-nuclear-meltdown-The-Simpsons-episodes-banned-Germany-Switzerland-Austria.htm

Whitefriars glass company in London, England was one of the first to market the glowing glass, but other manufacturers were also quick to realise its sales potential and Uranium glass was produced across Europe and later North America.

Uranium glass was once made into tableware and household items, but fell out of widespread use when the availability of uranium to most industries was sharply curtailed during the Cold War in the 1940s to 1990s.  Objects are now considered antiques or retro-era collectibles, although there has been a minor revival in art glassware. Otherwise, modern uranium glass is now mainly limited to small objects like beads or marbles as scientific or decorative novelties.

https://en.wiedia.org/wiki/Uranium_glass

  If you shine a UV (black) light on uranium glass it glows. 

https://www.olx.co.za/item/uraniumvaseline-glass-wanted-iid-1063053605

Not only did medicine in Victorian times contain, opium and cocaine, the tableware contained Uranium.  What next!

The good news is that I have not seen any 2 headed pigeon's or 3 tailed lizard's ... Mind you there was that giant orange centipede in a boot!

 As I mentioned before, the ancient refuse dump that is the "Folly" was covered in the 1950's so before then it was used to discard various school items, which would've included chemicals from the science labs.  Nowadays we have a company that collects the used chemicals and disposes of it in an environmentally friendly way.  

So forget the carbon dating or dendrochronology grab the Geiger counter and let's see what other radioactive items I have found on the folly!

https://www.pngegg.com/es/png-zxwsq

Just joking, it's not that bad!

Poison

I have found "Poison" bottles, small amber bottles with ridges and 'poison, not to be taken' embossed on them

Batteries

Unfortunately I find many of these.  The custom of dumping batteries in the trash has not changed since 1950, we still throw batteries in the trash.

In addition to the fire danger, batteries can also contain toxic chemicals, including lithium, cadmium, sulfuric acid and lead. If disposed of improperly, these toxic chemicals can leach into the soil and contaminate the groundwater.

For these reasons, it is illegal to put batteries in the garbage or mix them in with the rest of your recycling. 

https://sanjoserecycles.org/national-battery-day-did-you-know-its-dangerous-to-throw-batteries-away/

Interesting Jeppe History - The Payne Hall, A Time Capsule Part 1 - Fingerprints of the Payne Hall

The Payne Hall - a Time Capsule

Just as Collard's Folly is a time capsule that preserved stories of life at Jeppe Boys, so is the Payne Hall.  I wanted to document some of these special finds.

In their time at Jeppe, I'm sure everyone has been up, down and across the Payne Hall a million times.  

Have you seen these?

Fingerprints of the Payne Hall

                    Fingerprints on the bricks

                     a very clear print

 prints next to Mr Matteucci's class room door

If these wall could talk ......

The current Jeppe High School for Boys stone building was build in 1909.  After about a 112 years of friction the bricks in the Payne Hall are revealing some of their secrets.

The bricks that were used to construct the Payne Hall were made by hand and the fingerprints of the maker's have been preserved like fossils.

So I wondered, who would've made these bricks and where?

Below find some snippets of information I found

In October 1887 the government of the ZAR bought the south-eastern portion of the farm Braamfontein. Quite a big stream flowed along the farm and they intended selling the water to the residents of Johannesburg. But there were also large quantities of clay, suitable for brickmaking, along the stream. The government decided that more money was to be made from issuing brick maker's licences at five shillings per month. The result was that many landless Dutch-speaking burghers (citizens) of the ZAR settled on the property and started making bricks. They also erected their shacks there. Soon the area was known either as Brickfields or Veldschoendorp. Soon other working poor, settled there. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Johannesbu

​AT the turn of the 20th century, the Newtown Precinct was originally known as the Brickfields. This area was rich in clay, brick making became the most popular form of generating income, and even better if an individual had their own clay mixer for making bricks. By 1896, about 7 000 people of all races lived in the Brickfields area, later named Burghersdorp.

As this land was close to the centre of Johannesburg and the railway line, many businesses and immigrants coming from overseas bought stands in Burghersdorp. Soon, trading companies, banks, brick companies, a brewery, and fisheries moved into the area. Many Indians set up shops and eateries along Locatie (now known as Carr Street), which led to the station.

The bricks could not have come from Brickfields because in 1904 the residents of Brickfield were all re-located to Klipspruit. Newtown was established. 

Interesting snippet,

Did you know, Sir Julius Jeppe's father built the first brick house in Johannesburg?

Sir Julius Jeppe (jnr) was one of Ford’s assistants in Pretoria during this period. He settled in Johannesburg in 1886 where he built the mansion "Friendenheim" in Belgravia. His father Julius Jeppe snr. built the first brick house in Johannesburg in 1886.

I still want to try and find out where the bricks came from, found this ad in the African Architect, Septmber 1912.  So the bricks might have come from here.

Please click on the link below, an awesome collection of information and Photographs of Brickfields

https://johannesburg1912.com/2021/09/26/history-of-newtown-pt-1/

Sources:

http://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10539/18864/Journal%20of%20SAAI-September-1912-002-jpeg.pdf?sequence=7&isAllowed=y

ttps://www.joburg.org.za/play_/Pages/Play%20in%20Joburg/Culture%20and%20Heritage/Links/Newtown%20Guide/guide/Historical-backround-.aspx

https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/johannesburg-segregated-city

http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2225-62532015000400014https://www.scribd.com/document/262718459/Heritage-History

A message from my friend Melusie Radebe,

Did you Know? Primrose Hill, Germiston is a Middle Stone Age Site!

It all started when I found shards of an old bottle on Collard's Folly (on the bank next to Laurie's house).  I glued the shards together and there was embossing at the bottom.  It said "GERMISTON Mineral Water Works Pty Ltd, This Bottle is Never Sold.

                                        GERMISTON

 

                                       Mineral Water Works

                                       This bottle is never sold

I'm using it as a candle-holder, very handy with all the Load-Shedding

I tried to find where this spring was in Germiston.  Found that Germiston was previously known as Elandsfontein (a farm).  I could find no info about Germiston Mineral Water Works.

I did find this interesting article about Primrose Hill.

I know that this isn't Jeppe History, but it's the suburb that I live in (and I found the Germiston bottle on the Folly).  It's so Cool!  Others might find this interesting too.  

The story goes ...... in 1945 they dug the foundations of a new house on plot 170 Primrose Hill (in error), wrong plot.  But what they found was astounding, they found middle stone age implements made out of quartz.  John Harcus, who lived at 29 Beaconsfield Ave ( I think he was an Archeologist). Opened two pits and found over 1800 implements.  His article was published in the SOUTH AFRICAN .JOURNAL OF SCIENCE, Vol. XLI, JJp. 459-464, February, 1945.

https://journals.co.za/doi/pdf/10.10520/AJA00382353_5604

Not sure where the site is, my my house is built on Plot 370 and the site is on Plot 170.

Can't wait to investigate, I might sink a trench or two in my back garden!😁

                            Drawings of the implements found in 1945

Found on the Folly - Very old Marmite Jar!

 I found this little 4oz jar on the Folly "MARMITE".  

Sides of the clear Marmite jar with "Marmite 4oz" embossed

                            Bottom of the Marmite jar, the number "47" appears here

"Marmite" originated from?  Translated from French it means an earthenware cooking container.  That is exactly what appears on the Marmite label.  The first Marmite ever produced in 1902 was sold in earthenware containers.

An original earthenware Marmite jar that was in use from between 1902 and 1920

Marmite is a concentrated yeast extract, a by-product from brewing beer.  That's why there was a shortage of Marmite in South Africa during lockdown (all those home-brewers, shame!). 

https://www.iol.co.za/lifestyle/food-drink/sa-is-experiencing-a-shortage-of-marmite-heres-why-c96456e6-3a0b-4e55-b147-3367c9af6926#:~:text=Marmite%20lovers%20who%20have%20not,a%20shortage%20in%20brewers'%20yeast.

I am very intrigued, this jar is clear not amber. I wanted to find out why and also how old the bottle was.

I did some research,

I tried to find other products that could've been bottled in clear jars.  Vegemite, Marmite Peanut Butter even some kind of honey spread.  

I could find no reference of a clear bottle.

I then stumbled upon a website, https://www.marmitemuseum.co.uk/

There I found a post where someone else was also enquiring about a clear jar.  They explained that when amber glass was in short supply, Marmite was bottled in clear jars.  

These clear jars could be valuable if they have labels on both sides and have a lid, which this jar unfortunately does not have.

I have sent them an email to enquire what the age of the bottle might be.  I will keep you updated!

Did You Know? - There were dairies in Bez Valley

Shard found

I found a shard on Collard's Folly...... a few shard's actually.  I tried to stick them together with tape, not successfully! (I won't make a good Archeologist)

The shard

Here it is, a vintage milk bottle!

Shamrock Dairy

56 Tenth Avenue (I think)

Bez Valley

PO Box 59022

Tel: 25-8941

On the other side of the bottle it lists nels dairy, 2nd Ave, Victory Park, JHB.

This was the only photo I could find online of a Nels milk bottle.  Also with the blue circles.

Can you remember the plastic milk/Juice bottle caddy?

                                         

I did some research on cows in Johannesburg (why, I don't know, I just had to😁)

I found a document - PROVISIONING JOHANNESBURG, 1886 – 1906 by ELIZABETH ANN CRIPPS (she might even be family, my mom's maiden surname was Cripps)     

                Below is a snippet,

'In the 1896 Census of Johannesburg there were 29 Dairy Farmers, and 2,514 Horned Cattle.

There were a number of cows accommodated behind the house across the street (in Bez Valley). In the morning after milking they were led to where the grass was growing luxuriantly on the banks of one of the tributaries of the Jukskei river. My parents lived next door to a lady who ran a dairy and were lent her cart and horse for a Sunday, but the horse stopped outside every house where it used to deliver milk. (Dorothy Wigley). Milk deliveries were unnecessary because nearly everyone had their own cows'

I also found a blogspot where the dairy is also mentioned,

'She remembers Shamrock Dairies at the bottom of 10th Avenue, next to the "sluit", and the laundry a block away in 9th Avenue. Every day the children used to fetch four pints of milk from the dairy in silver milk buckets. On an average day Lillian would play in the streets until 4 o’clock and then come home and wash her hands, before going to fetch the milk'

Shamrock Dairy Location

Snippets below,

It mentions that Stands 1161-1166 Tenth Avenue Bezuidenhout Valley was owned by Messrs. Hurly Bros.  They wrote a letter to apply to house a 100 people in their Dairy premises.  They wanted to form a company that comprised of 5 existing dairies.  These dairies would then close down and operate from the new premises.  The dairies were situated in Observatory, Bezuidenhout Valley, Troyeville and Kensington South.  

"Apart from the six stands on which the Shamrock Dairy is situated, Messrs. Hurly Bros, own a piece of ground, approximately 10 acres in extent, adjoining these to the East and South This ground is at present let to market gardeners. To the West of the D airy is a disused laundry occupying several stands".

(this is Victoria Yards where we had our staff function not too long ago) 

Sources:

https://www.bidorbuy.co.za/item/240168105/THIS_IS_AN_OLD_NELS_MILK_BOTTLE_IN_THEOORIGINAL_ORANGE_MILK_BOTTLE_HOLDER_CRACK_IN_THE_BOTTLE.html

http://melodyemmettsbezvalley.blogspot.com/2011/11/still-friends.html

http://uir.unisa.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10500/5966/thesis_cripps_e.pdf?sequence=1     

https://www.bidorbuy.co.za/item/95884307/3_X_Rare_Vintage_South_African_Half_Pint_Milk_Bottles.html