This story starts with a man so taken with a woman he had her heart removed so he could keep it close to him forever.
This story starts with a man so taken with a woman he had her heart removed so he could keep it close to him forever.
He had it embalmed – probably in arsenic (this was in the early 19th century) – and when he committed suicide just over 20 years later, they were buried together, his body and his dead wife’s heart.
If this sounds extreme, perhaps it was appropriate (although the second wife of that obsessed dead army general, Sir Rufane Donkin, must have wondered a bit).
The episode starts in pre-Bathurst, where primitive-looking eupohorbias oozed poisonous sap and seeking relief from the harsh sun meant braving dense thorn bush.
That’s where in 1820, from the top of the highest hill, Jacob Cuyler sent off the British settlers with some basic equipment and food and instructions to go and make a life.
You can see in what directions and how far he sent them if you visit the Bathurst toposcope today.
Camped nearby on the same hill was his countryman Donkin, who determined Bathurst would be the base from which immigrants would settle the surrounding land in every direction. He declared Bathurst the administrative centre of the Albany district.
Lots of things went wrong for the settlers – even after they had cleared the thornbush enough to build a house. It was hot, there were snakes, they struggled to grow crops.
And then there was the matter of the people already living in the area – the amaXhosa – who were by no means pleased at their presence.
One thing that really worked for the settlers and soldiers thrown together to mark and defend new territory was the Bathurst Inn – up and running in less than a year.
Now called the Pig and Whistle it’s one of many comforts in the village today – all within walking distance of the centre.
Bathurst is a tiny place that’s home to free spirits, artists, academics, people who’ve stopped working and a huge number of people who wish they had work. For its size it has a lot of energy.
Apart from a weekly farmers’ market they host annual events ranging from its book fair to its agricultural show and art competition. Next weekend is the Bathurst Country Affair – a festival with a strong foodie emphasis.
If that’s not where your heart is, follow the signs from Bathurst to the Waters Meeting nature reserve. There a fairly serious hike through subtropical thicket will take you to the famous horseshoe bend in the Kowie River below, where freshwater meets the incoming salt tidal waters from the river mouth.
How to get there
Drive on the R67, past the spring and Stones Hill for 45 minutes and you’ll be at the bottom of the (very) steep hill. From there you’ll see just about everything in Bathurst, including the Pig & Whistle and the signs to Waters Meeting.
