Below is a brief history.
The information is taken from various oral sources and notes from Mike Worthington-Jones, Heinie Heydenrych, Piet Nel, Martin & Wilhelmien van Zyl, Don Woodford, Marion Maclean and Richard Knipe, as well as the following books:
If you have any info to add/amend, please email the Secretary. The books listed above and a wealth of further information about the leiwater and history of Montagu and the area are available at the Montagu Museum and many historical images of Montagu are available on Digital Rail Images South Africa collection
In 1851 D. S. van der Merwe sold his farm Uitvlucht for the purpose of creating a town (Montagu). The original leiwater canals were already in existence at this time and supplied irrigation water to the subdivisions (erven). The erven north of Bath Street are known as the droëerwe because they lie higher than the canals. The erven that receive water (between Bath Street and the Kingna, and some parts of Montagu West) are known as the watererwe.
MoreThe construction of the furrows in Lovers' Walk was done by POWs during the Anglo-Boer War.
MoreThere was a furrow from Donkerkloof to the Keisie which was replaced with a pipe in 1950. The Kingna dried up in the winter months after Poortjieskloof Dam was constructed (completed 1955). The dam was too small, and the wastage too large, for earthen furrows, so the farmers built a concrete canal in the late 1950s with the help of a loan from Water Affairs. (The dam wall was raised in 1968.)
MoreThe main channel through Lovers' Walk was severely damaged during the flash flood of 1981 (the 'Laingsburg Floods' which claimed the lives of 13 Montaguers).
The flood of 2008 covered the channel in thousands of cubic metres of sand. After long drawn-out deliberations with the local authority (which came to naught) and great expense to the members of the Vereniging, we managed to get the water furrows cleared and repaired. We now have a flood fund for future flood-damage repairs.
MoreRoadworks on the trunk road TR31 (Ashton through Cogmanskloof and Montagu) was scheduled to start in July 2015 and be completed by June 2018. The work was finally completed in Montagu in 2021.
MoreBy January 2018, the whole of the Western Cape had been drought-stricken for four years. The veld was tinder dry and the inevitable fires swept through the Langeberg including Donkerkloof. How did this affect the leiwater? Read on and you may be surprised!
MoreOn the night of 11 March 2019, the western section of Montagu dorp was hit by a massive hail storm, with hailstones the size of golfballs!
The resultant flood caused large sections of Donkerkloof to wash away and mud- and rockslides down the steep sides of the kloof. The leiwater source pipe was broken up and washed away...
Read on...A glorious storm filled our dams and flooded the Keisie and Kingna Rivers. It also changed the course of the Keisie River and dumped tons of sand on our source canals.
The committee and their teams worked tirelessly to clear the sand and rocks from the canals and pipes, and it took a month to restore the system to working order.
Read on...The original Montagu leiwater system was constructed on the farm Uitvlucht (Uitvlugt) before it became a town. The first grazing rights were issued in 1746, so the leiwater would have been constructed sometime between then and around 1820. Daniel Stephanus van der Merwe bought the farm in 1844 and sold it to create the hamlet of Montagu in 1850. It is very likely that the suitability of the Uitvlucht for town purposes was due to the excellent leiwater system already in place.
Daniel Stephanus van der Merwe, owner of the farm Uitvlugt that was turned into the town of Montagu, and his second wife, Susanna Wilhelmina van der Merwe. (Fun fact: one van der Merwe married another van der Merwe, and her mother was also a van der Merwe.)
This 1854 map of Montagu includes the roads and cattle paths to water.
The farm was subdivided between 1851 and 1854 and most of the erven were dependent on the system for irrigation water. Every residential stand sold at that time had a clause in its title deed that it was entitled to one hour’s irrigation water (the original water rights lapsed with the passing of the National Water Act, 1998 (Act No. 36, 1998)). The water came from three sources - one from the Keisie River and two from the Kingna River.
Source One started in Lovers' Walk where the Keisie River was dammed, and a canal went to Montagu West. The original conduit still serves Montagu West and runs in front of Montagu Vines Guesthouse. Another canal ran from the river to Bath Street, then west to Rose Street and back into the river where the Kloof Padstal is now. This served the oldest houses in town behind the Pastorie, and does so still.
Source Two was on the Kingna River, where it was dammed at the confluence of Joubertspoort and Kingna (just past Ashbury). There are still remains of the concrete furrow (about 2 m wide and 1 m deep) on this farm, and the earthen furrow below the municipal yard. The later Poortjieskloof concrete furrow went under MAG and Montagu Kelder, then lead past the current Eskom site, across the current rugby field (the land was lower then), into Bath Street at the current Vic Hotel*, then across Church Street (old clay pits, now tennis courts) into Seven Church Street Guesthouse and ended at Joubert House (part of our Montagu Museum now). This water served the farms Prospect and Tussenberge at the eastern bridge on Long Street.
Source Three was also on the Kingna River where the waters were dammed near the current Mandela Square. A conduit led under Knipe's Koppie to the area now Montagu Dried Fruit. This earthern furrow served the farm La Prière (formerly Knipe's Hope).
The erven North of Bath Street are known as the droëerwe (dry erven) because they lie higher than the canals. The erven that receive water (between Bath Street and the Kingna, and some parts of Montagu West) are known as the watererwe (water erven). A furrow was constructed in the 1850s that ran the length of Bath Street, with secondary furrows leading off it for each of the roads on the grid. Parts of this system now run underground, sometimes under buildings and pavements.
Map showing subdivisions of Montagu between 1851 and 1854, and watererwe and droeerwe. The dark lines are the main leiwater canals.
* When the Vic Hotel was revamped, Henry the architect came across a 0.5 m wide channel.
The leidam was constructed in 1859 or 1860. Bath Street was constructed more or less parallel to the Kingna River with a gradual slope from the dam to facilitate the natural flow of the irrigation water.
The Leidam in 1960 - 100 years after it was constructed. Photo from the Digital Rail Images South Africa collection.
Photo of the leiwater channel which can be seen outside what is now Mimosa Lodge in Church Street. The municipality purchased a strip in front of all houses 2 m wide (was probably 6 Cape feet) and this is the present pavement.
The canals delivered water for all purposes until 1894 when leiwater was split from household water. Dorpswater (town water) came from Fonteinkloof (above the hospital in Montagu South). Because this source did not provide sufficient water for domestic use, another source was tapped in Keurkloof in 1899. (Water demand outstripped supply by 1919 and another source was tapped on the farm Het Kruis to the northeast of Montagu. All these three sources still serve the town with municipal water, plus a couple of others.)
Lovers' Walk and the canal were constructed by prisoners of war during the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902). There are two stories, which may not be mutually exclusive, as to how this came about.
Lovers' Walk in 1947. Photo from the Digital Rail Images South Africa collection.
Story one goes that Roelf du Toit farmed with horses. When the British military wanted to seize his horses for military purposes during the Anglo-Boer War (which they could do in terms of Martial Law that existed at the time) he refused. He was arrested and he and his son had to help build Lovers' Walk as part of his punishment. It would not have been possible to construct the leivore if Lovers' Walk was not there because the water has to run downhill. A case of No Lovers' Walk, no leivore. The photo below shows a group of POWs on their release in 1902. The gentleman on the left holding keys is Mr Hubbe, their jailer.
Story two: It was towards the end of 1900 that eight farmers from the Montagu district were taken into custody and sentenced to hard labour because they had failed to report the fact that they had seen, assisted or been aware of Boer Commandos in the area. These farmers were Dawid Burger, Josua Joubert, Muisvoël, Giepie Joubert, John du Toit and Boy du Toit. They are pictured below with their guard, Daantjie Beets, in the background.
You can see that these photos appear to picture the same men. The photos are from the Montagu Museum archives. You can read more about the history of Montagu, and specifically the construction of Lovers' Walk on their site.
Montagu MuseumThere was a furrow from Donkerkloof to the Keisie which was replaced with a pipe in 1950. The Kingna dried up in the winter months after Poortjieskloof Dam was constructed (completed 1955). The dam was too small, and the wastage too large, for earthen furrows, so the farmers built a concrete canal in the late 1950s with the help of a loan from Water Affairs. (The dam wall was raised in 1968.)
Water and leiwater from the Kingna serves farms along the river but not the town of Montagu.
Poortjieskloof Dam - photo from the Breede Gouritz Catchment Managment Agency
Montagu is no stranger to floods, but that fateful day in 1981 is etched into the consciousness of South Africans.
On the afternoon of 25 January 1981 an unbelievable amount of rain fell over a section of the Great Karoo and Little Karoo. This caused walls of water to charge down riverbeds and completely washed away the town of Laingsburg.
In Montagu the rain quickly filled the Pietersfontein Dam. Luckily the wall held, but the Keisie River became a torrent and ploughed into the hot springs, washing away the hotel buildings, and onwards into the narrow kloof which piled up the waters which crashed into the town. Thirteen people lost their lives to the flood in Montagu.
Parts of Lovers' Walk were completely washed away, but the channel remained though it hung in the air. The walk was rebuilt and the channel reinstated in its proper place. We were very fortunate. Others did not fair so well, many buildings, orchards and tons of topsoil were washed away. Luckily the government helped the farmers out to rebuild their lives.
The Keisie River picking up speed across the lowwater bridge in Montagu West, January 1981. Photo: Don Woodford's collection.
The flood of 2008 covered the channel in thousands of cubic metres of sand. After long drawn-out deliberations with the local authority (which came to naught) and great expense to the members of the Vereniging, we managed to get the water furrows cleared and repaired. We now have a flood fund for future flood-damage repairs.
View from Kanonkop of Joubert Park and Lovers' Walk under water. Photo © Don Woodford
13 November 2008. Lovers' Walk along the Keisie River in full spate. The leiwater canal runs along the bottom of the cliff and is just visible in this photo. Photo © Barry Shaw
The hanging bridge across the Keisie River in Montagu West was washed away completely as shown on these photos taken two days apart (12 & 13 November 2008). Photos © Barry Shaw
The Western Cape Governement (WCG) decided to refurbish the TR31 between Ashton and Montagu. The contractors were scheduled to start work on 24 July 2015 and complete the work by June 2018 (36 months). They started in October 2015 and assured us that Long Street would be fully operational by June 2017. The job was finally completed in 2021.
How does this affect the leiwater? Well, all the canals in Long Street had to be basically rebuilt. They run under the road and pavements. Work was started but not completed because of the roadworks contractors' various delays, bankruptcies, thefts, bureaucratic red tape and the lockdown. The users in Long Street have had to make all sorts of Heath Robinson contraptions to open and close water including sandbags and dustbin lids. They are an adaptive and innovative lot and made sure their leiwater ran strong and true. Though there were times when the water had to be stopped so as not to flood roadworks.
The water runs through pipes now, and the stormwater and leiwater systems have been split - which is brilliant! (Stormwater dumps loads of silt and rubbish into our canals. Elsewhere in town, the leiwater canals still serve as stormwater drains as well.) The junction boxes in the pavements were left open for several years, but are mostly complete now.
Roadworks in Montagu's Long Street (R62). The pipes in these pictures are for stormwater not leiwater. Photos are from the Langeberg municipality site.
Four years into the drought, fires swept across the Langeberg including Bloupunt and Donkerkloof.
These two images of Bloupunt on fire were taken on 14 and 17 January 2018. You can see the fire was still burning after four days!
The slopes of Donkerkloof 10 months after the fire (October 2018). Because of the continued drought, veld recovery was very slow.
The mostly dry streambed made up of almost entirely ash. This stuff is fantastic for making plants grow! It does silt up canals, though.
Because the fire cleared all the vegetation from the kloof, more of the mountain runoff water made it down to the stream, and our leiwater volume actually increased! The water quality improved too because the farmers were using water more wisely and not letting all their chemicals run off into the rivers.
The main canal running through Joubert Park. With a dragonfly :-)
On the night of 11 March 2019, the western section of Montagu dorp was hit by a massive hail storm, with hailstones the size of golfballs!
The resultant rain and flood caused large sections of Donkerkloof to wash away and mud- and rockslides down the steep sides of the kloof. The leiwater source pipe was broken up and washed away. Because the pipe runs under the road in Donkerkloof, we had to wait for the municipality to rebuild the road before we could relay our pipe.
Luckily we had strong flow from our Keisie River source to supply all our leiwater during this time. At the end of April 2019, the road repairs were finally underway.
Thank you very much to JD Stemmet for doing such a fantastic job of reconstructing the road!
Once the road was completed, we hired JD Stemmet's digger to dig trenches for our new pipeline. We also hired Jerome Simonis's machine to lay the new pipe. Thank you very much to Richard, Gert, Jannie, Jan, Dylan, Mooi and Karel for doing such a superb job.
It took a couple of weeks to find all the leaks and make sure the pipe is strong enough to handle just about anything Mother Nature might throw at it in future. Donkerkloof water now swells our volume again!
All photos by © Richard Knipe.
Over the 24/25 September 2023 we had a flood rain over most of the Western Cape. This came after good rains in December 2022 and July 2023 which had already filled some dams (e.g. Pietersfontein Dam) to overflowing and rivers like the Keisie were already in good flow, so this rain created a great flood.
Once again our main canal was covered in tons of sand and some of the pipes in Donkerkloof were washed away. We started clearing the sand almost immediately starting in Lovers' Walk and working backwards towards our sources. The river had changed course and undercut some of the canal and some sections had washed out requiring rebuilding of the canal walls.
Tractor clearing silt. Photo © Richard Knipe
Team rebuilding canal wall. Photo © Kallie Laubscher
Before we could get a digger in to clear the rest of the canal and the inkeergat, we had to wait for the Municipality to rebuild their road across the river.
Contractors rebuilding the road across the Keisie River. Photo © Tian van Heerden
Clearing silt from the canal. Photo © Richard Knipe
The inkeergat (inlet sump) was completely under water and we had to wait a few weeks for the river level to drop before we could get in and inspect. It was of course full of sand and rocks which were cleared with the help of a loaned Kubota and hard labour.
Clearing rocks and sand out of the inkeergat. Photo © Richard Knipe
The leiwater runs again! We are still discussing repairs to the infrastructure in Donkerkloof, and there's an issue with the pipe to Montagu West. For further news of the flood repairs see out Flood Reports:
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