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From: "Rosemary Dixon-Smith" <>
Subject: Re: In Search of Conrad
Date: Sun, 8 Aug 2004 10:17:51 +0200
References: <007201c47c9b$a8d198a0$29c5ef9b@eileen>


Thanks Eileen - sounds like a 'must read' for me!

In my quest for ancestors (my own and those of others) I haven't
as yet needed to employ "men with parangs", though they might
have come in handy for some of my graveyard searches. These have
involved several walks through long grass and over a railway line
when visiting the graves of William DIXON-SMITH and his stepson
ALEXANDER ANDERSON both of whom lie buried at Intombi - the camp
hospital cemetery outside of Ladysmith, where cows wander freely,
knocking over those few memorials which remain unvandalised by
the human species. Stellawood cemetery in Durban, once so
pristine and well-maintained, contains the family plots of my
Natal GADSDENS as well as my HAMILTONS, and is also the haunt of
a variety of beggars, drifters, muggers and other exotic breeds.
Here, too, is the remarkable mausoleum of my husband's godmother,
who married five times, each spouse richer than the last, until
eventually they all rest together in the same tomb, no doubt
having discovered they couldn't take their money with them. The
door of this imposing edifice - of solid lead - was ripped off
its hinges (and no doubt sold) some time back. Now there is a
much inferior gateway bound up with barbed wire. Visiting the
Wyatt Road cemetery, where there are some very early Durban
graves, is fraught with difficulty as due to vandalism, again,
the gate now has to be kept locked - and obtaining the key is an
exercise in frustration. West Street cemetery, scene of many of
a mugging, is guarded by uniformed security men these days, often
attractively draped, with their belongings, over the concrete
memorial which covers the mass grave of bones re-interred from
the old Point Road cemetery; a few metres away is the memorial to
my g g grandfather William BELL, the inscription on which is
almost obliterated - though this seems due to weather and not, as
in other cases, to people having prised out the lead lettering.
Can there really be such a good market in used lead?

Of the cemeteries further afield which I've been to on my
ancestral travels, one of the most peaceful was that of St
Michael's, in the parish of Bowness, Cumberland, on the edge of
the Solway Firth, where a large stone commemorates my BELL
family, and mentions the William who became a mariner and ended
up at the Cape in the late 1820s, serving on the "Thorne" (which
was wrecked in 1831) and subsequently becoming owner-captain of
the "Conch" which played an interesting part in the events at
Natal in 1842. Ancient and weathered, the stones at St Michael's
have been allowed to remain undisturbed by vandals, and there
wasn't a mugger in sight. Or anyone else, for that matter, to
hear my squeal of delight when I found the BELL family plot. 'Men
with parangs' were not required!

Regards all,
Rosemary
Researching, as ever, in Natal.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Eileen & Marty Russell" <>
To: <>
Sent: Saturday, August 07, 2004 5:11 PM
Subject: In Search of Conrad


> Hi
> I've been reading 'In Search of Conrad' by Gavin YOUNG and some
of you might also enjoy it. Young is a great admirer of the
author Joseph CONRAD and in the words of the blurb 'Gavin Young
retraces his steps, chasing the shadows of Conrad by sea, land
and river, visiting ports and islands, from Singapore to the
Straits of Makassar.' This makes it sound quite high faluting,
but he's doing exactly what so many of us attempt - to find the
places our ancestors knew.
>
> Conrad based some of his fictional characters on real people
and Young's descriptions of his battles with bureaucracy trying
to get marriage and death certificates and hunting for graves in
old cemeteries are hauntingly familiar. However, one particular
grave hunt in Borneo exceeds anything we've attempted.
>
> Quote : Soon a hillside sloped towards the river into a small
wilderness of of tall grass and bamboos, and there the men began
laying about them with parangs, levelling a narrow way through
thick undergrowth. I followed them, in air like damp cotton wool
down a newly cut tunnel through vegetation 10 feet high. 'Be
careful. Snakes,' said Suparno cheerfully. 'Follow the
footprints of the men with parangs.' end quote.
>
> So if your research is at a standstill, here's book to give you
encouragement, you're not alone in your strange quest!
>
> Details of the book : In Search of Conrad, author Gavin YOUNG,
ISBN 0 09 173524 6, Hutchinson Publishing Co, 1991.
>
> Eileen
> Richards Bay
>
> ______________________________

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