South-West Africa

by William Eveleigh

The White People

In the year 1880 the white population of South-West Africa consisted of 300 trek-Boers and 150 Europeans in Damaraland, and a dozen whites at Walvis Bay: in 1900, that is, six years after the German annexation, there was a total white population of 3,388, made up of 2,146 men, 452 women, and 790 children. The last census, taken on January 1st, 1913, showed a total population of 14,830. Including the 1,819 members of the military forces, the males numbered 10,147, the females 4,683, and the children 1,625. There was an increase of 250 women against the preceding year, and this is a healthy sign, since it goes to show that existence is becoming more stable in the colony, and that social conditions are improving.

The Windhoek district has the largest population, as it claims 2,871 people; Luderitzbucht is second with 1,616; Swakopmund third with 1,463; Karibib has the fourth place with 1,170; while Keetmanshoop is not far behind with 1,155.

The nationality of the population was, of course, largely German; there were only 272 Englishmen, but there were 1,630 “other British subjects.” The percentage of other nationalities to the population was very small.

There has been a slow but steady increase in population since the close of the native wars in 1906; but the increase is small in proportion to the size of the country; it should be noted, however, that the many native wars have had a most unsettling effect for years, and only a comparatively brief period has elapsed since they were brought to a close. There is no doubt that colonists will find their way to the country in increasing numbers in the near future, for the large areas in the central region constitute a fine “white man’s country.”

Up to the present the land has only claimed the labours of 24 per cent. of the adult males, while the commercial community has been responsible for 18 per cent., and “other professions” no less than 45 per cent.

It is evident that mining activities have absorbed the energies of the great number of whites, and that the farming profession has not yet been brought into the position of prominence that it must have before permanent success can be assured to the country.

It is somewhat surprising to learn that of 2,368 adult females, only 1,761 were married. Boys and girls exist in about equal numbers.

The majority of the people are Protestants in religion; Roman Catholics number 17 per cent., while “other religions” claim 2 per cent.

Chapter IX
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTRY

It must not be concluded from what has been written about the blunders of the colonial administration in dealing with the native people that little or nothing has been done in the way of developing the country’s resources, for many solid achievements stand to the credit of Germany.

While many and grievous mistakes have been made, it must be remembered that success in the difficult sphere of colonial enterprise rarely, if ever, comes save with experience. To provide in South-West Africa a home for German emigrants and a market for German trade, considerable effort and large sums of money have been expended, and that success is not more marked is partly due to the fact that so much energy has been devoted to warlike operations rather than to the task of colonisation.

For purposes of administration the country was divided into fifteen districts (excluding Ovamboland and the Caprivizipfel), Grootfontein, Omaruru, Outjo, Okahandja, Karibib, Windhoek, Gobabis, Rehoboth, Gibeon, Maltahoehe, Bethanien, Keetmanshoop, Warmbad, Luderitzbucht, and Swakopmund. There are no very large towns in existence, but the few small towns and villages compare very favourably with those of similar size in the Union of South African, while several of them are considerably in advance as regards public buildings and modern improvements. The principal towns are Windhoek, Swakopmund, Luderitzbucht, and Keetmanshoop. Windhoek has a picturesque situation in the best part of the territory, 180 miles from Swakopmund in a direct line. As the seat of Government and the military headquarters, it has long been the most important town in the country. About a thousand Europeans resided here, and 800 natives. The principal thoroughfare is a wide street nearly two miles in length. There are substantial churches, a park, a public library, a museum, Government buildings, clubs, fort, barracks, a fine marble monument to the soldiers who perished in the native wars, and the inevitable brewery. Houses nestle among the trees in pleasing fashion, and there are many well-cultivated gardens.

Swakopmund, at the mouth of the Swakop River, is the principal port, and for some years it has been the busiest town in the country, but it has a poor harbour, lying as it does on the open Atlantic seaboard. Immense sums of money have been spent in order to provide good landing accommodation, but Swakopmund has too many natural disadvantages to make it a safe and satisfactory harbour. Thousands of tons of sand are deposited yearly in the bight by the Benguella current, and the pounding of the big Atlantic waves would destroy any but the strongest and most massive jetty. A new jetty was nearing completion when the war broke out. Some very fine Government buildings have been erected, as well as hospitals and churches and business establishments; the streets are wide, with wood-paved footpaths, and the town has an air of solidity and neatness quite unusual to a young colonial township.

But the natural entry into the country is the spacious and sheltered harbour at Walvis Bay, twenty-five miles to the south of Swakopmund, which though undeveloped has enormous possibilities as a naval base, and a port for the hinterland. A good railway from Walvis Bay to Swakopmund will go far to solve the problem of the future of a town which is a good monument to German industry and enterprise.

Luderitzbucht was formerly nothing more than a dilapidated trading station for the interior, but with the discovery of diamonds in the vicinity the settlement grew into a town with almost magical swiftness. It had a white population of 800 in 1914. Many substantial and even handsome buildings have been erected. The town has a fine harbour, an electric power station, a powerful plant for condensing sea-water, and a good telephone system, but the roads are merely tracks in the sand, and when the wind blows; as it often does, the sand is everywhere, indoors and out. Goggles are a necessity for every one.

Keetmanshoop was the capital of the southern territory, and was important on account of its position as a military headquarters. The town is small, but well laid out, and has a church, a Government school, a number of hotels, stores, and some neat residences.

Other centres of population, of more or less importance, are Karibib, some 125 miles from Swakopmund, a busy railway centre, which has grown very rapidly since 1901; Omaruru, about 150 miles from Swakopmund, with rich grazing lands; Okahandja, north of Windhoek, noted for its good water supply; Gobabis, the chief town on the eastern border; Grootfontein, in North Damaraland, founded by Boer settlers in the ’eighties of the last century; Tsumeb, the centre of the valuable copper mining industry; Outjo, a military station in the Kaokoveld; Bethanien and Warmbad, old mission stations in Great Namaqualand; and Gibeon, the centre of some good farm lands.

Recent years have seen marked progress throughout the country, mainly owing to the extension of the railways. It is true that the railways have been built with a view to their strategic importance, and altogether in advance of the population, but they have been a most important factor in increasing the economical value of the territory. A line from Swakopmund, managed by the Otavi Mining and Railway Company, connects the port with the copper mining districts at Otavi and Tsumeb, and is some 419 miles in length. It is of approximately two-foot gauge. A branch extends from Otavi to Grootfontein. A second railway, managed by the State, extends from Swakopmund almost parallel with the narrow-gauge line to Karibib, then curves south to Windhoek, from which place it proceeds due south to Keetmanshoop and Kalkfontein.

From Luderitzbucht a line of the standard South African gauge, 3 feet 6 inches, worked by the Lenz Company, has been laid to Keetmanshoop via Seeheim, so all the important districts have been linked up. A branch line, 66 miles in length, runs parallel with the coast, from Kolmanskuppe to Bogenfels, and intersects diamondiferous country practically all the way. The locomotives on this line are driven by electricity generated on the engines. In all there are some 1,400 miles of railways, 780 of which are narrow gauge, while the rest are of Cape gauge.

Kalkfontein is 172½ miles from Upington, in the Cape Province, and since the war broke out the two places have been linked up by rail as a result of magnificent record construction work by the engineers and men of the Union Railways. From De Aar to Windhoek it is now 876 miles by rail, and 1191 from Luderitzbucht to Johannesburg.

Roads have been improved between some of the larger centres of population, but in many places they are nothing more than mere tracks across the country. In regard to the telegraph and telephone service, the colony is well in advance of many parts of the Union of South Africa, since many of the farm settlements are linked up with the villages and towns, and many of the military stations and police posts are similarly joined. At Windhoek, a high-power wireless station, consisting of five towers, 360 feet high, was erected in 1914, to form a link in the chain of stations between Germany and her overseas possessions, stretching from Nauen to East Africa. Wireless stations were also erected at Swakopmund and Luderitzbucht. There are seventy post offices in the country, and fifty of these are also telegraph offices. The schools for European children have increased of late, but the medium has been compulsory German, even for the children of the Dutch settlers. Numerous wells have been sunk, dams made, irrigation work undertaken; and it is estimated that in addition to the natural springs, there are now 1,613 wells, 130 dams, and 59 water-boring holes. The Windhoek district is favoured with no less than 12 springs, 231 wells, 35 dams, and 20 water-boring holes.

Trade has shown some advance, and the traffic of the two ports has steadily increased. In 1913 the imports were valued at £2,171,200, and they consisted mainly of foodstuffs, liquors, coal, building materials, textiles, galvanised iron, and rails. No less than 81 per cent. of the imports came from Germany, while less than 1 per cent. came from England, and about 12 per cent. from British South Africa. Far more coal came from Germany than from the coalfields of South Africa. The exports for 1913 were valued at £3,515,100, but the diamond production was responsible for no less than £2,945,975. Other exports were copper, £396,436; tin, £31,568; wool, £5,500; cattle, small stock, meat, hides, skins, and ostrich feathers. Germany received 83 per cent. of the articles.

The finances of the colony show improvement. The revenue, accruing mostly from railways, harbours, and taxes on minerals, showed a surplus for 1913; and in budgeting for the year 1915, revenue and expenditure were estimated to balance at £2,081,157. Public works of some importance were contemplated for 1914-15.