British Military Pumping Station

• Middelburg

The pumping station was erected in about 1904 by the British troops that were stationed at Grootfontein. Its site is the marshland from which the actual “Groote Fontein” springs.

Good quality bricks and cement were used to create the many Roman arches, which have subsequently been bricked up. On the other side of the hallway is an upstairs gallery, which originally accommodated water tanks used to cool the oil-driven pumps. Below are two storerooms.

Nearby one can see the Mile Dam – thus named because its wall was originally a mile long. This dam was built during the depression years (1930’s) by subsidized white labour to catch rainwater and augmented the fountain.

Visits by prior arrangement only: Elana Kitchinig – Tel: 049 – 84 211103 / 083 687 3171