Notes |
- He was the Fifth son of Richard and Mary Allwright. His date of birth is only stated as six years in his Baptism.
Family legend has it that after his Mother's death in about 1842 a childless couple, Mr and Mrs van Niekerk begged James' father, Richard to give James to them to be reared by them as their son on condition that he would be made their Heir. After growing up James married Hannah Eva, a daughter of James Jay Eva, a Baker by trade, who had come to South Africa from Cornwall in Osler's Party of 1820 Settlers in the ship Weymouth. James and Hannah had a son James Jay Eva Allwright born in 1855. The van Niekerks wanted this son to be named "van Niekerk". To this Hannah would not agree. As a result the Allwrights and van Niekerks parted company. The van Niekerks however, gave James and Hannah a wagon and span of oxen in recognition of their services.
According to voters records of 1878 they lived on Graften in Whittlesea. James and Hannah Allwright and their son are recorded in Saul Solomon's Country- Wide Directory of 1883-1884 as living in Cathcart. The Cape Post Office of 1886 lists them as farming on the farm, Crofton, in the Cathcart District.(Ref Port Elizabeth Public Library)
James and Hannah accompanied James Jay Eva Allwright and his family to Thaba Nchu in 1902 and is mentioned as farming on the farm Salisbury with them in 1908 (Orange River Colony Directory of 1908) He predeceased his wife in 1909.
Thaba Nchu: In 1833 a Barolong tribe Moroka II, chief of the Boo-Seleka section of the Barolong tribe, migrated and settled near the mountain of Thaba Nchu. A decade earlier his clan was driven from their land of origin, over the Vaal, by Mzilikazi, and sojourned at Motlhanapitse, in what is now the western Free State . Upon reaching an agreement with King Moshoeshoe I, they settled at Thaba Nchu, where their numbers were augmented by other Barolong scattered by Mzilikazi.
These Batswana people accepted the Voortrekkers as allies, as a consequence of the ongoing Difaqane (tribal wars). The first Voortrekkers to stay here on their northward journeys were Louis Tregardt and Hans van Rensburg. Thaba Nchu subsequently became a safe meeting place for leaders such as Hendrik Potgieter, Piet Uys and Gerrit Maritz.
After Potgieter's trek was attacked and plundered at Vegkop, Moroka II swiftly assisted him with draught oxen and a liberal provision of supplies. The Boer party was also assisted in returning to a refugee camp at Thaba Nchu, named "Moroka's Hoek". The Boer leader held a war council with the Barolong chiefs, Moroka and Tauana, where a Boer-Barolong-Griqua allegiance was formed, which shortly routed Mzilikazi, who then founded the kingdom of Matabeleland. Thaba Nchu was considered a friendly native state of the boer-governed Orange Free State, established in 1854. It however became an insular territory during the Basotho Wars, during which the Basotho were expelled from its vicinity.After Moroka's death his successors quarreled and in 1884 the district of Moroka, as it was then called, was annexed. to the Orange Free State. Its population is largely made up of Tswana and Sotho people. The town was settled in the 1830s and officially established in 1893. The town grew larger following the 1913 Natives' Land Act that stated Thaba Nchu as a homeland for Tswana people.
Originally the district of Moroka, it was de-proclaimed in 1895, when it became a ward of the Bloemfontein district. Later reinstated as the district of Thaba Nchu, it bordered on the districts of Bloemfontein in the west, Brandfort and Winburg in the north, Winburg and Ladybrand in the east, Wepener and Dewetsdorp in the south. In the west and south the border was formed by the Modder River and in the south-east by the Leeu River.
In 1972 parts of the original Thaba Nchu district were incorporated in the adjoining districts of Bloemfontein, Dewetsdorp, Ladybrand and Brandfort. The Excelsior area of the Winburg district was combined with the eastern part of the former Thaba Nchu district to form the Excelsior district. These changes were brought about by the establishment of a homeland for the South Sotho people. The Bantu area was proclaimed a district with the name of Thaba Nchu. and Selosheshe as its principal town. In September 1973 the Moroka Hospital with 336 beds was opened. Old Voortrekker routes and the grave of Moroka have been marked with bronze plaques by the Historical Monuments Commission.
Thaba Nchu is located 60 km east of Bloemfontein. During the apartheid era it fell into the area set aside for the bantustan of Bophuthatswana, nominally ruled by the then President Lucas Mangope. It was then a trading centre. It was, and remains, one of the biggest tourist attractions in the Free State, home to various Sun International and other casinos.
Geographical features include the promontories of the Lesotho mountains, suitable for large lands with ample game, wherein a game reserve, the Maria Moroka Game Reserve, has been maintained. A variety of wildlife and bird species are found here, besides a hiking trail, a traditional Tswana site, and amenities for various activities and adventures in the reserve. The reserve has been named after the political town hero Dr. Maria Moroka. Much of the surrounding land is arable, which has been employed for large scale farming of both commercial and domestic nature. The town is also known for the Aran hand-knitted woolen garments made by local craftspeople. (DWA)
|