Aberdeen

Railways In The Karoo: John Paterson and William Brounger

It was the son of a Scottish stone carter who devised a way to link Graaff-Reinet to the coast by rail. But John Paterson initially came to South Africa to teach English. He was recruited by James Rose Innes, and he arrived in this country filled with enthusiasm.  By 1841 he had established The Government […]

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Titus Oates, Antarctica explorer, remembered In Aberdeen

The centenary of the death of Captain Lawrence “Titus” Oates was recently commemorated in the little Karoo village of Aberdeen.  On March 16, 1912, Oates, a member of Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s ill-fated expedition to the South Pole, stepped out tent during a blizzard saying: “I’ll am going out.  I will be some time.”  He […]

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What A Place For A Wedding: The Pagel & Wilkie circuses

After circus owner William Pagel died, Aberdeen resident Frank Wilkie took over most of his animals.  Frank had collected animals since he was a boy.  At one time he had 24 lions.  He created a zoo in the little Karoo town of Aberdeen and this came to the attention of the world when Numero Killian […]

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