Just Off the Highway | Episode 61 | Warden's Waiting Masterpiece: Worth stopping in leapfrogged town

[00:00:28]Hi.

[00:00:29]Welcome to a misty morning in the Free State in South Africa.

[00:00:33]I'm El Brogers and this channel is called Just off the highway.

[00:00:37]It's my mission to take you to out of the way places, to meet surprising people and uncover really hidden gems that I hope will root you firmly in a South African story.

[00:00:47]I'm on my way to a town called Warden.

[00:00:49]I've probably passed it a hundred times over the years and today I'm going to visit a huge, imposing NG Kerk or church.

[00:01:11]Let's go for a drive.

[00:01:19]>> [music] [music] >> Warden was proclaimed [music] in 1913.

[00:01:32]And at first it seems odd that a place where the overwhelming majority of inhabitants might not be fans of the British Empire, it would choose an English name.

[00:01:42]But in fact the man was Charles Frederick Warden. And he was the son of a British officer who served as a Landdrost or magistrate in the nearby town of Harrismith.

[00:01:52]And he felt a kindred spirit with the Boers. And although he had to swear an oath of neutrality [music] in the second Anglo-Boer War, he was soon suspected of supporting the Boers and he was ordered to be deported, but he died before that could happen.

[00:02:08]Small towns don't necessarily mean small places.

[00:02:12]Take the turn off to Warden and you suddenly see a site like this.

[00:02:22]>> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> This church is 102 years old [music] and it's not just standing, it feels like it's naturally grown out of the earth.

[00:03:14]Built from Free State sandstone to withstand any weather.

[00:03:21]>> [music] >> I read that building commenced in 1917 but stopped in 1920 when there was a depression and the money ran out. In 1923, the farmers in the area sold over 6,000 sheep and 1 and 1/2 thousand cattle to raise funds for the completion.

[00:03:40]Sources give different numbers of seats, but the figure's about 1,750.

[00:03:46]So, let me introduce you to the dominee of the Warden NG Kerk, dominee Frans Steenkamp.

[00:04:03]Frans, can you tell us uh how did you come to actually become Dominee here and and what is your connection to to Warden?

[00:04:11]>> Uh well, my connection to Warden goes back close to 100 years. My family were farming in in the district. In 2022, um I came to Warden after I retired in Witbank to come and farm. And then the Dominee in in town got sick and I did some work for them and after 6 months, they they called me to be the pastor of the congregation.

[00:04:39]>> Can you tell us a little bit about the history of the building?

[00:04:42]>> The congregation was proclaimed in 1917.

[00:04:48]And and then they started to build a little bit later to build the building and at the end they had to stop somewhere because there was not enough money to build further.

[00:05:02]>> Preserving the legacy of an historic landmark means safeguarding its heirlooms too.

[00:05:08]This ceremonial trowel, which was used to lay the cornerstone of the building, went missing and years later a member of the congregation spotted it for sale on an online auction site.

[00:05:18]So, the church had to buy its own heritage back.

[00:05:22]>> And then on some occasion, I said they must send someone with a horse to Senekal.

[00:05:30]160-80 km from here.

[00:05:34]They heard of a person that would be able to donate some money so they can complete the church. So, they sent a horse rider to Senekal and on one of the overnight stops, he met another um, horse rider and they started talking. And he said, um, "What are you doing here?" I said, "No, I'm on my way to Senekal um, to collect some money for our church building." And then the rider on the other horse rider said "Well, I've got good news for you. I brought some money from Senekal that was sent to Warden so that they can complete the the church tower."

[00:06:11]So, the two riders switched the package and he took the package and he came back and the other one went. So, that's the way God provided so that the the tower of the church could be completed.

[00:06:23]>> Dominee Frans took us on a once-in-a-lifetime tour of the clock tower completed in 1924.

[00:06:29]>> [music] >> The original clock still works, still chimes, still keeps perfect time.

[00:06:42]>> [music] >> Every level up revealed another part of the mechanism.

[00:06:58]And if you're a horophile, a clockwork enthusiast, or a history [music] buff with a head for heights, it just keeps getting better and better.

[00:07:07]>> [music] [music] >> So, what is your favorite aspect of this building?

[00:07:24]>> To see the church building at night.

[00:07:26]It's in enlightened.

[00:07:29]And, um, it gives this warm atmosphere at night.

[00:07:34]>> What do you enjoy most about being Dominee in Warden?

[00:07:38]>> Uh, it's a small town and and everybody know each other.

[00:07:42]and it's um, surrounded by farmers.

[00:07:44][music] In my heart I'm a farmer so I connect with the people. So to be on a pulpit [music] and farm as well that is one of it's well of my soul.

[00:07:56]I've got the best of the [music] two worlds and the people are genuine people. They are uh close [music] to to the earth and and they know where their strength come from.

[00:08:09]>> So what are some [music] of the challenges that you're facing?

[00:08:12]>> Yeah, we've got well the nature is one that is one [music] of the challenges of the environment because we are dependent [music] on farmers.

[00:08:23]But then the other challenge is people from the city think it's cheaper to live [music] in the platteland and then we've got a big >> [music] >> poor community and to sort of help them um >> [music] >> to survive in terms of food and well >> [music] >> we've got a clinic and we've got a doctor that comes here but the hospital the closest hospital [music] is 45 km away.

[00:08:55]So that's a challenge.

[00:08:56]>> And Frans, how do you see the future?

[00:08:59]>> I'm quite excited about the future um a lot of the um farmers children come back to the farm and so I've got a lot of hope for the future. There's a lot of babies that's been born nowadays so um yeah it's great to see that.

[00:09:21]>> Traditionally many churches have [music] a cry room an enclosed section where mothers and babies can attend the service [music] without disturbing the rest of the congregation if the child cries.

[00:09:32]>> [music] >> But since a new enlarged cry room was built at the back of this church.

[00:09:37]There've been several young additions to [music] families.

[00:09:40]Seems like local parents took the extra space as a direct personal challenge.

[00:09:44][music] >> [music] >> So, that's the NG Kerk in Warden.

[00:10:04]Even more special than I imagined.

[00:10:06]Isn't it strange how we rush past sites like this? We treat our cars like babies and we fill them up.

[00:10:12]Maybe we should take time to fill ourselves up by visiting places like this.

[00:10:18]So, as I leave, I'm reminded that the name Warden really means guardian or keeper or watchman.

[00:10:25]And this church, it watches over the travelers on the road.

[00:10:29]I'm glad it's there.

[00:10:30]>> [music]