Papkuil farm

Title: Papkuil farm
Location Type: farm
Farm Number: 513
Nearby Town: Danielskuil
District Municipality: AF Mgcawu
Local Municipality: Tsantsabane
Magistrate District: Hay
Province: Northern Cape
History: In the 1870s, the new Griqualand West colonial government allocated Papkuil to a Griqua farmer, Gert August (PHR Snyman, Danielskuil: Van Griekwa-buitepos tot dienssentrum, HSRC, 1988, p. 28). The farm was a key site on the road between Danielskuil and Barkly West, and in 1886, a permanent police station was opened here (Snyman 1988, p. 35). Later, a hotel was established. During the Tswana rebellion of 1897, the white farmers around Papkuil organised themselves into the Papkuil Mounted Rifle Club, which functioned as part of the colonial forces (Snyman 1988, p. 44). Led by Captain Leslie Pringle, this unit patrolled the northern boundary of Griqualand-West against Tswana rebel incursions. A grim episode was the fusillation (death by firing squad) of four black prisoners, because Pringle believed that he had instructions to take no prisoners. He and several farmers were later prosecuted for murder, but were eventually freed because of insufficient evidence. Papkuil remained a central farm. In 1893, it hosted its first private school (for 10 white children). Papkuil also became a postal agency in 1894, and for a telegraph station in 1897 (Snyman 1988, p. 49). The road from Danielskuil to Campbell went via Papkuil, and it became an important route; later, a hotel was built there. After the war, a Jewish entrepreneur, Adoph Gers, settled at Papkuil and built a hotel. He later became a businessman in Danielskuil, and his descendant, Julius Gers, still farms at nearby Klein Papkuil. Papkuil remained an important route between Kimberley, Schmidtsdrift and Danielskuil, with railway buses introduced in 1937 (Snyman 1988, p. 71).
Latitude: -28.4786
Longitude: 23.6729

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