Bushman’s has lots to ‘Brrag’ about as town hall brought back to life
Community help to refurbish venue
The community of Bushman’s River has something to celebrate. After two months of hard work, a lot of good will and determination and generous donations in cash and kind, the Bushman’s Town Hall is spick and span, and ready for the community to use.
At a get together on Wednesday September 20 to celebrate the milestone, Bushman’s River Mouth Ratepayers’ Organisation (Brrag) chairperson Lötter Wepener spoke about the journey.
After not being properly maintained or used for about 30 years, the hall was in a “horrible” state, Wepener said.
“The gutters were falling off and the roof was leaking.”
And those were just some of the problems.
In July this year, when Brrag announced it was the new official tenant with a 10-year lease, it listed in the association’s newsletter some of the work that had to be done.
“We call on members and businesses in our area to support us: the roof is leaking, the ablutions and kitchen are virtually unusable, huge plants are growing in the gutters and
the place has not seen any maintenance since the municipality moved to Port Alfred, close to 1994,” Brrag said in the newsletter.
Calling for assistance, Brrag said: “Who can help with the bathrooms/ kitchen areas? Who can help with the floors? Who can help with scraping and putty for the windows? Latches, locks and handles require attention.
“The electrical and plumbing reticulation requires checking out and upgrading … The firefighting equipment is non-existent.
“We require chairs and tables. Lots of paint is required – and painters. Who has a piano that wants a new home?”
And assist the community did. Under the supervision of Michael Vermooten, roofing, gutters, electrical wiring and plumbing were done to make the little venue fit for purpose.
With huge support from local businesses and the community, Brrag redid the roof railings, fixed rain damage, put in new flooring, retiled the bathroom, installed kitchen cupboards, among other substantial renovations, and installed Wi-Fi.
The hall still needed some work and this was ongoing, Wepener said.
He extended his gratitude to the businesses and community members for their role in revamping the hall. The
10-year lease from Ndlambe Municipality means the organisation now has a head office.
The hall will also be accessible to the community for weddings, parties, the local neighbourhood watch group, AGMs and recreational purposes.
A schedule of tariffs for the use of the hall is available. For inquiries, email bushmansratepayers@gmail.com. Brrag members will receive preference.
The hall is expected to be ready just in time for Christmas.
Brrag’s thank you list includes: Repair and maintenance person Michael Vermooten, Dalien Pachonick (floor cleaning), Robert Schroeder (roof repairs), Sue Muirhead (sponsorships), Ferenc and Cathy Toth of The Rug Doctor (carpet cleaning), Aaron Southey (Wi-Fi installation), Ben and Gloria Miller (clearing sewers at cost price), Ockie Goosen of BUCO (various hardware), Duard and Cheryl Scholtz (carpentry and repairwork), Sarel and Suzette Marais (wash and repair curtains), Dylan of Build it (discounted hardware and paint), Wayne Broedelet (floors and roof replacement), Bruce Gower (floors installer), Anthony and Moira Bayley (kitchen cupboards), Attie and Angelique, surname not given, (electrical upgrades), Piet van Rooyen (scaffolding loan), Koos Kooij (branches/tree removal), Anton MacLean (finance and painting of hall), Owen and Linda Putzier (windows and locks repaired), Charles Southey (church, rental for Sunday use), Thomas Sutherland (cash from Round Table function), Willie and Delia Enright (Cycads), Chris Barnard of HiTec (free alarm and monitoring). Cash donors: Johnny and Liezelle Chowels, Di Malan, Beverley MacKenzie of BBG, Sonja Were and Mike Robinson, Jack Dell, George Simpson, Ronelle and Allan Marais. Also playing important roles were Justin Wilmot (business chamber chair), Jo Wilmot (Sunshine Coast Tourism), Chester and Jean Wilmot, Dwain and Marista, and Brrag vice-chairperson Jacques de Wit, who oversaw and drove the project.
Rainfall and temperatures in Port Alfred for Wednesday to Tuesday September 20-26 (rainfall in millimetres and temperature °C).
● Wednesday: 0mm (12°C)
● Thursday: 0mm (10°C)
● Friday: 0mm (12°C)
● Saturday: 12mm (14°C)
● Sunday: 14mm (13°C)
● Monday: 65mm (14°C)
● Tuesday: 12mm (16°C) ● Total: 103mm
● Seven-day mean temperature: 13°C (median 13°C)
● Average for September: 57.24mm
● YTD: 496mm
● MTD: 114mm
– Rainfall and temperature
measurements recorded at 6am in Forest Downs, Port Alfred, by