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Block Drift Farm / Domira
Dikene (Alice), Eastern Cape
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Click to view large map Coordinates: | Block Drift, so called because a large block of yellow wood got stuck there in the Gaga River, was the residency built and occupied by Captain Charles Lennox Stretch, who in 1836, after the Sixth Border War, was appointed as the British diplomatic agent to the Ngqika. The house and farm lands were later purchased for £1000 by James Stewart of Lovedale's brother-in-law, John Stephen of Glasgow, and donated to Lovedale Missionary Institute. Stephen (1835–1916) was a wealthy partner in the shipbuilding firm Alexander Stephen and Sons. The farm was renamed the Domira, after Stephen's home in Partick, Glasgow, and run as model farm, as depicted in a 1902 plan. The earlier photograph shows the original house built in stone with a thatched roof. The interior has very broad yellowwood floors and ceilings. The colour photograph was taken in the 70's when Jannie van Heerden lived there, and you can see several later additions. Submitted by Jannie van Heerden. 2025: The thatched roof portion of the building burnt in a recent fire. References:
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