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Glen Avon watermill KwaNojoli (Somerset East) district, Eastern Cape

Date: 1822-1823 : 1861 Client: Robert Hart (owner) Type: Watermill Style: Industrial Archaeology : Utilitarian Status: Defunct

Adjudant-Colonel Robert Hart, having helped his superior Colonel Graham, to establish Grahamstown as a military centre at the Eastern Cape Frontier, was seen as the ideal person to take over the running of the farm of Lord Charles Somerset in Somerset East. Following the closure of the farm in 1825 he moved to the lower property Boschberg, previously granted by Governor, Sir Rufane Donkin for his services. He named this Glen Avon and established a watermill near the dairy. The mill was rebuilt in 1861. It has an overshot wheel of steel, fed by water along the metal launder from the nearby Naude's River. All the machinery and equipment is imported from Leeds, England, shipped to the harbour at East London and carted by ox-wagons to this location, . Its 9m diameter wheel is of the largest in the country. References: Kramer, Patricia & Proust, Alain. 2021. Hidden Karoo. Cape Town: Struik Lifestyle. pg 136 ill, 137 +ill Staples, Chester O. 2006. Mills of Southern Africa : water, wind and horse. Pretoria: Umdaus. pg 97 +ill, 98 +ill