Zwartkloof and the Battle at the Black Ravine
Popularity ยท Low
YouTube
Searching YouTube...
Lyrics
Zwartkloof is a Boer word that means the Black Ravine
But there's the most peaceful valley there that you've ever seen
But you can't believe what happened there on a bright September day
If you listen now I'll tell you so please don't go away
Nearby was a placed called Hartingsburg before the old Boer war
There was a mineral spring
And a railway station and not very much more
When the British army they arrived along their warring paths
They changed the name from Hartingsburg
And called the place Warmbaths
Many men were stationed there to keep the Boers at bay
From wrecking trains and telephone lines then hiding away
So with so many mouths to feed they had to make a plan
Anything that they could get from the surrounding land
Major Brooke, he then said to Lieutenant Whylly
"Lets ride out west and do our best with a foraging party
To bring in stray Boer cattle just like a cattle thief
And tonight around the fire we might just roast a leg of beef
Let's go now Whylly and you know
that we had better take care
Cos the Boers and their damn Mausers could be anywhere"
Those eight men were Tasmanian drovers from that land
And they soon spotted cattle tracks
In the deep red bushveld sand
The tracks then led them up a gorge into a narrow pass
But a Boer commando lay in wait in bushes and the grass
The peace was suddenly shattered
In the bright September air
The Mausers opened fire, it seemed from everywhere
The bullets they came pelting down. just like falling hail
Six men wounded with nowhere to hide upon that dusty trail
Major Brooke was shot down from his horse
And a getaway they made
Another man down, it was Corporal Brown,
Whylly gave him his very own horse
Gave covering fire from behind a rock
To him his men came first
Lieutenant Whylly and Trooper Bisdee for their bravery
Both took Victoria Crosses home across the Tasman sea
Zwartkloof is a Boer word that means the Black Ravine
And there's still the most peaceful valley there
That you've ever seen
But on the first day of September 1900 was the year
Now I've told you just what happened
'Bout the men that knew no fear
Yes, Zwartkloof is a Boer word that means the Black Ravine
And there's still the most peaceful valley there,
That you have ever seen
So remember in September when the world is so serene
Always remember Zwartkloof
And the battle at the Black Ravine