Edmondson Family

At about the same time [1950] the board’s financial affairs were placed in the capable hands of A.V. Edmondson, ex-Provincial Accountant. This large, genial man was known for his interest in his many friends, especially at the time of their demise. Attending funerals seemed to be his main hobby. A minor quirk was to save paper by slitting open every envelope he received, in order to use the inside surface for drafting memoranda. I hate to think what he would have thought of the vast quantities of paper spewed out by modern computers.

A visit by the Abbé by Adrian Flett
In December 1945, Graham and Dulcie Clarke were honeymooning at what was known as the Top House on Game Pass Farm at Kamberg. At that time the farm belonged to Colonel Greene, son of Dean Greene who had been actively involved in the Bishop Colenso affair.
One day a car arrived at the Top House and the driver introduced himself as Clarence (Peter) Van Riet Lowe and said he had heard of the Bushman paintings on the farm and wondered if he might see them. Graham took him to Game Pass Shelter and to another site further up the valley of the Mooi River; probably Kranzses Shelter.
The farm adjacent to Game Pass Farm, where the main buildings of Kamberg Reserve now stand, was at that time owned by the Potterill family. When Mr. Potterill died, his widow, affectionately known as Auntie Potts, had stayed on at the farm and was running a guesthouse. Van Riet Lowe was staying over at Auntie Potts’ guesthouse during his visit. He told Graham and Dulcie of the Abbé Breuil’s forthcoming visit to South Africa and asked if he might bring the Abbé to see the paintings. In 1946 Van Riet Lowe called at Graham and Dulcie’s home in Hilton to introduce them to the Abbé Breuil and his secretary who travelled with him. And so the three went off to stay at Auntie Potts’ guesthouse and to see the rock art.
In the guesthouse, Graham recalls, Auntie Potts had “rock art” which had been painted by an artist friend. It appears Van Riet Lowe showed the Abbé the pseudo art representing it as the real thing and the Abbé enthused over it. Once the story came out the Abbé was not amused. He was however, by all reports, impressed by the real thing at Game Pass Shelter.
You wonder if Auntie Potts had caught Van Riet Lowe with her pseudo art, on his previous visit, and he was merely passing on the joke.

The Edmondson Family

Alfred Edmondson

Alfred Vivian Edmondson

Jessie Irene (Edmondson) Markham

Mary Gladys (Edmondson) Potterill