A moment of serendipity

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MOSSEL BAY NEWS - One of the Great Brak Conservancy members, Vivienne Fry, spotted what looked like stairs on the opposite side of the railway tracks to Transkaroo and OpiSpoor restaurants. Some research revealed that these steps are the remains of an award-winning garden.

The spectacular garden won the Lady Duncan trophy for best railway station garden in South Africa, not once, not twice, but four times.

During last weekend's clean-up at this railway garden, a lone man came walking along the railway line towards the group of volunteers to check what they were doing. It turned out that Martiens Pokbas, an employee at Transnet, has been working on the railways for 41 years.

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And here comes the serendipitous moment: Pokbas has worked as horticultural assistant in this specific garden under Theo Maree, now retired. Pokbas is from Port Elizabeth and it was pure chance that he was in Great Brak on this particular day to check the railway crossings. He shared a wealth of information about the garden.

For more information, contact Scott Thomson at scottjonathanthomson@gmail.com or 044 004 0134.

The railway station garden in its former glory.