[Editor: This letter, from Colonel Alfred Otter (1838-1920), regarding the Boer War (1899-1902), was published in The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.), 27 April 1901.]
Letter from Colonel Otter.
The Sixth Contingent.
Pretoria, March 26.
“Here we are at the front at last. We embarked on board the Orient for Durban with orders to call in at Port Elizabeth. We arrived there at 8 a.m. the following day. We were ordered to disembark at once, and proceed by train to Pretoria. We were three days in train, and passed through a very monotonous country, not a tree, to be seen, nothing but stone kopjes in some parts, and in others miles upon miles of rolling plains, splendidly grassed. In fact, it is very like Victoria, climate and all — except the absence of settlement and the melancholy appearance the entire absence of trees gives the whole country. Pretoria is a rather pretty place, but the prices of things is something awful.
“We are to take the field this week, as soon as the horses arrive; they are following us. We are to form a portion of Colonel Beaton’s column of Mounted Infantry. It is not expected that the enemy will make much stand — they never do, now — but we shall have some fighting of sorts.
“I am very busy getting the men ready, and returning to store all superfluous kit, as we are to go as light as possible.
“General Plumer is our chief. They say he is one of the best fighting generals in South Africa. He inspected us yesterday, and I like his quiet, unaffected manner immensely. I cannot write a long letter, because I am so busy with preparations.
“I am afraid that as we are to move away from Pretoria into the enemy’s country it will be some time before I shall be able to send another letter.”
Source:
The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.), 27 April 1901, p. 13
Also published in:
The Ballarat Star (Ballarat, Vic.), 29 April 1901, p. 6
Editor’s notes:
Colonel Otter = Alfred Emanuel Otter (1838-1920), an officer in the colonial Victorian military forces, who served in South Africa during the Boer War (1899-1902); he was born at sea in 1838, whilst his parents were en route to Tasmania (his father was Rev. George Otter, who worked as a clergyman in Tasmania), and he died in Albert Park (Melbourne, Vic.) in 1920
See: 1) R.K.P., ““Teddy” Otter of the Rangers”, The Age (Melbourne, Vic.), 20 September 1930, p. 6
2) “Obituary: Death of Colonel Otter”, The Record (South Melbourne, Vic.), 27 March 1920, p. 2
3) “Colonel Alfred Emanuel Otter”, Australian War Memorial, Canberra
4) “Alfred Emanuel “Teddy” Otter”, The Minters [“born at sea en route to Tasmania”]
5) “Laid on, but time of sailing not fixed”, Sydney Monitor and Commercial Advertiser (Sydney, NSW), 4 February 1839, p. 2 [“Passengers by the perfect … Rev. Mr. Otter, Mrs. Otter and child”]
kopje = (Boer) a hillock (a small hill), or a piece of rising ground (a mound), as an isolated formation situated on a plain (i.e. situated on a mostly flat area); the term is normally used regarding a small hill, usually rocky in its composition) on a veldt (plain) in Africa (plural: kopjes)
Pretoria = a major city in South Africa, which functions as the country’s administrative capital; the city was named after the Boer leader Andries Pretorius (1798-1853)
See: “Pretoria”, Wikipedia
stand = to stand and fight; to maintain one’s position in the face of an attack; to take up a defensive position; to remain in place in order to engage in military action; (in a military context) to stand in formation
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