Changes in 1895

Changes in 1895
But things changed from 1895 when a drought set in. The pits that the washermen dug into the banks of the Braamfontein Spruit were not washed out by the constant stream of water. The usually dirty and discoloured water, mixed with decomposing soap and mud, became disgusting and posed a health risk. Health inspectors ordered a temporary closure of the site and a thorough clean-out of the pits. Other moves were afoot that were to signal the beginning of the end of the AmaWasha. In October 1895 the Crystal Steam Laundry Company was established in Richmond with the newest plant and equipment imported from the United States. Shortly after this, in June 1896, the Auckland Park Steam Laundry Company was formed. And the authorities began looking for a single, consolidated site for the washermen. A site to accommodate 1 500 of them, on the Klip River on the farm Witbank - a two-and-a-half hour train ride south - was proposed. Kwaaiman expressed his unhappiness to the Sanitary Board but was ignored. The board started to pressure the AmaWasha to move, and a month later the screws were turned - the board refused to renew their licences to operate in the town. A mass meeting was held on market square, led by Kwaaiman, who then approached the board again, only to be told that once all the current licences expired, washing could be done at Klip River, or not at all. This led to divisions within the ranks of the AmaWasha. Three days after the meeting, some AmaWasha moved down south. A few days later, several hundred men left the town and went back to their rural homes in KwaZulu-Natal. Some men got jobs as domestic servants. But households soon discovered that up to 40 percent of the AmaWasha were no longer available to do their washing. Two things then happened: the remaining men went on strike for a week, and the men down south took advantage of the strike and doubled their fees. "By the end of the week Europeans were either starting to wash their own clothing at home illegally, or reluctantly paying the 100 percent increase to meet the weekly laundry bill," Van Onselen says. But then, just when their actions seemed to be a serious inconvenience to the white townsfolk, their resistance started to crumble. From December 1896 more washermen moved down south. "Lack of leadership, the need for cash, the presence of the new steam laundries, and scabs' at Witbank all combined to undermine the morale of the AmaWasha, and by the last week of 1896 most of the washermen's guild was at work in the Klip River."

But things changed from 1895 when a drought set in. The pits that the washermen dug into the banks of the Braamfontein Spruit were not washed out by the constant stream of water. The usually dirty and discoloured water, mixed with decomposing soap and mud, became disgusting and posed a health risk. Health inspectors ordered a temporary closure of the site and a thorough clean-out of the pits.

Other moves were afoot that were to signal the beginning of the end of the AmaWasha. In October 1895 the Crystal Steam Laundry Company was established in Richmond with the newest plant and equipment imported from the United States. Shortly after this, in June 1896, the Auckland Park Steam Laundry Company was formed.

And the authorities began looking for a single, consolidated site for the washermen. A site to accommodate 1 500 of them, on the Klip River on the farm Witbank - a two-and-a-half hour train ride south - was proposed. Kwaaiman expressed his unhappiness to the Sanitary Board but was ignored. The board started to pressure the AmaWasha to move, and a month later the screws were turned - the board refused to renew their licences to operate in the town.

A mass meeting was held on market square, led by Kwaaiman, who then approached the board again, only to be told that once all the current licences expired, washing could be done at Klip River, or not at all.

This led to divisions within the ranks of the AmaWasha. Three days after the meeting, some AmaWasha moved down south. A few days later, several hundred men left the town and went back to their rural homes in KwaZulu-Natal. Some men got jobs as domestic servants. But households soon discovered that up to 40 percent of the AmaWasha were no longer available to do their washing.

Two things then happened: the remaining men went on strike for a week, and the men down south took advantage of the strike and doubled their fees. "By the end of the week Europeans were either starting to wash their own clothing at home illegally, or reluctantly paying the 100 percent increase to meet the weekly laundry bill," Van Onselen says.

But then, just when their actions seemed to be a serious inconvenience to the white townsfolk, their resistance started to crumble. From December 1896 more washermen moved down south. "Lack of leadership, the need for cash, the presence of the new steam laundries, and scabs' at Witbank all combined to undermine the morale of the AmaWasha, and by the last week of 1896 most of the washermen's guild was at work in the Klip River."