Journey into the future - IOL

An old steam engine in front of Gillitts station.

The old picture this week features Gillitts Station, a historic 1900-era railway landmark in the province, that served as a crucial military and community transit point during the Boer War.

The current station building is the second on the site, after the first burned down. It was constructed by Natal Government Railways around 1900. The original route through Gillitts was first established in the 1870s.

The station served as a military hub during the Boer War. It functioned as a strategic stop for British troops heading to the Midland battlefields and for returning wounded soldiers. Troop trains stopped at Gillitts to take on water. Local women and children from the area would use 4-gallon paraffin tins on the platform to brew tea for the resting soldiers.

Through much of the 20th century the station remained a familiar local landmark. However, in 1980 the line was moved and the rail service fell into disuse. Umgeni Steam Railway was formed in September 1982 by members of the Natal Branch of the Railway Society of Southern Africa in an effort to preserve our rapidly disappearing local railway heritage.However once regular passenger services along the old line ceased, the Gillitts Station building fell vacant and derelict.

In the 2020s the heritage building became the focus of a multimillion-rand revitalisation project and after undergoing extensive and painstaking renovations, hospitality entrepreneurs Nipho and Liyana Tembe opened it this year as a restaurant and lifestyle precinct called Mist at Gillitts Station. It takes people on exciting food journeys through the cuisines of the African continent.