12
MODERN QUARRYING
January - February 2014
FACE TO FACE
I
n sharing these events with
Modern Quar-
rying
, Henry Terblanche says they are in
recognition of the very special people he
has worked with over the last 40 years. The
stories and events in this article are not nec-
essarily in sequence, and some of these, while not
having occurred in a mine as such, involve mining
and construction people and their families. “My
purpose in recording these memories is for all the
people who enjoy mixing humour with work, and
who will also appreciate the history,” he says.
Henry started off in the quarrying industry in
1969 working for Norman Wright at Effingham
quarries. “Those were primitive days; loading was
done by hand with seven teams of five people
loading blasted rock into ‘ngolovans’, that were
then pushed 300 m to the primary crusher. The
teams were made up of four spadesmen and one
hammerman.
Each team had a task of 30 loads, after which
they would go home. For every load tipped at the
primary crusher, they would be handed a washer
as proof.
“The hammerman’s job was to break big rocks
to a size that could be loaded by hand,” Henry
explains. “Punguan and Sontie were the top ham-
mermen, and their muscles were toned from years
of swinging a 16-pound hammer. It gave me great
pleasure watching these men at work, their bodies
shining with sweat in the humid Natal heat. These
men were fit and they worked through the heat,
cold and rain.
“Two shifts were worked: 04:00 to 14:00 and
There is no doubt that quarrying is a
harsh and sometimes unforgiving envi-
ronment; it is tough on machines and
tough on its people, leading to many
totally unique situations. This article
looks at some of those times with none
other than Henry Terblanche – a man
with sand in his veins and an incredible
sense of humour.
Henry Terblanche, a great
raconteur and a man with sand
in his veins.
Henry Terblanche
–
a man with sand in his veins
