adept at all aspects of the meat trade, from skinning the animals to keeping the books and accounts. Until the end of his life he would be proud of the practical experience he had gained during that time: a formidable in-service training. He learnt everything about cuts of meat; he knew how to skin and process carcasses, make sausage, put meat packages together and get rid of scraps.18
Dawie lived in Combrinck’s house in Papendorp, the neighbourhood close to the city centre that is now called Woodstock. Woodstock House had previously belonged to the well-known judge Henry Cloete. In the big yard Combrinck planted various trees and installed a watermill that he designed himself. The garden was stocked with many species, like marigolds, ranunculus and carnations.19 The elegant house was in stark contrast to the foul-smelling, messy workplace where little Dawie had to return every day. And the wealthy Combrinck, by that time a prominent resident of the Mother City, presented his young relative with a civilised and cultivated environment that would greatly contribute to the shaping of the lives, preferences and ambitions of the young Graaff and his siblings.20
Some sources have it that, Dawie also attended an evening school. It is not certain which school it was. In those years, there were five schools in Cape Town under the auspices of the Dutch Reformed Church, including the mission school in Papendorp, which served both as a day and evening school. In Hanover Street in Kanaladorp, later District Six, there was another school under the control of the Dutch Reformed Church. All these schools were attended by white and coloured children, also from other denominations, and were administered by the Dutch Reformed Church until 1907.21 Generally, Cape Town and the Cape Peninsula were well served as far as education was concerned. Other nearby schools included the Educational Institute in Roeland Street, which also offered day and evening classes.22
According to other sources, Dawie spent evenings at home with his books and expanded his knowledge this way, even though he could only speak Dutch at that age and his teacher only English.23 In any case, it was clear that the little Graaff, Afrikaans-speaking by origin, became fully proficient in English, which was essential in the business world. He not only spoke English fluently, but as an adult he also wrote it fluently and with correct syntax.24
For Graaff, education and training would remain a lifelong interest and over time he would donate large amounts to schools and universities.
Soon, although he was the same age as most boys who had just finished school, David Graaff already had several years’ experience as a manager of one of the branches of Combrinck & Ross.25 He was described as “a dignified, serious youth, with the characteristic droopy moustache of the period”. The firm noticed that he was bright and diligent, and he made rapid progress in the butchery.26
The young David Graaff was barely 17 years old when Combrinck made him an offer that must surely have taken his breath away: he could take over complete management of the business of Combrinck & Ross. That was in 1876, and by that time Graaff was an independent young man. His father had died the previous year. Probably to further lighten the burden of Nort’s widow, Annie, Combrinck also sent for her 12-year-old son, Jacobus, his namesake. Subsequently the two brothers would work together in the meat industry for years.
More or less at the same time, Graaff’s sister, Hannie (Johanna Catharina Elizabeth), came to the Combrinck house in Woodstock as housekeeper.27 She was eight years older than David, and her arrival brought a welcome female presence to the bustling home of Combrinck and the two Graaffs in his care. Apparently she performed her duties in Woodstock House well because she was one of Combrinck’s main heirs after his death in 1891.
As the butchery was flourishing, Combrinck left its management in the hands of the two young Graaffs to an increasing extent. In 1876 he turned the business over to the Graaffs and another loyal employee, J.A. Rynhoud, a cousin of Combrinck’s.28 “I have seen you growing up here,” Combrinck told the young David Graaff, “and I have full confidence in leaving the reins in your hands.”29
Ross’s stake was bought out the same year and the new entity, Combrinck & Co., was established. But first there were problems with Ross. Although Combrinck had made a very attractive offer to take over the aging Ross’s stake in the firm, the meat price suddenly dropped by a penny a pound. Combrinck, therefore, believed the conditions of a written agreement, which had not yet been signed, had to be altered. Ross was furious, their friendship of 20 years forgotten, and he sued Combrinck for breach of contract. The court case was heard in May 1877 and judgement was in favour of the plaintiff.30 Combrinck had to pay Ross compensation to the amount of £10 000 plus £1 500 annually for four years. Apparently he was able to afford that – the butchery was then worth about £47 000.31
Despite the problems with Ross, Combrinck & Co. rapidly expanded in the next few years, during which the two Graaffs proved themselves to be able managers of the largest and most successful butchery in Cape Town.
At this early stage a third Graaff, Johannes Jacobus Arnoldus, joined the business. Jan Graaff, later better known as Senator John Graaff, was almost five years older than his brother David. Eventually he also embarked on a political career and became a Member of Parliament like his brothers David and Jacobus, both members of cabinet after unification in 1910. All three brothers had black beards and moustaches. According to a contemporary, all three of them had a great entrepreneurial spirit and worked hard to rise from the lowest rank to proprietors of the business.32
In order to ensure a regular and sufficient source of meat, the Graaff brothers looked for farms further inland where stock could be kept and slaughtered to be sent to Cape Town. The stock had to be close to railway transport, therefore they chose an area close to a station in the district of Tulbagh that was known as Piketbergweg (later Portervilleweg, now Gouda) on the main line to the north. In May 1882 they bought their first land, a part of the farm Bonne Esperance.33 Jan Graaff, an animal expert, became the cattle dealer.34 He was also appointed to manage the farm, and became responsible for two adjacent farms acquired later, La Gratitude and Kleinbergrivier. Local workers were employed, among other things to work in the butchery built there.35
In Cape Town, Combrinck & Co. owned the abattoir at the upper end of Hanover Street and had various retail butcheries in the city and suburbs. Daily, in the early hours of the morning, the firm’s transport wagons delivered meat to the butcheries and households between Sea Point and Mowbray. Large contracts for the supply of meat were concluded – for ships, for the British Army division based in Cape Town and for the section of the British Navy in Simon’s Town.36
CHAPTER 4
Refrigeration brought to South Africa
Combrinck remained determined to enter politics, but it would take another five years before he would make that happen and before David Graaff gained sole control of Combrinck & Co. in 1881.
Meanwhile, Graaff was busy with fundamental modernisation which would yield major dividends. In the 1880s he realised the population would grow rapidly and that modern methods of handling meat were required. It was crucial to mechanise the industry, to try out cold storage – a new invention – and to turn to mass production.
Gradual progress was made with refrigeration technology in a number of places around the world in the 19th century as an increasing number of experiments were made, some without success, to store meat and other food for longer periods for consumption. Salt, spices and chemicals were used and eventually crates with ice, but successful preservation remained a problem for many years. Various inventors experimented with different forms of cold storage, until it was found that ships with cooling chambers and trains with refrigerator carriages could transport meat between the four corners of the earth. In 1877/78 Ferdinand Carré successfully transported 150 tons of meat, kept at a temperature of 27–30 degrees Fahrenheit, on the French ship Paraguay from France to Buenos Aires and back. In Scotland, Henry Bell, John Bell and Joseph James Coleman designed the Bell-Coleman machine
