An ox-wagon or bullock wagon is a four-wheeled vehicle pulled by
oxen (draught cattle). It was a traditional form of
transport
Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, an ...
, especially in
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...
but also in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. Ox-wagons were also used in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. The first recorded use of an ox-wagon was around 1670, but they continue to be used in some areas up to modern times.
Design
Ox-wagons are typically drawn by teams of oxen, harnessed in pairs. This gave them a very wide
turning circle, the legacy of which are the broad, pleasant boulevards of cities such as
Bulawayo
Bulawayo (, ; Ndebele: ''Bulawayo'') is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council cl ...
,
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
, which are wide, and
Grahamstown
Makhanda, also known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 140,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Port Elizabeth and southwest of East London, Eastern Cape, East London. Makhanda is the lar ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, which are "wide enough to turn an ox-wagon".
The wagon itself is made of various kinds of wood, with the rims of the wheels being covered with tyres of
iron
Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
, and since the middle of the 19th century the
axle
An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearing ...
s have also been made of iron. The back wheels are usually substantially larger than the front ones and rigidly connected to the tray of the vehicle. The front wheels are usually greater in diameter than the clearance under the tray of the vehicle so that the steering axle could not turn far under the tray. This makes little difference to the turning circle of the wagon because of the oxen drawing it (see above) and it makes the front of the wagon much more stable because the
track is never much less than the width of the tray. It also allowed a much more robust connection between the hauling
trace
Trace may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* ''Trace'' (Son Volt album), 1995
* ''Trace'' (Died Pretty album), 1993
* Trace (band), a Dutch progressive rock band
* ''The Trace'' (album)
Other uses in arts and entertainment
* ''Trace'' ...
s of the oxen and the rear axle of the wagon (usually iron chain or rods) that is necessary for heavy haulage.
Most of the load-carrying area was covered in canvas supported by wooden arches; the driver sat in the open on a wooden chest (Afrikaans: ).
File:Bullock Team Wool Wagon.jpg, Bullock wagon carrying wool in New Zealand, c1880.
File:SLNSW 75765 Bullock Team Drawing II Ton Marshall Engine.jpg, Bullock Team drawing II Ton Marshall Engine (Australia early 20th century)
File:Ox wagon at Aliwal North.jpg, Ox-wagon with four wagon wheels
Wagon Wheels are a sweet snack food sold in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, other Commonwealth countries like New Zealand and India, and Ireland. They consist of two biscuits that form a sandwich with a marshmallow filling with jam, and ...
.
File:Ox-wagon front assembly.jpg, Ox-wagon front axle assembly Turning radius was a longstanding problem with wagons, dictated by the distance between the front wagon wheels and the bed of the wagon—namely, the point where the rotating wheels collide with the side of the wagon when turning. Many earlier desig ...
.
Australia
![Bullock wagon Promontory Road](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Bullock_wagon_Promontory_Road.jpg)
Bullock wagons were important in the colonial history of Australia. Olaf Ruhen, in his book ''Bullock Teams'' remarks on how bullock teams "shaped and built the colony. They carved the roads and built the rail; their tractive power made populating the interior possible; their contributions to the harvesting of timber opened the bush; they offered a start in life to the enterprising youngster".
Bullocks were preferred by many
explorer
Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians.
Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...
s and
teamster
A teamster is the American term for a truck driver or a person who drives teams of draft animals. Further, the term often refers to a member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, a labor union in the United States and Canada.
Origi ...
s because they were cheaper, quieter, tougher and more easily maintained than
horse
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...
s therefore making them more popular for draught work. Frequently comprising long trains of bullocks, yoked in pairs, they were used for hauling drays, wagon or jinker loads of goods and lumber prior to the construction of railways and the formation of roads. In early days the flexible two-wheeled dray, with a centre pole and narrow iron tyres was commonly used. The four-wheeled dray or box wagon came into use after about 1860 for loads of and was drawn by 16 to 18 bullocks. A bullock team was led by a pair of well trained leaders who responded to verbal commands as they did not have reins or a bridle. The bullock team driver was called a
bullocky
A bullocky is an Australian English term for the driver of a bullock team. The American term is bullwhacker. Bullock drivers were also known as teamsters or carriers.
History
Bullock teams were in use in Sydney, New South Wales in 1795 wh ...
, bullock puncher or
teamster
A teamster is the American term for a truck driver or a person who drives teams of draft animals. Further, the term often refers to a member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, a labor union in the United States and Canada.
Origi ...
.
Many Australian country towns owe their origin to the bullock teams, having grown from a store or shanty where teams rested or crossed a stream. These shanties were spaced at about intervals, which was the usual distance for a team to travel in a day.
South Africa
The
Voortrekkers used ox-wagons () during the
Great Trek
The Great Trek ( af, Die Groot Trek; nl, De Grote Trek) was a Northward migration of Dutch-speaking settlers who travelled by wagon trains from the Cape Colony into the interior of modern South Africa from 1836 onwards, seeking to live beyon ...
north and north-east from the
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when i ...
in the 1830s and 1840s. An ox-wagon traditionally made with the sides rising toward the rear of the wagon to resemble the lower jaw-bone of an animal is also known as a ''kakebeenwa'' (jaw-bone wagon). South Africa has 800 varieties of wood of which 17 varieties were used for wagon building. South African wood varieties are regarded as the best for wagon building. Wood varieties used for wagon making ranged from hard yellowwood to Boekenhout, is a softer wood and was used as a shock absorber but still stayed firmly in place. The iron rim around the wheel was burnt onto the wheel, the charcoal would protect the iron rim from rust and rot, making it easy to cross rivers. The ox-wagon could be pulled by 12-16 oxen.
The ox-wagon could also be disassembled in five minutes by hitting out four pegs on the wheels, then lifting the top of the wagon in seven pieces and carried by four people over rough terrain or across rivers. The ox-wagon could also twist 40 degrees which made it ideal for traversing difficult surface areas. The wheels of the ox-wagon were painted in red lead paint which acted as an excellent water repellant. Various flower and ornament designs were also painted on the wagons and the chests the wagons carried, making them look very colourful.
Often the wagons where employed as a mobile fortification called a
laager
A wagon fort, wagon fortress, or corral, often referred to as circling the wagons, is a temporary fortification made of wagons arranged into a rectangle, circle, or other shape and possibly joined with each other to produce an improvised militar ...
, such as was the case at the
Battle of Blood River
The Battle of Blood River (16 December 1838) was fought on the bank of the Ncome River, in what is today KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa between 464 Voortrekkers ("Pioneers"), led by Andries Pretorius, and an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 Zulu. E ...
.
After the discovery of gold in the
Barberton area in 1881, ox-wagons were used to bring in supplies from former
Lourenço Marques
Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the capital, and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,088 ...
.
James Percy FitzPatrick
Sir James Percy FitzPatrick, (24 July 1862 – 24 January 1931), known as Percy FitzPatrick, was a South African author, politician, mining financier and pioneer of the fruit industry. He authored the classic children's book, ''Jock of the Bus ...
worked on those ox-wagons and described them in his famous 1907 book ''
Jock of the Bushveld
''Jock of the Bushveld'' is a true story by South African author Sir James Percy FitzPatrick.The Bystander">''The Bystander'', Volume 16 2 October 1907, page 38 The 1907 book tells of FitzPatrick's travels with his dog, Jock, a Staffordshire Bu ...
''.
Afrikaner symbolism
In
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, the ox-wagon was adopted as an
Afrikaner cultural icon. The ''ossewa'' is mentioned in the first verse of "
Die Stem
Die Stem van Suid-Afrika (, ), also known as "The Call of South Africa" or simply "Die Stem" (), is a former national anthem of South Africa. There are two versions of the song, one in English and the other in Afrikaans, which were in use ear ...
", the
Afrikaans
Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...
poem which became South Africa's national anthem from 1957 to 1994. When a pro-
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
Afrikaner
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...
organisation formed in 1939, to oppose South Africa's entry into
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
on the British side, it called itself the ''
Ossewabrandwag
The ''Ossewabrandwag'' (OB) (, from af , ossewa , translation = ox-wagon and af , brandwag , translation = guard, picket, sentinel, sentry - ''Ox-wagon Sentinel'') was an anti-British and pro-German organisation in South Africa during Worl ...
'' (Ox-wagon Sentinel).
Gallery
File:Relief of an ox-wagon, Voortrekker Monument.jpg, Relief of an ox-wagon on the laager wall
File:Kruger House Church Street Pretoria 049.jpg, A replica ''kakebeenwa'' located in the Kruger Museum
File:Voortrekker Monument Laager.JPG, The Voortrekker Monument
The Voortrekker Monument is located just south of Pretoria in South Africa. The granite structure is located on a hilltop, and was raised to commemorate the Voortrekkers who left the Cape Colony between 1835 and 1854. It was designed by the a ...
in Pretoria
Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa.
Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...
is encircled by a wall depicting Ox-wagons
See also
*
Bullock cart
A bullock cart or ox cart (sometimes called a bullock carriage when carrying people in particular) is a two-wheeled or four-wheeled vehicle pulled by oxen. It is a means of transportation used since ancient times in many parts of the world. The ...
(ox-cart)
*
Bullocky
A bullocky is an Australian English term for the driver of a bullock team. The American term is bullwhacker. Bullock drivers were also known as teamsters or carriers.
History
Bullock teams were in use in Sydney, New South Wales in 1795 wh ...
*
Carriage
A carriage is a private four-wheeled vehicle for people and is most commonly horse-drawn. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping an ...
*
Wagon
A wagon or waggon is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draught animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people.
Wagons are immediately distinguished from ...
References
{{Reflist
Cattle
Wagons