John Francis Goodwin (1845-1934) married Maria Sophia van Ryneveld (1850-1915) and owned a large property in Heidelberg, which they moved to in 1881. John, a trader, recounted warnings of Basuto attacks during his travels in 1865. Their daughter, Edith, born in an ox-wagon in 1876, spent her life in Heidelberg, nursing during the South African war and remaining unmarried after her beloved died in the war. She passed away in July 1956 and is buried Kloof Cemetery, alongside her brother William (Bob) Goodwin (9th January 1891 – 26th February 1934), in the family plot. Mr. Sybrand Van Der Spuy, a member of the Heidelberg Heritage Association, shared fond memories of Edith as his Godmother, recalling their time together and the house they lived in.

THE HISTORY OF THE GOODWIN FAMILY AND ERF NO. 1 VAN DER WESTHUIZEN

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TRADING EXPEDITIONS AND THE BASUTO CONFLICT (1865)

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John Francis Goodwin (30 May 1845 - 1 January 1934) and his wife, Maria Sophia van Ryneveld (1850 - 24 February 1915), settled in Heidelberg in 1881. They owned a substantial property at No. 1 Van Der Westhuizen Street, a plot that has since been sub-divided.

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Before settling in the town, John Goodwin worked as an active transport trader. In his autobiography, he recorded a perilous northbound journey originating from Pietermaritzburg in June 1865. While traversing the Drakensberg mountains, two British travelers warned him to retreat to Ladysmith due to active Basuto war parties, confirming the recent murder of a brother of the Voortrekker leader Andries Pretorius.

Once the immediate danger subsided, Goodwin advanced northward. Arriving near modern-day Volksrust, he encountered a protective laager (wagon fortification) and received updates on further Basuto raids inside the Transvaal border. In this sector, a Basuto force had raided the farm Standerdskop, plundering livestock and killing the son of Mr A. Stander.

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Continuing toward the Waterval River, Goodwin intercepted Commandant Jacob Maré leading a five-man armed patrol. Maré ordered him to rush to another defensive laager situated 18 miles ahead. The previous evening, Basuto raiders had completely devastated Anthonie Goosen's farm, Rietvlei. Two nights later, a separate war party drove off 300 oxen from Mr Buys's farm, Roodewal. Following this series of coordinated attacks, murders, and raids on civilian transport riders, the regional government deployed a formal commando to engage the Basuto forces.

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WARTIME NURSING AND FAMILY TRAGEDY

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The couple's daughter, Edith Goodwin, was born inside an ox-wagon near Kimberley in 1876, eventually accompanying her parents to Heidelberg where she spent the remainder of her life. During the South African War of 1899 - 1902, the 24-year-old Edith volunteered as a nurse, assisting Cassie O’Reilly at the local hospital facility.

Edith never married, as the man she loved was killed during the wartime hostilities. She redirected her focus into community service and remained deeply involved with the local Anglican church for the rest of her days.

Edith passed away in July 1956 at the age of 80 and was interred within the family plot at the Kloof Cemetery. A formal memorial tablet was erected in her honour inside St Ninian’s Anglican Church. Her final resting place next to her brother, William (Bob) Goodwin (9 January 1891 - 26 February 1934), lacks a permanent headstone, likely because she left no direct descendants to coordinate its installation.

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MEMORIES OF OLD HEIDELBERG

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During a recent heritage ceremony marking the unveiling of a Blue Plaque at the historical site, Heidelberg Heritage Association member Mr Sybrand van der Spuy shared personal childhood accounts of Edith Goodwin, who was his godmother.

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Van der Spuy recalled a vastly different landscape in mid-20th-century Heidelberg, noting that most residential plots were undeveloped and heavily overgrown. The original Goodwin property was an expansive estate featuring a large residential home and adjacent outbuilding garages. The lower garden contained a homemade miniature putt-putt course constructed out of salvaged tin cans.

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As a youth, Van der Spuy frequently visited his godmother and regularly played tennis at the local courts that previously occupied the site of the modern Pick n Pay Victorian Centre. He also recounted her fierce protectiveness; despite Laer Volkskool being situated a single block away from the property, Edith refused to let him walk to school unaccompanied due to the unmaintained terrain. Van der Spuy still preserves a childhood letter he wrote pleading with his parents to intervene so he could walk to school alone, alongside archival family photographs showing him as an infant in Edith's arms, his father, and their family dog, Jock.

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Sources: The Autobiography of John Francis Goodwin, parish records of St Ninian’s Anglican Church, Kloof Cemetery burial registers, and the oral history archives of the Heidelberg Heritage Association.