Christian Johannes Watermeyer, a Karoo farmer, was the son of Frederik Gottfried Watermeyer and his wife Maria Magdalena Johanna, born Brink. He was married to Caroline Agnes Maria de Graaff, with whom he had about 9 children. He has been described as "a leading farmer and a man of culture, strong character and outstanding ability with a very fine intellect" (Van der Westhuizen, n.d.)

Watermeyer developed his farm Colonies Plaats (later Koloniesplaas), some 40 km north-east of Graaff-Reinet, into one of the finest farms in the country. He imported stud sheep from Australia after visiting that country and produced fine ostrich feathers. He also made regular observations of rainfall and river flow on his farm from 1883 to 1902. His observations were reviewed by the meteorologist C.M. Stewart* in "Rainfall and river notes from a Karroo farmer's diary, Colonies Plaats, 1883-1902" in the South African Irrigation Department Magazine (Vol. 1(1), pp. 15-18) in 1921. The paper included a table of rainfall and thunderstorm observations.

List of sources:

Malherbe, D.F. du T. Family register of the South African nation, 3rd ed. Stellenbosch: Tegniek, 1966.

My Heritage: Christian Watermeyer. Retrieved on 13 April 2021 from https://www.myheritage.com/names/christian_watermeyer

National Automated Archival Information Retrieval System (NAAIRS). http://national.archives.gov.za/naairs.htm Documents relating to Watermeyer, C.J.

Van der Westhuizen, J. Our chief justices: E.F. Watermeyer (1943-1950). Retrieved on 13 April from https://journals.co.za/doi/pdf/10.10520/AJA02500329_942

Venter, R.J. Bibliography of regional meteorological literature. Vol. 1. Southern Africa, 1486-1948. Pretoria: Weather Bureau, 1949.

Compiled by: C. Plug

Last updated: 2021-04-13 10:06:07