Message from our old mate Pascal!

"Hi Mate

How are you?

Impossible to know what the actual color of the walls of buildings of Rorke's Drift 22 January 1879 ...

There are only pictures of models in absurd colors, help me please.

Best regards
Pascal

Can anyone help?

Its South East Africa in January, Materials local.
built by an Irishman. would the stone still be damp
on the 22nd and 23rd, what was the weather doing
just before and after, a hell of a lot of men went
through the drift before and after! Pascal is as you
know a perfectionist, good to hear from you mon ami.

Hi Pascal,
The real answer to your question is much easier than you think.
As there were very few brickworks operating in Natal in the 1800's, nearly all buildings, particularly those in the rural environment were made from natural stone harvested locally. These structures either used the round stones, as is, taken from river beds ( called Umbokots by the Zulus(*)) or taken from the lands when fields were being ploughed, or, harvested stone from quarries very near the building sites. The quarry stones were dressed of course before being used.
So, Pascal, if you colour your buildings in the same tan, light/mid brown of the rocks seen on the terraces on the Oskar berg behind RD, you will not be faulted. This stone being wetted would of course appear in duller colours by a number of shades.

regards

barry

(*)  Some will be interested to know that Umbogintwini ( a corruption of Umbokotweni), a small industrial zone to the south of Durban was named after the round stones found in the nearby river of that name.

The new buildings after the demolition of FORT BROMHEAD were constructed using those self same materials. So as Barry has pointed out, all local rock.
This is a view of the current building taken from in front of the church ( site of the old store house and barricaded area) looking towards the house. The photo was taken on the 11th January this year, so those are the materials and the time of year is exact. Ergo, those are the colors, or as near as your going to get.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Cheers

Hello Pascal the Rascal.

You can't go wrong if you use springy's picture to match up your colour for the walls, you must have a fair old collection of models by now.

Hope you are keeping well me old mate.

  

Pascal, would like to thank all those concerned for replying to his question, he now has the correct colour.   

Im almost tempted to reply in the same foul language he had a forum member pass to me, but I   wont, the contemptable pratt.