Kosmos, North West

Kosmos is a village in the North West Province of South Africa. It is situated on the banks of the Hartbeespoort Dam.HistoryThe first homes were built in the 1920s shortly after the Dam was constructed. It is thought that the name derives from the Kosmos which grows wild in great drifts in many parts of the Highveld, and in particular on the roads from the nearby major cities. More homes followed over the years, and the style moved steadily up market. Little development of commercial enterprises ever took place, although it is said that in earlier years the 'Sail Inn' on the waterfront was a favourite watering hole. Many Anglo-Boer War battles ranged around the area and the British built one of the blockhouses on the crest of the range above the village, in view of its strategic position.In more recent years a restaurant immediately outside the original township, Stywe Lyne, (Tight Lines in Afrikaans) was a favourite destination for motorbike enthusiasts to gather on Sundays, and show off their bikes. This too has given way to the pressures of upmarket residential development. This breakfast run started unofficially in 1972 when Vernon Mather and Nigel Cock used to visit his parents (Nigel's) who lived in 187 Simon Bekker Street in Kosmos. Then this increased to include a number of friends who met at the Bryanston Post Office intersection at ± 10 a.m. on Sundays. Another original rider was George Blake (manager of Honda, Braamfontein) who was murdered by terrorists in the then Rhodesia in 1976 on a Trout Rally. Long before this the numbers were obviously too many for Nigel's mother, so Stywe Lyne became the meeting place. By 1975 there were ± 40 bikes meeting at Bryanston Post Office. During the years this became hundreds of bikers, Kosmos/Hartbeespoort Dam being by this time an informal random riding destination, which it still is today (2012).