Abbabis

Ababis station
Abbabis station
Former convalescent home

Abbabis is a disused railway station southwest of Karibib in the Erongo Region of western Namibia on the 600 mm (1 ft 11 5⁄8 in) dismanteled narrow gauge Swakopmund–Windhoek railway line established in 1900.[1][2]

Location

Near to the station was a German convalescent home (Genesungsheim), in which the soldiers of the imperial protection force (Schutztruppen) could recover. A ruin of its office building is still visible on a paddock. The soldiers camped in tents and baracks.[3][4]

Name

The etymology of the station is not clear: Either it is from the Khoikhoi language for 'red spot',[5] or from Nama language abas for 'gourd', as in the case of a farm approximately 300 km (200 miles) further south.[6]

Current use

The rails have long been lifted. The station building has been extended at its front an rear. It is now used as a well maintained family home. The water supply is still from the old well.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Martin Wollmann: DSWA Staatsbahn Karte (German).
  2. ↑ Namibia Railways – SL 61: Passenger Stations & Stops, version of 27 October 2007, §9 State Northern Rly (SNR), p. 2.
  3. 1 2 Martin Wollmann: Die Staatsbahn Swakopmund-Windhuk, Bahnhof Abbabis, km 165,65 (German, with many historic and modern photos).
  4. ↑ Erich von Salzmann: Im Kampfe gegen die Herero. Рипол Классик, 1905 (German).
  5. ↑ Peter Edmund Raper: New Dictionary of South African Place Names. Jonathan Ball Publishers, Johannesburg & Cape Town, 2004.
  6. ↑ Walter Moritz: Aus den alten Tagen in Südwest: Ababis, Erlebnisse eines Albert Voigts (German).

Coordinates: 22°08′30″S 15°43′28″E / 22.141733°S 15.724364°E / -22.141733; 15.724364

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