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 58 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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