91.Dr Joseph Castles

A Montagu Pioneer is remembered.

(14/02/1854 – 05/03/1904)
Talk given by Mrs. Marie Anley in Montagu at the annual general meeting of the Montagu Museum on Wednesday, 15th June, 1988.
He was born in Lurgan, County Armagh, Ireland in 1854. He studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh where he graduated in about 1876. While a student he stayed in the city and had to walk through a reputedly haunted wood on his way home. His fellow students always teased him and asked him if he was not afraid of the “ghost”. One dark and misty evening on walking through the wood with his furled umbrella under his arm he perceived a figure approaching him. Thinking it was one of his friends he lunged with the umbrella and to his horror it went right through the vision – he told my grandmother that he clapped his hat down and ran!

Note: At least one of his siblings (brother) is missing from this photo
After the death of his mother his father married his gardener’s daughter and true to the times Oupa Castles and his siblings packed up everything that had belonged to their mother and left. His brother went to Australia, another brother to England with his sister Josephine (a reputed red – haired beauty). Miriam the plain one, came to South Africa and lived with her brother till her death in 1902 at the age of about forty. He died in 1904 at the age of about fifty of blood poising as a result of a neglected spider bite. His brother in Australia died at the same time and the two cables with the news crossed half way! All contact with the rest of the family has been lost. Miriam and Joseph are buried next to each other in Montagu.


At the time when Dr Castles established a practice in Montagu he was the only medical doctor between Worcester and Oudtshoorn. He stayed with the Brinks where he met his future wife Maria Elizabeth Frederica Brink – then five years of age. He always said he would wait for her. Later he built and lived in Castledene in Church Street, the present home (1988) of Mr. Willie Cilliers.

The large lounge was his waiting and consulting rooms and the pantry was his dispensary. He was a firm believer in the healing power of herbs and said one could cure most diseases with extracts from the bushes in the Montagu Karoo!

L/R back: Abram, Maria (later Mrs. Castles & Mrs. Andrew Hofmeyr) John, Louis
Front: Ernst & Peter (John & Peter were the original Brink Bros.)
When he married Maria aged eighteen he was forty! On coming out of the church Andrew Hofmeyr, son of dr. Servaas Dutch Reformed Church minister, was overheard saying: “Daar trou dokter nou met my vrou. About ten years later after she was widowed with three children, Cecil, Elizabeth – known as Girlie – and Willie (six months) , Andrew Hofmeyr married his first love and they also had three children, Anna, Servaas and Montie. The sons followed their father in the legal profession.




Mr. Johnnie Brink tells that Dr. Castles was asked by the people of Wellington to set up a practice there. To the joy of all he refused the offer and stayed on at Montagu. Mr. Alexander Floris Kriel, great grandfather of Babsie van Zyl, presented Dr.Castles with a white stallion on behalf of the farming community. Dr. Castles was delighted and he cut a fine figure on his horse. But one day Billy, as the horse was called, threw him and he was tempted to shoot him – the Irish temper showing but he stuck a pencil in the horse’s ear instead.
Dr. Servaas Rossouw was then living at Montagu and studying for the ministry. He became the minister at the Dutch Reformed Church at Swellendam. His daughter Elise later married P.W.Botha our present State President. dr. Servaas was anxious to ride Billy and on Dr. Castle consenting turned up smartly dressed in a frock coat. On mounting Billy Dr. Servaas swirled his coat tails, Dr. Castles released Billy who bucked and threw dr. Servaas. There he was in the road on his back and all the spectators had a good laugh at his expense. It seems Dr. Castles expected Billy to have been startled by the movement of the coat but had not warned the young Servaas.
Dr. Castles was reputed to have been a very good doctor. He went to Bonnievale in Bella van der Merwe’s father’s wagon. Uncle Johnnie Brink accompanied him and somehow fell off the wagon – he was quite seriously injured but Dr. Castles treated him, stitched up the cut and the leg healed perfectly. My great – grandmother, Chrissie van Eeden, wife of the hon. F.J. van Eden of Swellendam, had something wrong with her one eye – Dr. Castles came out to the farm Nooitgedacht, had them scrub the kitchen table and removed the offending eye which he replaced with a glass eye eventually.
Mr. Euvrard enjoyed assisting at minor operations in the surgery and would come out swinging a stethoscope and say “Wij hebben de operatie gedaan!” Dr. Castles must have had some knowledge of Afrikaans – Dutch although the family spoke only English in the home. My brother has an account dated 1895 addressed to Louw Kok of Windkraal to the amount of £3 – for going out to the farm and treating his wife. This is marked “vereffen” in Dr Castles writing.
There is a legend illustrating his marked dry sense of humour. A certain man about town visited married and unmarried ladies and one night he was evidently caught and his brother – in – law castrated him. The next morning his friends took him to doctor who examined him and then remarked “……could not have done it better myself”.
My mother Girlie told us how he ate two raw eggs for breakfast every day – no cholesterol in those days, and being fond of game. He either went hunting himself or the farming friends supplied him with rabbits, pheasants and partridges. These he hung up in the cypress tree in the back yard and there they hung until they were ‘ripe’ and almost dropped!
He was a public spirited man and was on the first municipal board when it was established in 1895. There were six members, the first mayor being Mr. W.A. Joubert installed in 1895 and Dr. Castles was the second one installed in 1903. To this day I meet people who say “You are Dr. Castles’ granddaughter – my mother always spoke so highly of him”. Recently I met an elderly lady in Bonnievale who told me her mother used to go to Montagu to Dr. Castles for all her confinements. A certain Mrs. Keet used to assist as midwife.

Thus bearing out the epitaph on his gravestone, “His works follow him”.
Dr. Castles has two grandchildren in the Cape, both residing at Bonnievale – Jaap van Eeden and Marie Anley. His three grandchildren in the Transvaal are Marie Warburton, Brenda Lissner and Cecil Castles. He has twelve great – grand – children and seven great – great grandchildren carrying the Irish genes in Africa.
Dr. Castles Gallery







Includes: Dr. Castles (standing left back), Mrs. Castles (standing 3rd left with cup), Mr. Apie Euvrard, Fritz Lintvelt, G. van Blommenstein, Katie Lintvelt, Annie van Blommenstein.


An extract from a document in the Montagu Museum archive, Dr. Castles and his involvement with the wider community
1895: January – Montagu now a Municipality
Councillors: W.A. Joubert, R.P.J. van der Merwe, D.J.G. Joubert, D.S. du Toit, B. Buirski and Dr. J.W. Castles
First council meeting: April 17th – W.A. Joubert elected as Chairman
Second council meeting: May 1st – Present only the Chairman
Third council meeting: May 15th – Present no one
Fourth council meeting on June 5th –: Present Chairman & Dr. Castles
Dr. Castles also went on to serve as Mayor of Montagu in the year 1903.


Irma Jordaan found an interesting document in the Montagu Museum archive. The document in question was an extract from an early business directory of Montagu people (see below). An unusual entry was noticed next to the name of Mr. Gregan. He was not only Justice of the Peace in Montagu but also appears to have been the local representative for an organisation called the International Organisation of Good Templers. This organisation still exists today (2023)
EXTRACT FROM
“THE GENERAL DIRECTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA 1896-97”
Gregan W.J. enrolled agent
I.O.G.T. Mispah Lodge, No. 30 (established 1886) (W.J. Gregan C.T.)
I.O.G.T. Redding Temple
International Organisation of Good Templars
Our vision is a life for all human beings free to live up to their fullest potential, and free from harm caused by alcohol and other drugs. It’s a world of peace, democracy and justice where free and healthy citizens actively contribute in all levels of society.
IOGT is an organization of men and women of all ages who promote the ideals of temperance, peace and brotherhood. IOGT is the largest international non-governmental organization in the field of temperance. It is a voluntary, democratic organization based on the work of committed lay people.
IOGT was one of the first organizations that had no distinction between race, colour, creed or sex.





Medical Students in Edinburgh,Scotland
Standing L/R: Dan du Toit, de Villiers, Thompson, Malherbe.
Sitting L/R: Tot du Toit, Hauptfleisch, Pierre du Toit, Cecil Castles (son of Dr Castles).
Contributions: Irma Jordaan