Houtwater was a farm in the Northern Cape, 20 km from Britstown. Britstown was established as a ‘stop over’ between Cape Town and Kimberley during the days of the ‘Diamond Rush’.
During the South African War Britstown was the base for British Forces, for the purpose of preventing Boer Commandos from advancing into the Cape.
On 6 March 1900 Colonel J. Adye, who had heard of a Boer presence in the area, found Houtwater strongly held by a force of Boers. Realising he was outnumbered, and deciding before his line of retreat was blocked, he chose to retire his force. However, in the skirmish that followed, the British suffered approximately 20 casualties.
