A Trip to the Monument

The 9th of August is a public holiday here, Woman's Day, and we decided to visit the Voortrekker Monument.  On a clear day it's visible from our front yard, but in all the years he's lived here, Malcolm has never been there.

The Voortrekker Monument, and the events surrounding its creation, is one of those politically controversial topics that could be argued back and forth without end.  You're welcome to look it up on the web and read all about it, as well as the arguments about its meaning.  To me, any history is like the proverbial elephant description - it's different depending on where you stand.  So I'll relate the history of the Monument as it was taught to me:  (In brief)

The Cape was originally settled by Dutch settlers, and then the British arrived and took over.  The Afrikaners (as they now were) decided to leave the Cape and the British rule, and head inland where they could govern themselves.  There were several groups under several leaders, and they became known as the Voortrekkers (fore-trekkers - those who went ahead).  The migration is known as The Great Trek.

Some of the Voortrekkers went into Natal where they met up with the Zulu king, Dingane.  They negotiated a land treaty with him, but he double-crossed them, killing their leader, Piet Retief and half the voortrekkers with him.  Another leader, Andries Pretorius, took over Retief's place, hoping to get Dingane to give them the land he had promised them.  Dingane sent an army of over 10 000 warriors to attack the Voortrekkers who, at only about 470, were hopelessly outnumbered.

The battle took place at Ncome River (also known as Blood River) in Natal.  The Voortrekkers made a vow to God that if He would help them in the battle, they would keep that day as a Sabbath.  That was the 16th of December 1838.  The Voortrekkers were victorious, with only 3 being wounded, and about 3000 Zulus died.

16 December became known as The Day of the Vow, and later The Day of the Covenant.  After 1994 it became known as the Day of Reconciliation.  Pretoria, incidentally, was named after Andries Pretorius.

In 1888 the idea was discussed to build a monument in honour of the Voortrekkers, although building only began in 1937.  It was inaugurated in 1947.

The Monument is surrounded by a granite wall of 64 ox-wagons - the same number of ox-wagons were used to make the laager to protect the Voortrekkers at the Battle of Blood River.

Pretoria's city centre in the background.

At each of the four corners is statue of a Voortrekker leader:

At the foot of the monument is a bronze sculpture of a Voortrekker woman and her children.  This is to pay homage to the strength and courage of the Voortrekker women.

This helps to get a better idea of the size of the monument:

  Along all the walls inside is a frieze with murals that depict the story of the Great Trek.

Probably the most important part:  Set in a room below the ground level is this cenotaph with the words "Ons Vir Jou, Suid Afrika", which literally translated means, "Us For You, South Africa".

 The Monument is built in such a way, that each year, on the 16th December, the sun shines through a hole in the domed roof

 directly onto the cenotaph:

picture from Wikipedia

 

Downstairs, along with the cenotaph, is a museum with this replica ox-wagon, and some of the actual possessions of the Voortrekkers.

One of these huge Bibles was the original one given to the Voortrekkers by the British Governor of the Cape before they left.

A depiction of what the Voortrekkers faced in having to cross the Drakensberg mountains:

This shows some of the old flags:  The top one is of the Republic of the Orange Free State, the middle is of the Zuid-Afrikaanse Republic, and the bottom is the old South African flag (1961 - 1994).  On the right of the photo is the old anthem, The Call Of South Africa, in Afrikaans.

You can climb stairs in the corners of the building right up to the top, where there is a balcony-type walkaround:

We had lots of fun taking photos :-)

From the top there are great views of the city:

The big complex to the right is the University of South Africa

Inside you can walk around another balcony, and look over the sides.  (I'm too scared of heights to do this...)

Not a very good photo, I know, but those are my children looking over the balcony.  They were giving me the heebie-jeebies!

Despite all the controversies around the Monument, we enjoyed our visit!