Karel Landman Monument - the globe off the beaten track

Very few people driving along the R72 coastal route between Port Elizabeth and East London have ever seen or even know of the Karel Landman monument about halfway between Nanaga and Alexandria.  The only indication that there is a monument up the dirt road is a road sign at the turnoff.  A couple of kilometers up the dirt road one stands in awe though of the magnitude of this monument in the shape of a globe.  Its huge... and kinda in the middle of nowhere. 

 

At about the centenary of the Great Trek, the idea was initiated for a local monument to commemorate the centenary of the trek from the Eastern Cape by the Voortrekker party under leadership of Karel Landman.  Landman farmed in this area until 1837 and took a party of about 180 trekkers and their servants on a trek of 885 kilometres into Natal. He became prominent in several battles with the Zulus and was the second in command of the Boer forces at the pivotal battle of Blood River

 

Well known Afrikaans architect Gerard Moerdijk was approached for the design which was approved in May of 1939, although the granite plinth had been inaugurated on 16 December 1938 already.  The concrete and terrazzo monument was manufactured by the Lupini Brothers in Johannesburg at a cost of £470 (R940 back then).  The monument was unveiled later in the year on 16 December 1939 by WA Landman, a descendent of Karel Landman.

Karel Landman monument

Mens is so gewoond om monumente in dorpe en stede asook langs groot paaie te sien, maar daar is wel monumente wat min mense te sien kry weens waar hulle gelee is.  Die Karel Landman Monument is een van dié en kan gesien word op 'n grondpad so 'n entjie van R72 tussen Port Elizabeth en Alexandria af.  Karel Landman het in die omgewing geboer tot 1837 voor hy een van die prominente Voortrekker leiers geword het.  Landman het 'n groep van omtrent 180 trekkers en hulle werkers oor 'n afstand van 885 kilometer gelei tot in Natal.  Hy het ook 'n groot rol gespeel in die Slag van Bloedrivier asook verskeie ander skermutselings met die Zulus. 

Die monument is in 1938 opgesit deur 'n samewerking tussen die kerksrade van die NG Kerke in Alexandria en Patterson.  Die probleem was dat die kerke nie kon besluit in watter dorp die monument moes opgaan nie en so is daar toe besluit op 'n koppie halfpad tussen die dorpe.  Die monument bestaan uit 'n 3 meter groot aardbol met 'n ossewa wat oor die breedte van Suid-Afrika strek.  Die monument begroet mens so half onverwag terwyl jy op die grondpad ry en mens kan amper nie help om te stop en dit van naderby te bekyk nie.

Voortrekkermonument

Die monument wat seker die naaste aan die hart van meeste Afrikaners in Suid-Afrika is is die Voortrekker Monument net buite Pretoria.  Die veertig meter hoë monument is in 1949 voltooi en is gebou ter ere van die Voortrekkers wat die Kaapkolonie vanaf 1838 verlaat het en noord na die Vrystaat, die ou Transvaal (vandag Gauteng) en Natal (KwaZulu Natal) met al hulle besittings op ossewaens getrek het. 

Retief (Voortrekker) Pass

Driving up the Olivierhoek Pass over the Drakensberg in comfort only having to dodge the occasional pothole, I was wondering how tough it must have been for the Voortrekkers to get down this mountain during the Great Trek in 1837. On a visit to the Voortrekker Monument outside Pretoria I saw the painting above and I imagine it must have been one of the most dangerous parts of their journey.  Finding the best place down and then making your own path to take a fully laden ox wagon as well.

The original trail carved by the Great Trek's ox wagons is known as Retief Pass (sometimes also called Voortrekker Pass).  It is down this path that Piet Retief's party went in 1837 in their quest for freedom and a land of their own.  Standing on top of the mountain at this point it doesn't look to challenging, but the first problem would have been finding this spot and then to make your way down it.

The pass was declared a national monument in 1977 and at the top of the mountain stands a small pyramid to mark the spot where the pass starts.  From this spot you can see the Kaalvoet Vrou Monument, while Retief Rock is only a few kilometers away.  To get to the monument you have to take a dirt road for about 20 kilometers or so, but it was quite decent and I did it very easily in my Chev Aveo.

Retiefklip (Retief Rock)

One of the things I was quite anxious to see when I was in the Drakensberg area was Retiefklip.  I asked at the resort where we were staying how to get there and was told that the road was very badly damaged in the rain that fell in the week or so before.  Seeing that I probably won't get back to that area soon again, the explorer in me decided to take a chance anyway.  I don't know where the young lady got her information, but other than having to carefully navigate my Chev Aveo past one or two badish spots, the road was better than a lot of gravel roads I have travelled on.

The Great Trek reached this area in 1837 after traveling from the Cape Colony (Eastern Cape and Western Cape) through the Free State.  The Voortrekker put up their laager in the shadow of the mountain in the picture above and a service was held to thank God for protecting them and bringing them this far.  The Voortrekker called the mountain Kerkenberg (Church Mountain).  Upon arriving in the Free State, there was a dispute amongst the Boers as to the final destination of the Great Trek.  One of the main leaders, Piet Retief, chose Natal.  On 7 October 1837 he left the laager with 14 men to scout Natal in advance.  On 12 November 1837, his daughter Deborah painted her fathers name on a rock below Kerkenberg to commemorate his birthday.

To get to Retiefklip one has to squeeze through a narrow opening between the sandstone rocks

The original writing done by Deborah has been enclosed in glass to preserve it.  Around it a lot of other graffiti have been added over the years.  Some of it date back to the 1800's, but unfortunately some has been added in later years by folk who feel nothing for heritage sites like this one.

Kaalvoet Vrou (Barefoot Woman) Monument

At the top of Voortrekker Passstands a monument to a woman walking barefoot over the Drakensberg.  After the Voortrekkers entered Natal, which was a British Colony in those days, in 1847, there was a number of trekkers who wanted to return to the Free State.  Susanna Smit, sister of Gert Maritz, one of the Voortrekker leaders, declared that she would rather trek barefoot back over the Berg than live in Natal under British rule.

The monument was erected in 1977 and stands very close to the Voortrekker Pass Monument.  But that's another post.  I was Googling to try and find out if she actually ended up walking across the mountain barefoot.  It seems that she died in Natal which means that she never did.

Graaff Reinet Statues

I still had a couple of odd monument photos from Graaff-Reinet lying around and decided to put them together and do a "Random ..." post for today.

This monument is in memory of Andries Pretorius, one of the Voortrekker leaders. It was erected in 1943 and can be found just outside of town on the way to Middelburg. This is the route to the north and into the interior which the Voortrekkers followed in the 1830's.

In one of the residential areas there is a monument dedicated to Boer soldiers who died during the Anglo Boer War (1899 - 1902) The inscription reads "in memory of the fallen in the struggle for Freedom and Justice".

One of my favorite monuments in Graaff-Reinet is the bronze figure of the "victory Peace Angel", mounted on a high pedestal in front of the town hall. It is dedicated to local citizens, including Die Middellandse Regiment, who lost their lives in WWII.

Voortrekker Monument

The Voortrekker Monument stands on top of a hill outside the city of Pretoria and can be seen from all directions as one approaches it. The monument was opened in 1949 and stands 40 meters long, 40 meters wide and 40 meters high. This massive granite structure was built in honour of the Voortrekkers who left the Cape Colony between 1835 and 1853 to get away from British rule and find land to call their own.

Surrounding the monument building is a circular wall of decorative granite and engraved with wagons. This represents the historical Trekker practice of "circling the wagons" to defend themselves when under attack. The wall consist of 64 ox-wagons which is the number of wagons used to form the laager at the Battle of Blood River.

At the foot of the Monument stands a bronze sculpture of a Voortrekker woman and her two children by the well know South African sculptor Anton van Wouw. It pays homage to the strength and courage of the Voortrekker women who played as big a part in this historic event as the men.
Inside the monument are three levels. On the entrance level (middle level) visitors will find the historical wall frieze. It represents the history of the Voortrekkers and depicts scenes that played itself off during the trek. Another feature of the monument is the Cenotaph on the bottom level of the monument and engraved with the words: "WE FOR YOU SOUTH-AFRICA". Once a year, at mid-day on the 16th of December, a ray of the sun shines through a hole in the dome to illuminate these words.
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For more information on the monument, visit Wikipedia.

Karel Landman Monument

Driving back from Port Alfred the other day, I did a quick detour to visit a monument that I haven't seen in years. The Karel Landman Monument is situated just about halfway between Port Elizabeth and Port Alfred, just a couple of kilometers up a very good dirt road.

In 1837/8, people of Dutch decent, referred to as the Boers, decided to move away from British rule and trek northwards. In doing this they founded the old Transvaal and the Free State as part of the Great Trek. This monument was erected in 1938 (during the centenary celebrations of the Great Trek) honouring Karel Landman who farmed in this area until 1837. He became a leader in the Great Trek and took a party of about 180 trekkers and their servants on a trek of 885 kilometres into Natal. Landman became prominent in several battles with the Zulus and was the second in command of the Boer forces at the pivotal battle of Blood River.

The monument is in the shape of a 3m globe with an ox wagon traversing the it and is situated prominently on a hill overlooking the surrounding countryside.

The monument was an initiative of the then National Party and the councils of the Dutch Reformed Church in two neighbouring villages, Alexandria and Patterson. Story has it that the councils could not agree which village should 'host' the monument, so it was placed on this remote koppie between the two villages.

GPS: 33°34'42.65"S, 26° 9'42.87"E