Graaff-Reinet : Gideon Scheepers Monument

After a lovely visit to St James the Great Anglican Church we drove out of Graaf-Reinet to see the Gideon Scheepers Monument.  We read a lot about Gideon Scheepers when we were at the Military History Museum.
Commandant Gideon Scheepers was born in 1878.  He joined the Republic’s only military unit when he was 16 and was a telegraphist, heliographer and scout.  He became a commandant when he was 22 and led a commando of 150 men who took on the British in the Second Anglo Boer War.  They wrecked trains and burned the farms of those unsympathetic to their cause.


He became ill on 10 October 1901 and was left behind in Prince Alfred where the British captured him.  The British charged him with war crimes and he was found guilty.  He was executed by a firing squad on 18 January 1902 in Graaff-Reinet when he was just 23 years old.  He was buried at the place of his execution but his body was moved the same night by British troops to an undisclosed location that was never found.

Protests were made because he was not treated according to the Geneva Convention.  There was also doubt if a British military court was competent to sentence a prisoner to death. 
A memorial was erected for him 2 km outside of Graaff-Reinet (On the R63 towards Murraysburg) near what is thought to be the site of his execution.  The monument consists of three rocks with a stainless steel needle.  It symbolizes the steadfastness of the young Afrikaner nation and hope and faith in God.

On our way back to town we stopped to take a few photos of the Nqeba Dam (previously the Van Ryneveld’s Dam).  Construction on the dam started in 1921 and was completed in 1925.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Daar’s ‘n hoender wat ‘n eier nie kan lê

Image
   Weather vane on the VGK Church in Carnarvon    This photo made me think of a song we used to sing as kids.    It is a traditional Afrikaans song about the rooster on top of the church. The words of the song and its translation: Daar’s ‘n hoender wat ‘n eier nie kan lê There is a chicken that cannot lay an egg Daar’s ‘n hoender wat ‘n eier nie kan lê There is a chicken that cannot lay an egg Daar’s ‘n hoender wat ‘n eier nie kan lê There is a chicken that cannot lay an egg Dis die haan wat op die kerktoring staan It’s the rooster standing on the church tower Dis die haan, Dis die haan It’s the rooster, It’s the rooster Dis die haan wat op die kerktoring staan It’s the rooster standing on the church tower More about all the churches and other buildings we saw in Carnarvon in the next post.
Read more

Dutch Reformed Mother Church, George

Image
One of my favourite sights in George is the white Dutch Reformed Mother Church with the beautiful Outeniqua Mountain as background.   I have many memories of visiting this church: On a history class trip when I was about 10, for a art class when I was about 13, for my cousins wedding in 2004, for her baby’s christening a few years later and many other times.   But most of all I like seeing this church every time we drive through town.   The cornerstone for the church was laid on 14 April 1832.   Slaves were used for some of the building work like the digging of the six-foot deep by five-foot wide foundations.   Due to financial problems it took 12 years to complete the church and it was consecrated in 9 October 1842.  The church is a National Heritage Site. On 13 September 1905 disaster struck when the church tower collapsed.   The wood rotted from water damage and lead to the walls weakening.   After a lot of rain for two days the tower collapsed.   The tower was reb
Read more

Eyewitness Travel Guides – A Book Review

Image
  Last month I wrote a book review and I enjoyed it.   Today I want to share some more of my favourite travel books.   DK Eyewitness Travel Guides I bought my first travel guide in 2008. I was planning a trip with my friend Lelanie to London and Europe.   While planning the trip I bought the DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Europe and I paid R 282.00 for it.   Except for my university textbooks, this was the most expensive book I have ever bought for myself.    We were doing a Contiki Tour and visited 7 countries.   I studied the information in guide the about the cities we would visit.    I made lists of places I want to see and then looked for more information about them.   In the end I did not take the guide with me (the 800 pages was just to heavy to carry along) but packed all my lists to use.  At Departures at Cape Town Airport in 2008 My second guide was for the same trip.   The Eyewitness Travel Top 10 London traveled with us.   We stayed in London for 4 da
Read more