Burgersdorp

Name

Burgersdorp means Citizen's Town

Attractions

Also see the neighbouring towns

Burgersdorp is on the banks of the Stormbergspruit (Storm Mountain Creek) in a valley north of the Stormberg Mountains.

Burgersdorp is a bout 60Km southeast of the Gariep Dam, and about 50Km southwest of Aliwal North.

There are several museums in Burgersdorp: Old Goal built in 1861; Parsonage of Jan Lion-Cachet, De Bruin Tuishuis, Dutch Language Monument.

A street in Burgersdorp and the Dutch Reformed Church

Photo: Courtesy of Stella Swart, Roodepoort

San rock art and paintings

At Leliekloof San rock art can be viewd, and at Kapokkraal San paintings.

Burgersdorp Museum

The Burgersdorp Museum, at 49 Piet Retief St, is host to the cultural history of the region.

Queen Victoria

The Queen Victoria drinking fountain was erected in 1897 to celebrate 60 years (Diamond Jubilee) of reign by the British Queen Victoria (1819 – 1901). This is one of five such fountains in the world.

Hiking Trail

There is a 15Km hiking trail at Burgersdorp. The route goes through the Swartberg (not to be confused with the Swartberge near Oudshoorn).

History

The only Dutch Reformed churches in the greater region were in Graaff-Reinet, Cradock and Colesberg. To serve the area later to be known as Burgersdorp, a church was established in 1846, and the town developed around the church.

The town was first known as Klipdrift (Rocky Drift) as it was founded in 1847 on a portion of the farm Klipfontein, owned by Gert Buytendach. The name was change to Burgersdorp to honour the troops who fought in border skirmishes between the Xhosa people and European settlers in 1846 and 1847. This is known as the Seventh Frontier War, or as the War of the Axe

After the arrival of the 1820 British Settlers in the Eastern Cape, some Dutch farmers moved further into the interior. By 1835 there were about 350 families who farmed in the area, then known as the Province of Adelaide.

Religious factions

In 1860 a split occurred in the Dutch Reformed Church (Nederduits Gereferomeerde Kerk), and the fraction group called themselves the Reformed Church (Gereformeerde Kerk). They appointed the Reverend Dirk Postma (who arrived in southern Africa in 1858 from Zwolle in the Netherlands), from Rustenburg as their first pastor. In 1861 they established a theological seminary. The first lecturer was Jan Lion-Cachet (1838 -1912), a Portuguese Jew, born in Amsterdam, who converted to Christianity. The seminary started with 5 students.

In 1905 the seminary was later moved to Potchefstroom, which today is still the "capital" of the Reformed Church. The Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education (today called North-West University) eminated from this seminary.

Postma, a vehement proponent of Christian National Education - which would one day be taught in most South African schools - became one of its first rectors. Burgersdorp became the centre of a strong movement to have Dutch recognised as an official language.

Language

The Afrikaans language developed as a dialect of Dutch, and was spoken by former Dutch in the interior of southern Africa. The Afrikaner Bond was established in 1880 as a political party, which actually had the majority in the Cape Parliament, but formed coalitions with other parliamentarians. The Afrikaner Bond was the new voice of the combined Genootskap vir Regte Afrikaners (GRA - Society of True Afrikaners) and the Zuidafrikaansche Boeren Beschermings Vereeniging (South African Farmers' Protection Association). The leaders were, resepctively the Reverend S.J. du Toit and Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr. In 1882 it succeeded to making Dutch an official language of the Cape Colony. In 1893 a monument, known as the Taalmonument (language monument), was erected in town to honour that achievement. This monument was damaged and lost during the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902) and a replica was erected in 1907. The original was found in 1939, and placed next to the replica.

Photo: Courtesy of Stella Swart, Roodepoort

After the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910 the Afrikaner Bond ceased to exist (by 1911). The Afrikaner Bond is not to be confused with the body founded more recently, in 1994, when the Broederbond reinvented themselves.

Anglo-Boer War

During the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902), the Battle of Stormberg (10 December 1899) was fought here, with heavy losses to the British forces. During a period of a week the British also lost at Magersfontein (11 December 1899) and Colenso (15 December, 1899), so this week became known as 'Black Week'.

One of the blockhouses constructured by British troops can be viewed: Brandwag (sentinel).

Economy

Farming: Wool, Merino sheep-farming

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