This national monument commemorates the approximately 27,000 Boer women and children who died in the British concentration camps during the Second Boer War of 1899-1902 between the Boers and Britain. As part of Britain’s military strategy, civilians were forcibly removed from their homes and confined in camps; the poor conditions led to malnutrition and endemic contagious diseases that ended in over 27,000 deaths, the majority of which were women and children. In 1906, Martinus Steyn, the president of the Orange Free State Republic, initiated the idea to erect a monument that honors the people who died in the British concentration camps. President Steyn and his wife, Rachel Isabella Steyn, funded the project committee. English-speaking members of the Bloemfontein Town Council and others who supported the war objected to the monument, claiming it would reflect poorly on Great Britain. The Afrikaner community fundraised the £10,000 cost of the monument. The committee chose Architect Frans Soff and sculptor Anton van Wouw to design and build it. Van Wouw created the statue based on a sketch by Emily Hobhouse, a British humanitarian activist. The monument consists of a 35m tall sandstone obelisk with semi-circular walls on each side. In front of the obelisk, a bronze statue of two sorrowing women and a dying child sits on a plinth. The inscription on the plinth reads- “TO OUR HEROINES AND DEAR CHILDREN “THY WILL BE DONE.” THIS NATIONAL MONUMENT HAS BEEN ERECTED IN COMMEMORATION OF THE 26 370 WOMEN AND CHILDREN WHO DIED IN THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS AS WELL AS OTHER WOMEN AND CHILDREN WHO SUCCUMBED ELSEWHERE AS A RESULT OF THE WAR OF 1899 – 1902. UNVEILED ON 16TH DECEMBER 1913.” The monument was unveiled on December 16, 1913, attended by about 20,000 South Africans. Thirteen years later, Emily Hobhouse’s ashes were buried at the foot of the monument. Also beside the monument are the graves of Christiaan de Wet, Rev. John Daniel Kestell, President of the Orange Free State Martinus Steyn, and his wife. It is located 3 km south of central Bloemfontein and stands in harmony with the local Boer farms overlooking the surrounding kopjes and distant plains. The Anglo-Boer War Museum is nearby. Over the years, the monument was upgraded with the addition of 44 concentration camp memorial stones along the paved path to the monument, commemorative plaques of Mrs (president) Nellie Swart (1963) and the actress Wilna Snyman (2013), images of Farewell (1986), Banneling (1983) and Bittereinder (1994) and the plaques for the centenary of the Peace of Reunification (2002). The Women’s Monument serves as a gathering place for ceremonies. Every year, students of C&N Sekondêre Meisieskool Oranje (“C&N Girls’ Secondary School Orange”) in Bloemfontein walk the 10-km distance from the school to the monument in memory of President Steyn and its historical significance. Read more...

Ingrid Jonker (1933-1965) was an iconic South African poet who published her work in Afrikaans and English. Jonker started to write poetry before she was six years old. She was a part of Cape Town’s racially mixed literary bohemia during the 1960s, who opposed the National Party’s racial policies and the increasing censorship of literature and the media. She published two books of poetry during her lifetime, and her poems frequently appeared in magazines and newspapers. Suffering from depression, on a cold winter night, she returned to the happiest place she lived in as a child, Gordon’s Bay. She entered the icy water and drowned herself. She was only 31 years old. After her tragic death, she became more famous. Her third book was published, and her poems were translated into many languages. Nelson Mandela read her poem, The Child, in South Africa’s first democratic parliament in 1994. The Cape Town sculptor Tyrone Appollis created the memorial, inspired by her famous song, The Child, in the shape of a child tricycle and a pair of children’s sandals handed from the handlebars. It stands on a white granite pedestal, engraved with quotes from the poem, overlooking the water of Gordon’s Bay. Jonker’s memorial was part of The Sunday times Easter celebrations project that commissioned several sculptures throughout the country of notable South Africans who have shaped the nation. Read more...

The 1.57-meter life-size bronze statue of Brenda Fassie captures her forever on the place she loved most, the stage. She is sitting casually on a high stool, a standing microphone nearby, and next to her is an empty stool, inviting the visitor to join her. At a street level, the interactive statue is as Brenda embraced her audience. Brenda Fassie (1964-2004) was one of the most successful singers in African history. ‘MaBrrr,’ Queen of African Pop, the Madonna of the townships, and the black Madonna, were some of her nicknames. Fassie (1964-2004) started to sing for tourists as a little girl in Cape Town. At 16, she moved to Johannesburg following an offer from a music producer. At first, she joined the vocal group Joy; then, she became the lead singer for the music group Brenda and the Big Dudes. Later on, she continued solo, singing about the difficult life in the townships and against the apartheid regime in South Africa. With her grown fame, her cocaine addiction grew, and she went in and out of rehab centers. On 26 April 2004, she collapsed from an overdose and got into a comma. Two weeks later, she passed away when she was 39 years old. In her lifetime, she won more than a dozen music awards and released more than 20 albums. Among her most famous songs are – Weekend Special, Too Late for Mama, and Black President. The Sunday Times centenary heritage project commissioned her statue as part of their project to create “a trail of memorials across South Africa to commemorate some of the remarkable people and events that made history from 1906 – 2006.” The statue was created by Angus Taylor and dedicated on March 2006 in Newtown’s Bassline (currently Music Factory), a music venue in Johannesburg. In 2019 it was sent to repair and moved to the public plaza outside the Market Theatre in downtown Johannesburg. Read more...