Postcard ZA-40369

http://www.voortrekkermuseum.co.za/

Voortrekker Museum

This building is the original Church of the Vow, built in 1841 to commemorate the Boer victory over the Zulu's at Blood River on December 16, 1838. The museum contains a unique and varied collection of Voortrekker relics, including a replica of a Voortrekker ox-wagon and a chair carved from the trunk of an Ironwood tree for the Zulu chief, Dingaan, by his indunas. The trees in the grounds of the Museum were planted in 1912 by various prominent persons, including Dirk Uys, son of one of the Voortrekkers, and Aia Jana, an old Coloured woman who had accompanied her mistress on the Great Trek. The modern Memorial Church is next to the Voortrekker Museum and its architecture symbolises the history and struggles of the Voortrekkers in Natal. Immediately in front of the Church are the statues of Piet Retief and Gert Maritz, two of the Voortrekker leaders. This museum is considered by many people of Afrikaner descent as one of their cultural shrines.