The Heroes' Acre ( af, Die Heldeakker; nl, De Heldenakker) is a section of Church Street Cemetery in

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...

, South Africa. It was established in 1867, and contains the graves of renowned citizens and public figures. It is the burial place of a number of historical figures including

Andries Pretorius Andries Wilhelmus Jacobus Pretorius (27 November 179823 July 1853) was a leader of the Boers who was instrumental in the creation of the South African Republic, as well as the earlier but short-lived Natalia Republic, in present-day South Africa ...

Paul Kruger Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger (; 10 October 1825 – 14 July 1904) was a South African politician. He was one of the dominant political and military figures in 19th-century South African Republic, South Africa, and President of the So ...

and

Hendrik Verwoerd Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd (; 8 September 1901 – 6 September 1966) was a South African politician, a scholar of applied psychology and sociology, and chief editor of '' Die Transvaler'' newspaper. He is commonly regarded as the architect ...

. Australian

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

war criminal Harry "Breaker" Morant (executed by the British for war crimes during the Second Anglo-Boer War) is also buried here.

History

The first burials took place in 1867. In 1973, Tom Andrews (with the assistance of the

Girl Guides Girl Guides (known as Girl Scouts in the United States and some other countries) is a worldwide movement, originally and largely still designed for girls and women only. The movement began in 1909 when girls requested to join the then-grassroot ...

) was the first surveyor of the cemetery. He documented all graves and later published it as a book called "Pioneer Sketches" (May 1983)

Location and description

The Church Street Cemetery is located on the corner of WF Nkomo (Former Church street) and Eskia M'phahlele drive (Former DF Malan Drive) in Pretoria. The central part of this historic cemetery is known as The Heroes' Acre. The cemetery is a vast green field filled with tombstones of diverse shapes and styles which are organized in rows. As this is a Christian cemetery, the graves are oriented facing east. Trees and shrubbery give the cemetery a calm feel. The silver crosses in The Heroes' Acre are significant and distinctive of the cemetery. The Heroes' Acre is listed as a heritage site.

Interments

South African Republic

– (1st Chairman of the United Volksraad. Reburied in the cemetery in May 1891 as ''die eerste held wat in die akker begrawe is'' the first hero who is buried in the acre" *

Stephanus Schoeman Stephanus Schoeman (14 March 1810 – 19 June 1890) was President of the South African Republic from 6 December 1860 until 17 April 1862. His red hair, fiery temperament and vehement disputes with other Boer leaders earned him t ...

– (2nd

President of the South African Republic This is a list of State Presidents of the South African Republic (Before 1866 nl, President van de Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek and after 1866 nl, Staatspresident der Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek). The country was referred as the ''Transvaal R ...

) *

Willem Cornelis Janse van Rensburg Willem Cornelis Janse van Rensburg (16 May 1818 – 13 August 1865) was the second President of the Executive Council of the South African Republic, from 18 April 1862 until 10 May 1864. Life He was born near the town of Beau ...

– (3rd

) *

Thomas François Burgers Thomas François Burgers (15 April 18349 December 1881) was a South African politician and minister who served as the 4th president of the South African Republic from 1872 to 1877. He was the youngest child of Barend and Elizabeth Burger of the ...

– (4th

) ** Mary Bryson – (Wife of Thomas François Burgers) *

– (5th

)

Union and Republic of South Africa

* Johannes Gerhardus Strijdom – (6th Prime Minister of South Africa) and his wife Susan Strijdom (née De Klerk) *

Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd (; 8 September 1901 – 6 September 1966) was a South African politician, a scholar of applied psychology and sociology, and chief editor of '' Die Transvaler'' newspaper. He is commonly regarded as the architect ...

– (7th Prime Minister of South Africa)

Others

* Eugène Marais – (South African lawyer, naturalist, poet, and writer) *

Ernest George Jansen Ernest George Jansen (1881–1959) was the second to last Governor-General of the Union of South Africa, holding office from 1951 until his death in 1959. Born on 7 August 1881, he graduated with a law degree from the University of the Cape o ...

– (second to last

Governor-General of the Union of South Africa The governor-general of the Union of South Africa ( af, Goewerneur-generaal van Unie van Suid-Afrika, nl, Goeverneur-generaal van de Unie van Zuid-Afrika) was the highest state official in the Union of South Africa between 31 May 1910 and 31 ...

from 1951 to 1959) * Harry Harbord "Breaker" Morant – (

Anglo-Australian English Australians, also known as Anglo-Australians, are Australians whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England. In the 2021 census, 8,385,928 people, or 33% of the Australian population, stated that they had English ancestry (wheth ...

drover, horseman, poet, soldier, convicted war criminal) - executed by

firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are ...

References

{{Pretoria Cemeteries in South Africa Tourist attractions in Gauteng Tourist attractions in Pretoria History of Pretoria 1867 establishments in Africa Heroes