TOPIC:

David

The fact that Gillings et al abandoned their Holkrans research project is an indication of its complexity and sensitivity. Although the ABW was supposed to be a "white man's war", the black tribes of South Africa were increasingly involved, mostly to undertake menial tasks, but also as scouts and spies, and even as armed men in action (e.g. the Zululand Police).

The Boers and Zulus had a history of conflict and distrust dating back to 1838 and, although the Boers did not want the Zulus fighting on the British side in the ABW, they did little or nothing to endear themselves to the Zulus in the Utrecht and Vryheid districts and in adjacent Zululand. There were sporadic raids by commandos into Zululand from early in the war, but there was never a strong independent military response by the Zulus to Boer activities that adversely affected them.

Consequently, I believe that when General Botha ordered the scorched earth policy aimed at the abaQulusi, it never occurred to him that they would respond militarily. Similarly, if Potgieter did indeed insult the abaQulusi and challenge them to take back their cattle, he expected no more than a docile response. The Boers have probably always expected the worst from the Zulus, but it was a serious miscalculation by Potgieter not to have an effective early warning system at Holkrans.

This disaster must have awakened a nightmare scenario to Botha and other Boer leaders and, to avoid a possible apocalypse involving both Brits and blacks, the peace process was brought to a conclusion.

Regards
Brett

Brett,

I came across these three pictures of two monuments relating to Holkrans whilst looking for something else altogether. I thought they would round off the story.







The caption for the last picture says:

A marble memorial commemorating the Holkrans incident stands in the grounds of the Dutch Reformed Church in Church Street, on it appear the names of the 56 Boers who were murdered. Most of the Boers were re-interred here on 20 January 1905. Veld-Cornet J.H. Potgieter's and L. Potgieter's remains were transferred to the same place on 6 May 1972. The remains of J.H. Labuschagne, the last of the 56 Boers to be re-interred under the memorial, were moved in 1976. On 6 May 1962 a plaque commemorating those who escaped or were captured was unveiled by P. B. Pratt and P.J. Fourie - two of the survivors still living exactly 60 years later.

Regards
David

David

Thank you for a useful addition to this thread.

The word "murder" will always be used by Afrikaners in association with this incident, not least because it was, like Pearl Harbour in 1941, a sneak attack. However, in the original post, I mentioned the Boer attack on a sleeping camp at Tweefontein and I am sure that they regarded this as a legitimate act of war.

It would be interesting to know if there were other such attacks during the Boer War. Does anyone know of other examples?

Brett

It is mentioned that 3 Boer Teenage Boys were taken prisoner by the Zulus. Does anyone know what became of these young men after they were taken prisoner?

Tim

I have not come across any mention of the fate of the three boys, but I suspect that they were soon released. Had they been ill-treated or killed, there would have been an even greater stir amongst the Boers about the event and any such ill-treatment would have become a major part of the Boer memory of the battle.

Regards
Brett

Brett,

I came across another picture today of the monument in Vryheid I believe.



Best wishes
David