HG0009

Did You Know?

The Voortrekker begraafplaas (cemetery) in Ohrigstad, Mpumalanga, dates to 1845, the year the town was founded by Voortrekkers under the leadership of Andries Hendrik Potgieter. Ohrigstad was established as a settlement for Voortrekkers who had left the Natal colony due to British annexation, and it was named after the Dutch merchant G. Ohrig, who supported the settlement. The cemetery contains the graves of early Voortrekker pioneers who died during the harsh early years, including victims of malaria, which plagued the area and led to the settlement's decline by the late 1840s. The site is a tangible reminder of the Voortrekker migration into the interior of South Africa and the challenges faced by these settlers.

AI-assisted · may contain inaccuracies