October 5th 1837 - 177 years ago yesterday - Voortrekker leader Piet Retief stood at the edge of the Drakensberg escarpment and described the view as ...the fairest prospect he had ever set his eyes upon. Retief wrote: From the heights of these mountains, I saw this beautiful land, the most beautiful I have seen in Africa. The Trekkers gazed spellbound for several hours, naming this area Blijde Vooruitzicht (The joyful prospect). On the 7th October 1837, he commenced his descent, bound for Port Natal (now Durban) to prepare for the settlement in Natal. This was the precursor to the conflict that was to follow four months later... Retiefs party remained at the foot of a sandstone mountain which, due to its stately appearance, they named Kerkenberg (seen in the last photograph). In his absence, command of the laager was given to Abraham Greyling. During Retiefs absence, his 22 year old daughter Deborah Retief painted his name on the face of a huge boulder below the Kerkenberg on Sunday 12th November 1837. As you can see, it is still visible. The other photo shows the view that Retiefs party had of the valley below their laager site beneath the Kerkenberg, while the third shows where the wording is situated.
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 06:46:55 +0000
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