Derdepoort Monument - Rustenburg

Aka: Derdepoort Gedenknaald

Erected: 1920

Sculptor: Anton van Wouw

Location: Fatima Bhayat St (Kerk St), Rustenburg.

Image source: NG Moedergemeente Rustenburg on FB.

Photo c.1969.¹

The memorial at the entrance of the NG Kerk Rustenburg was erected a number of years after the end of the Second Anglo-Boer War and commemorates the names of those killed and murdered at Derdepoort.

In the neighbourhood of Mochudi the Marico River is the boundary between the Bechuanaland Protectorate and the Transvaal. On the British side of the river was a native town, Sekwane, and over against it, on the other side, was a Boer laager at a place called Derdepoort.²

Derdepoort Massacre

The Derdepoort attack took place on 25 November 1899, early in the Second Anglo-Boer War (also known as the South African War). It occurred at a location on the border of the ZAR with the British Bechuanaland Protectorate (in present-day North West Province, near the Botswana border, east of Gaborone).

A small group of Boer burghers from the Rustenburg area had established a laager at Derdepoort. Reports indicate around 113 Boers were present.

Three regiments of the Bakgatla (or Kgatla) Tswana people, under Chief Lentshwe (Linchwe I) of the BaKgatla, allied with British forces. They were armed and supported by the British under Colonel G. L. Holdsworth (with Rhodesian/British South Africa Police elements, including a Maxim gun).

• Colonel George Lewis Holdsworth (1861-1932) was a British cavalry officer who commanded the Rhodesian Mounted Police and Rhodesian Volunteers in the Bechuanaland Protectorate during the early stages of the Second Boer War.

This was one of the early instances where African allies (armed by the British) directly engaged Boer forces. The Boers had occupied positions near the border, and the attack was part of efforts to dislodge them from northern frontier areas. Many African communities (especially in border areas) aligned with the British against the Boers due to longstanding grievances over land, independence, and Boer expansion.

The attack began at dawn. The Bakgatla crossed the Marico River under cover of darkness and assaulted the laager, supported initially by British/Rhodesian fire (including the Maxim gun). The British contingent reportedly withdrew relatively early after opening fire. The Bakgatla regiments continued the assault independently for about three hours, overrunning parts of the position, burning parts of Derdepoort, and preventing the capture of an abandoned Maxim gun.

Casualties

• Boer side: Significant losses. Reports mention around 25-26 Boer corpses found (some sources say at least 26 killed total), with others wounded or groaning inside the laager.
• Civilian aspect: Two Boer women were killed, and 17 women and children were taken captive by the attackers.
• Bakgatla side: Around 14 killed and 16 wounded.

Aftermath

The event caused outrage among Boers, who viewed the arming of Africans and the killing/capture of women and children as a serious escalation and violation of "civilized" warfare norms of the time. It contributed to heightened tensions and retaliatory actions between Boers and the Kgatla in the region.

The Boer forces in the northern areas (including around Mochudi) largely withdrew or repositioned following the incident.

The event is sometimes framed differently depending on perspective: as a legitimate military assault on a military laager by allied forces, or as a "massacre" due to the civilian deaths and captures. This was a relatively small but symbolically important skirmish in the early "conventional" phase of the war, before it shifted to guerrilla warfare.

Monument in front of church. Image source: NG Moedergemeente Rustenburg on FB.

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Locality map

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Sources

1. Rex, H. (1969) Die Oorlogsgedenkteken in Rustenburg. Die Hervormer, Jan 1969.
2. Lucas, C. (1915) A Historical Geography of the British Dominions Vol IV Part II.
3. Boer War Pages, no. 2: The Battle of Derdepoort.