Historical Sites
Haenertsburg:
Haenertsburg and Magoebaskloof is steeped in history and many of the historical sites, most of them referring back to the Anglo Boer War, are very accessible and well worth a visit.
War Memorial Haenertsburg: On the Town Square of the village, on the corner of Kerk and Maré Streets, is the 'Haenertsburg War memorial and Long Tom Monument' commemorating the wars that the people of this area have been involved in, from the Magoeba War of 1894 - 1895 to the recent Border Wars. The monument also houses the remains of the last Long Tom that was destroyed near the village during the Anglo Boer War in 1899 - 1902. |
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Magoebaskloof and surrounds
Next to the R36 just before the turn off to Kgakgapane is a little monument indicating where the night attack by the Bushveld Carbineers on a Boer commando took place during the Anglo-Boer war in 1899 - 1902. The incident to the infamous Breaker Morant case. |
Commonwealth Plantation On the R71 just below the Magoebaskloof Pass is a plantation of three varieties of Eucalyptus, planted in 1914 dedicating the 1939 Conference for the Commonwealth Forestry Commission. |
| Jackson Observatory On the farm Hilltop, close to Haenertsburg, just off the R71, are the remains of the observatory that was erected there in the 1930's, by the astronomer, Dr Cyril Jackson. |
On the farm Mpome on the N-road, near Houtboshdorp, are the ruins of the first Berlin Mission Society's church, built there in 1878. In 1896 the missionaries moved the Mission Station to another site down the mountain next to the Q road and called it Kratzenstein. |
There are two sites near Haenertsburg where two of the Boer Long Tom guns were destroyed during the Anglo-Boer War in 1899-1902. One site is in the George's Valley next to the Letaba River bridge on the R528. The other is on the farm Rondebult just off the L Road where the last of the Long Toms stood during the war. |
On the patio of the Magoebaskloof Hotel on the R71 is a bust of Kgoshi (Chief) Mampuru Makgoba, who fought against the Boer Commandos in the war of 1895 - 1895. The hotel and nearby pass are named after this chief (now incorrectly referred to as a King). |
In 1881 Fritz Reuter of the Berlin Mission Society started a Mission Station near Modjadji's people just off the R36. he called it Medingen. The graves of a number of the early missionaries, as well as the grave of Captain Frederick Hunt, who died nearby during a night attack by the Boers during the Anglo-Boer War, are in an old cemetery behind the church. |
There are two monuments in the village of Modjadjiskloof (former Duiwelskloof) commemorating the deaths of Boers during the Anglo-Boer War in 1899 - 1902 in the area. One in front of the Municipal offices, and the other next to the Dutch Reformed Church. |
In the 1920's Government forester, Alexander James O'Connor, started to experiment with bluegum trees on the state owned Woodbush Reserve. A monument to commemorate this was erected next to the avenue of Eucalyptus trees planted there by him almost a hundred years ago. Nearby is the tallest tree, planted by man, in the country. |
On the old miner's road, against the slopes of the Iron Crown mountain, one can still see the old gold mines that were started there on the 1870's, that led to the founding of the village of Haenertsburg in 1887. |
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Pioneer Graves on The Downs:
High up on a hill on the farm The Downs, a few kilometres off the R36, are the graves of Orlando Baragwanath and Frank Lewis, the first white men to settle in this remote part of the 'Transvaal Drakensberg'. Nearby is also the grave of Kgoshi Ramulutsi. |
On the farm Ravenshill near Medingen Mission, are the houses and graves of the first white people to settle in these parts. |