Heroes' Acre, Pretoria

The Heroes' Acre (Afrikaans: Die Heldeakker; Dutch: De Heldenakker) is a section of Church Street Cemetery in Pretoria, South Africa. It was established in 1867, and contains the graves of renowned citizens and public figures. It is the burial place of a number of historical figures including Andries Pretorius, Paul Kruger and Hendrik Verwoerd. Australian Boer War war criminal Harry "Breaker" Morant (executed by the British for war crimes during the Second Anglo-Boer War) is also buried here.[1]

Heroes' Acre Cemetery
Details
Established1867
Location
c/o Church Street and DF Malan Drive in Pretoria
CountrySouth Africa
Coordinates25°44′47″S 28°10′29″E
Owned byCity of Tshwane

History

The first burials took place in 1867. In 1973, Tom Andrews (with the assistance of the Girl Guides) was the first surveyor of the cemetery. He documented all graves and later published it as a book called "Pioneer Sketches" (May 1983)

Location and description

The Church Street Cemetery is located on the corner of WF Nkomo (Former Church street) and Eskia M'phahlele drive (Former DF Malan Drive) in Pretoria.[2] The central part of this historic cemetery is known as The Heroes' Acre. The cemetery is a vast green field filled with tombstones of diverse shapes and styles which are organized in rows. As this is a Christian cemetery, the graves are oriented facing east. Trees and shrubbery give the cemetery a calm feel. The silver crosses in The Heroes' Acre are significant and distinctive of the cemetery.

The Heroes' Acre is listed as a heritage site.[3]

Interments

South African Republic

Union and Republic of South Africa

Others

See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Heroes' Acre (South Africa).

References
  1. "The Sydney Morning Herald – Rollcall at Heroes Acre". Retrieved 11 April 2013.
  2. "List of cemeteries in Tshwane". Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
  3. "Tshwane Heritage Site Listing". Archived from the original on 15 April 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
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