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368:. Malan declared her the last link to the original Boer Republics. Since 1960, other memorials of the Second Boer War have been erected on the Women's Monument grounds, making the monument one of the primary sites dedicated to the war's legacy. Cultural institutions used surrounding plots of land to commemorate civilians, volunteers, POWs, and
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The inspiration for the scene was described in a poignant way by
Hobhouse, referring to a scene in Springfontein where a woman would not look at her starving child, experiencing a pain beyond all tears. A second message comes from the child's eyes: her child is dead, but her willpower is not dead and
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The idea of a monument was expressed by
Martinus Steyn, then president of the Orange Free State Republic, whilst receiving medical treatment in Europe after the Boer War. His wife, Rachel Isabella "Tibbie" Steyn, played a part in the concept, having family members and associates who had died in the
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The aesthetic scope of the monument widened over time. Initially, no men were depicted, but with the burial of Steyn at the foot of the structure, a new era of commemorations began, eventually bringing a war memorial into the area. Tibbie Steyn expressed concern that the use of the grounds of the
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The students of C&N Sekondêre
Meisieskool Oranje ("C&N Girls' Secondary School Orange") in Bloemfontein visit the school annually in memory of president Steyn and its historical significance. The visit is a 10-km hike from the school to the monument. Wreaths are laid by Steyn's grave, and
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10,000 of funding for the monument came from the
Afrikaner community over a period of four years from 1907 to 1911. The start of construction was delayed by English-speaking members of the Bloemfontein Town Council, who felt the memorial would reflect poorly on
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Hobhouse (a woman of many talents) did not hold Van Wouw in high regard as a sculptor and spoke critically of the final product. She held that images did not do justice to the pitiful scene portrayed, feeling the child looks asleep rather than at death's door.
259:. On his return to South Africa, Steyn set up an action committee to launch the project. The notion of constructing a school or hospital was rejected as lacking inspiration, a view which gained support from a number of Afrikaner organizations.
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camp. The monument was unveiled on 16 December 1913, attended by about 20,000 South
Africans. Thirteen years later, Emily Hobhouse's ashes were ensconced at the foot of the monument. Also beside the monument are the graves of
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The monument is around 3 km south of central
Bloemfontein. Against the backdrop of the surrounding hills, the monument blends in well to the local farm community and therefore to the Boer lifestyle memorialized there.
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Grundlingh, Albert. "The
National Women's Monument. The Making and Mutation of Meaning in Afrikaner Memory of the South African War." Cuthbertson, Gregor; Grundlingh, Albert M.; and Suttie, Mary-Lynn (Hrsg.).
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monument for burials of war veterans would dilute the original focus on the suffering of women and children. Despite her protestations, she was buried in 1955 alongside her husband by Dr.
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about 35m in height and low, semi-circular walls on two sides. A central bronze group, sketched by
English activist
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several ceremonies are held as students pledge to develop the potential of their
Afrikaner, Christian heritage.
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342:. In contrast, the controversy surrounding the Women's Monument delayed its recognition on a national scale.
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December 16, 1949, as a national symbol. The Voortrekker Monument came a year after the victory of the
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and depicting her own experience of 15 May 1901, is of two sorrowing women and a dying child in the
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Writing a Wider War. Rethinking Gender, Race, and Identity in the South African War, 1899–1902
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A circular shelter (screen wall) around 35 m high surrounds the central obelisk.
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Serving Male Agendas. Two National Women's Monuments in South Africa
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534:. Athens, Ohio:Ohio University Press. 2002. pp. 18–36.
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and by extension on the locals who had supported the war.
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architect, Frans Soff, and the sculpting was done by
203:. The Monument is a Provincial Heritage Site in the
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46:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
302:The sculpture group includes a woman without her
191:, is a monument commemorating the roughly 27,000
541:. Women's Studies 33 (2004). pp. 1009–1033.
552:The National Women's Monument:Albert Grundlingh
384:is permanently located on the same premises.
235:, Rev. John Daniel Kestell, President of the
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119:Women's Memorial, Monument Road, Bloemfontein
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557:Photograph of the National Women's Monument
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605:Second Boer War memorials in South Africa
338:and coincided with the centennial of the
106:Learn how and when to remove this message
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336:1948 South African general election
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255:. She also had close ties with
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610:South African heritage sites
393:Mathinus Theunis Steyn, 1916
326:, erected 36 years later in
310:her people is not extinct.
253:British concentration camps
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55:"National Women's Monument"
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640:Obelisks in South Africa
402:JD (Vader) Kestell, 1941
625:Statues in South Africa
433:Plaque on the side wall
399:Christiaan De Wet, 1922
181:Nasionale Vrouemonument
388:Graves by the monument
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481:Sculpture and obelisk
406:Rachel Isabella Steyn
382:Anglo-Boer War Museum
396:Emily Hobhouse, 1926
355:Later embellishments
324:Voortrekker Monument
218:. It consists of an
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537:Marschall, Sabine.
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511:. Retrieved
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33:verification
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409: [
362:D. F. Malan
290:Description
275:Louis Botha
199:during the
599:Categories
572:26°12′30″E
569:29°08′30″S
513:2013-01-25
487:References
340:Great Trek
205:Free State
154:1913-12-16
141:Frans Soff
66:newspapers
177:Afrikaans
96:June 2019
328:Pretoria
281:Location
212:Pretoria
137:Designer
420:Gallery
334:in the
246:Origins
220:obelisk
80:scholar
415:, 1955
304:bonnet
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193:Boers
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