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1938 Voortrekker Burning Candle commemorative medallion
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Product details
Composition Bronze. Diameter 60mm, Weight 74g
Manufactured by Koninklijke-Begeer, Utrecht, Holland
Ref Numbers:AM2: 261; Laidlaw: 0135b;
The obverse shows the Voortrekker Monument, a massive granite structure located near Pretoria, erected in honour of the Afrikaners who trekked north from the Cape Colony between 1835 and 1854 to establish Republics in the Orange Free State and Transvaal. Only the cornerstone for the monument had been laid in 1938. The Second World War delayed construction and the monument was finally inaugurated on 16 December 1949 (Dingane Day) by Prime Minister D.F. Malan.
The reverse of the medal is a symbolic representation of the battle of Blood River in which the Voortrekker leader Andries Pretorius and his commando of 470 men (candle) within a laager 64 wagons (chain) defeated the forces of the Zulu king Dingane (oxen heads) on 16 December 1838. (Ref. Prof laidlaw, southafricanmedals.com)
