Voortrekker Memorial Fund/ Ox-Wagon Journey 1938/ Riversdale

VOORTREKKER  CENTENARY  CELEBRATIONS, 1938, August 8 to December 16

As part of these centenary celebrations, which were to culminate on the 16th of December 1938 in Pretoria, an ox-wagon trek from Cape Town to Pretoria was arranged.  En route the symbolic trek visited many places of historic interest.  The route in general followed that taken by the Voortrekkers a century before.  A souvenir or commemorative cover was designed by the well-known artist W.H. Coetzer, also the designer of the Voortrekker stamps and some of the datestamps.  Only these souvenir covers, issued by the Central Voortekker Centenary Committee, were to be carried by the ox-wagon mail.  These covers (mail) was collected en route and carried in sealed bags and boxes, which were opened on arrival at Pretoria.  Here they were backstamped with special machine cancellations and then transmitted through the usual postal channels.  About 111,740 covers were carried by the ox-wagon post.

The wagons (2) left Cape Town on 8 August 1938 and travelled along many of the trails taken by the emigrating Boers who left the Cape Colony in 1836.  The journey of about 2,500 kilometres took four months to complete.

A total of 69 Post Offices and temporary PO`s en route were visited where a total of 94,814 of these commemorative covers destined for Pretoria were collected.

                                                               ITEM  FOR  SALE  :  1 x Cover

Posted to Pretoria from places en route:

1.  24 August 1938    RIVERSDALE    Quantity:  585   =  0,6 % of total.

References: H.O. Reisener, The Special & Commemorative Postmarks, Cachets & Covers of South Africa, 1975.

                   Postmaster-General`s Yearly Report 1938/ 1939.