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Statue of Paul Kruger, Church Square

Coordinates: 25°44′47″S 28°11′17″E / 25.74645°S 28.18806°E / -25.74645; 28.18806
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Statue of Paul Kruger
The statue of Paul Kruger on Church Square in central Pretoria.
The statue of Paul Kruger on Church Square in central Pretoria.
ArtistAnton van Wouw
Year1896
TypeBronze
SubjectPaul Kruger
LocationChurch Square, Pretoria, South Africa


The Statue of Paul Kruger (Afrikaans: Krugerstandbeeld) is a bronze sculpture located in Church Square in Pretoria, South Africa. The statue depicts Paul Kruger, the Boer political and military leader and President of the South African Republic from 1883 to 1900, and four unnamed Boer soldiers. The Statue of Paul Kruger was sculpted in 1896 and was installed in its current location in Church Square in 1954.[1]

History

The statue was first sculpted in 1896 by Anton Van Wouw following a commission by Sammy Marks, an industrialist who made his fortune in the South African Republic, who was an enthusiastic supporter of President Paul Kruger. The statue was first installed at Prince's Park and was then moved to a location outside Pretoria railway station. The statue portrays Paul Kruger wearing a top hat and presidential sash with a cane on a plinth.[2] Along with Paul Kruger, the sculpture has four unnamed Boer soldiers at the corners below the main plinth.[3] In 1956, the statue was moved to its current location at Church Square with a new pedestal and was unveiled there by Daniel François Malan.[1]

Background

In August 1895, the Kruger government was unpopular among the Uitlander mining managers and capitalists of Johannesburg. He has been described by some as autocratic, narrow-minded, and ruthless; rumor had it that the "oligarchy" (as the government was called then) would soon be overthrown in Pretoria.

Marks had his chief accountant draft a proposal to the President and Executive Council offering £10,000 to the city of Pretoria to build a marble statue of Kruger at a place of its subject's choice. However, Marks stipulated that "if possible," the statue should be commissioned directly from him, simply requiring whoever was interested to say in whose name and in what bank the money should be deposited. On September 5, Marks got his reply: the Government thanked him "for his rich gift" and informed him that Kruger deemed Burgers Park an ideal site and pledged for any surplus money to be spent to found the Pretoria Zoo. The money was deposited in a dedicated account at the National Bank of the South African Republic in the name of the Treasurer-General.

The Cabinet chiefs and other officials of the Republic debated the finer points of the statue. Dr. Nico Mansvelt, Superintendent of Education and an art expert, considered bronze preferable to marble given the latter's lesser ability to handle the Transvaal climate; Mansvelt also believed the Government should approve the order rather than leaving it up to Marks himself. Marks agreed and soon they settled on Van Wouw, a completely unknown figure in the art world.

Controversy

Following the end of apartheid in South Africa, there had been calls for the removal of the statue from its location due to it being viewed as an "icon of apartheid" by some African National Congress activists.[4] In 2015, following the Rhodes Must Fall campaign in Cape Town, the statue of Paul Kruger was vandalized with green paint thrown on it. The Economic Freedom Fighters initially claimed responsibility but later retracted this when the City of Tshwane stated its intent to open a criminal case of malicious damage against the perpetrators.[5] Following the vandalism and a pledge by the EFF to destroy the statue,[6] numerous people voiced support for the statue. Sunette Bridges chained herself to the statue to prevent further damage[3][4] with Afrikaners in military uniforms starting to guard the statue.[7] A rally also took place next to the statue requesting it to be left alone as part of South Africa's cultural history. This ended with Steve Hofmeyr singing the former national anthem of South Africa, "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika".[8] The statue has subsequently been ringed by 1.5m high fencing and is not directly accessible to the public.

Sources

  • Breytenbach, J. H. (1954). Die Geskiedenis van die Krugerstandbeeld. Pretoria: Die Krugergenootskap.

References

  1. ^ a b "Dr D.F. Malan unveils the statue of Paul Kruger on Church Square, Pretoria". South African History Online. 1954-10-11. Retrieved 2015-04-14.
  2. ^ Carlin, John (2012). "7: The Tiger King". Invictus: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation. Atlantic Books Ltd. ISBN 1848874405.
  3. ^ a b Alex Mitchley (2015-04-07). "Sunette Bridges to oppose removal of Kruger statue". The Citizen. Retrieved 2015-04-14.
  4. ^ a b "South African war on colonial past escalates". The Times. Retrieved 2015-04-14.
  5. ^ "Tshwane presses charges after Paul Kruger statue gets defaced". ENCA. Retrieved 2015-04-14.
  6. ^ "EFF wants Paul Kruger torn down". ENCA. Retrieved 2015-04-14.
  7. ^ "Cecil Rhodes monument: A necessary anger?". BBC News. Retrieved 2015-04-14.
  8. ^ "Steve Hofmeyr, Sunette Bridges defend Paul Kruger statue". Eyewitness News. 2015-04-08. Retrieved 2015-04-14.

25°44′47″S 28°11′17″E / 25.74645°S 28.18806°E / -25.74645; 28.18806

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