1/13/22, 6:16 PM 1938 Reinactment of the Great Trek

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Home Page 1938 Voortrekker Centenary Trek Collect Index

The South African Philatelist August 1938

  Voortrekker Centenary 16 December 1938
Two forms of Philatelic Records will be available for this Historic Occasion

1. The Voortrekker Monument Committee have arranged an Ox-Wagon Post which will carry special commemorative envelopes issued by the Committee.
These will receive special cancellation marks at certain historic spots en route and again on arrival at Pretoria in the Centenary Post Office at the Monument.

The ox-wagon leaves Capetown on 8th August; travelling via Mossel Bay and Oudtshoorn it reaches Graaff-Reinet on 20th September and Slagter's Nek
(near Cradock; the site of the culminating scene of an armed struggle between British and Dutch in 1816 - events which led up ultimately to the start of the
Great Trek in 1836) on 28th September. Bulhoek, the reputed birth place of President Kruger is reached on 11th October.
Continuing onwards via Bloemfontein and Kroonstad it reaches Vegkop (where the Trekkers had their first encounter with the Matabele) on 2nd November.
The route is then via Potchefstroom, the first capital of the Transvaal, Zeerust, Rustenburg, Johannesburg and Pretoria.

The total distance travelled will be 1,705 miles, the time taken being four months and seven days.

There are no restrictions as to the amount of stamps put on the covers, so long as there is sufficient to cover postage to the address given.
The Monument Committee evidently expect, however, that full sets of Voortrekker stamps will mostly be employed and the envelopes are of a size
(about 9 x 6 inches) to take these comfortably. The envelopes, designed by Mr. W. H. Coetzer, show Voortrekkers and a Wagon climbing the side of a kopje
and it should be emphasized that only these special souvenir covers will be carried by the wagon-post.

The envelopes are obtainable at the various post offices along the route of the wagon-post or from the official distributing depot, the City Stamp Exchange,
No 43 Anglo-African Buildings, Joubert Street, Johannesburg.

There is no doubt that many people, other than ordinary stamp collectors, will be keen to have a historic memento of this kind and will not object to paying
their 6d for an envelope and 1s 8d for a set of Voortrekker stamps (of which 7d goes to the Memorial fund). In the circumstances it is a pity that the
distributing committee called attention to the possible investment value of the covers; it rather vulgarises what otherwise would have been simply a philatelic
souvenir of a most interesting historic occasion.

2. A new set of Voortrekker stamps

The present set is to be withdrawn from sale on 30th September, and to be demonetized on 31st December, 1938. On 15th December a special centenary set
will be issued.
There will be ½d + ½d, 1d +1d, 1½d + 1½d, and 3d + 3d alternately in English and Afrikaans on the sheets. Total face value for the eight stamps, 2s per set.
 
An Envelope, designed by
Mr. W. H. Coetzer
Showing Voortrekkers
and a Wagon climbing the
side of a Kopje

An unused example
prepared with a full set of
the 1933 - 36
Memorial fund stamps

Envelopes with the four pairs

neatly arranged where prepared
before hand by the Voortrekker
Centenary Committee

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Blank envelopes were
available at 6d each

Whenever the stamps are

applied at random, or include
different stamps, then they were
affixed by the sender

 
Initially only the above Envelopes were meant to be carried, but that stringent rule was waivered, yet any other envelope carried on the journey is
effectively rare.

The following account I found on part of an old Photocopy in a collection. I have no idea who wrote it, when and where it was published - written in
Afrikaans, I have translated the content. Note the weight of mail has been estimated by me after establishing that ten Voortrekker covers weigh 180 - 200
grams.

Mr M.C. Van Schoor, fondly known as Oom Tienie, was appointed as a Special Trek-Postmaster to oversee arrangements and to ensure that all ox-wagon
mail was conveyed as smoothly as possible. It did not take long before the Trek Post was to encounter its first problem.
On 8 August 1938 the ox wagons Piet Retief and Andries Pretorious departed from Cape Town with approximately half a ton of mail and by the time they
reached Worcester another 100+ kilos had been added to their load. On arrival Worcester the mail had to be unloaded as the base planks and wheels of the
wagons were already beginning to sag.

Van Schoor had personally assured Dr E.G. Jansen, the Chairman of the Voortrekker Centenary Committee, that all mail would be transported to Pretoria and
  Blood River by ox wagon. To solve his immediate problem, Oom Tienie and the Worcester postmaster, Mr Heard, stowed the mail at his office and sent the
ox wagons back onto their route.
In the meantime a new and larger wagon, Hendrik Potgieter, was built, donated and completed by Coach Builder Philips of Paarl in less than two weeks.
Rumours were already circulating that Van Schoor had dispatched 31,541 covers by rail to Pretoria and the media confronted him at Swellendam. He assured
his doubters that all the mail was strictly under his control.

Thus while the main body of the Trek was at Heidelburg, the new wagon was sent by train and unloaded at Ashton Station. That same night the post held at
Worcester was dispatched per mule cart to Ashton to rendezvous with the new wagon. Using five spans of oxen, held at strategic points, the Hendrik
Potgieter caught up with the main trek carrying the all important mail. Thus part of the ox-wagon mail was in fact also transported by a mule wagon.

Despite the Post Office ruling that the ox wagons were to only convey Official Commemorative Covers. Ordinary mail matter also found its way onto this
historic Trek. Envelopes originating from South West Africa were at first prohibited and that rule was also withdrawn. 6739 Covers with S.W.A. overprints
were loaded onto an ox-wagon at Bloemfontein.

Almost 7000 covers is a fairly large number, yet I do not recall seeing such an item - Some years ago I acquired the late Mr Leddington SWA collection
which included a huge range of covers, but not one connected to the 1938 re-enactment of the Great Trek.
 
Posted
BUDE
CORNWALL
23 JY 38
to G.P.O.
Cape Town

Endorsed
Per
OX WAGON
POST
from
CAPE TOWN

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Return address to
England on
completion of
journey

Plain envelope endorsed

Per Voortrekker Wagon
Cancelled
SLAGTERSNEK
26 SEP 38
with a
VOORTREKKER MONUMENT
14 XII 38
Machine cancel backstamp

This rather scruffy and aged envelope that

would be consigned to a junk box by most dealers

Yet it is quite a rare Trek Cover because it is not an

Illustrated Commemorative envelope

Many of the plain envelopes that were carried may not

survive as individuals would be inclined to soak the
stamps off for their collection

 
At the 1938 Philatelic Congress of Great Britain, commemoratives once again received a bad press and they deplored the issues of Spain, along with those
of France and its Colonies.

Other than a mention in the August 1938, the Philatelic connections with the Ox wagon journeys plus the various postmarks employed on the
commemorative covers received no coverage in The South African Philatelist.
Perhaps that was due to the bad image commemoratives had been subjected to in the general philatelic press, thus to avoid getting egg on their face the
S.A.P. played down the entire re-enactment as much as possible.

It took until 1975 for Hasso Reisener to do some justice to the philatelic events of 1938 in his book The Special and Commemorative Postmarks,
Cachets and Covers of South Africa by devoting more than six pages to the famous Trek. It has been recognized, that his information was probably
gleaned from official sources as there are inaccuracies in his resume.

Our member Siegfried Mayr in the USA is a Great Trek enthusiast and advises us that a more authoritative text which covers the history and the details of
the 1938 trek is - G.D.J. Duvenhage Die Gedenktrek van 1938: 'n Bedevaart en 'n Kruistog published in 1988 by Gutenberg in Pretoria.
The title translates The Commemorative Trek of 1938 - a Pilgrimage and a Crusade.

In a recent late January 2015 email Siegfried offered an updated list of all known covers, including known side treks, all with the correct dates,
which often vary from those listed in Otto Reisener's book.
He is also aware of one cover (Port Elizabeth) which H.J. Klopper refused to allow on the wagons due to a disagreement with the city mayor.
Hence such covers do not have the machine cancel, but are properly dated.
 

Voortrekker Centenary Trek - August to December 1938

Complied by Siegfried Mayr

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  Cover numbers from Otto Reisener's definitive text  

The Pretoria Trek

Cape Town 8 August 1938 to Voortrekker Monument 16 December 1938

Date Place No Date Place No Date Place No

08 Aug Cape Town 25,604 20 Sept Graaff-Reinet 3,011 05 Nov Parys 347
09 Aug Philadelphia ? 22 Sept Pearston 146 12 Nov Potchefstroom 1,402
09 Aug Stellenbosch 1,915 24 Sept Somerset East/Oos 173 15 Nov Ventersdorp 234
10 Aug Paarl 1,098 26 Sept Slagtersnek 25,861 19 Nov Lichtenburg 288
11 Aug Wellington 773 01 Oct Cradock 573 22 Nov Zeerust 417
12 Aug Breerivierstasie 29 04 Oct Hofmeyr 230 23 Nov Groot Marico 211
13 Aug Worcester 2,122 10 Oct Bulhoek 11,330 25 Nov Zwartruggens 139
16 Aug Robertson 612 11 Oct Steynsburg 2,148 26 Nov Rustenburg 553
17 Aug Montagu 306 12 Oct Burghersdorp 476 30 Nov Magaliesburg 154
18 Aug Bonnievale 80 13 Oct Aliwal North/Noord 682 01 Dec Krugersdorp 499
22 Aug Swellendam 1,428 14 Oct Rouxville 278 02 Dec Roodepoort 106
22 Aug Zuurbraak 74 17 Oct Smithfield 405 05 Dec Germiston 222
23 Aug Heidelberg 743 18 Oct Wepener 72 06 Dec Alberton 12
24 Aug Riversdale 585 19 Oct Dewetsdorp 381 06 Dec Benoni 235
25 Aug Albertina 133 20 Oct Thaba 'Nchu 149 07 Dec Brakpan 124
26 Aug Mossel Bay/Baai 844 23 Oct Bloemfontein 3,100 07 Dec Vereeniging 155
30 Aug Hartenbos 266 24 Oct Brandfort 409 08 Dec Heidelberg 235
31 Aug Groot Brakrivier 203 26 Oct Winburg 1,630 09 Dec Boksburg North/Noord 26
02 Sept George 1,116 27 Oct Ventersburg 179 09 Dec Boksburg 14
05 Sept Oudtshoorn ? 30 Oct Kroonstad 995 09 Dec Springs 303
05 Sept De Rust 189 31 Oct Edenville 121 10 Dec Johannesburg 1,813
08 Sept Port Elizabeth* 01 Nov Vegkop 3,348 10 Dec Jeppestown 52
12 Sept Willowmore 591 02 Nov Heilbron 217 13 Dec Pretoria*** ?
10 Sept Uitenhage** ? 03 Nov Kopjes 89 14/17 Dec Burger Kamp
15 Sept Aberdeen 331 04 Nov Vredefort 74 13/17 Dec Voortrekker Monument

Notes
*H.J. Klopper was of the opinion that the Mayor in Port Elizabeth was unfriendly towards the Afrikaaners, thus no Port Elizabeth covers were carried on the
  wagons and any such envelopes lack a machine backstamp
**This was a Side Trek - with machine cancel backstamp
*** No machine cancel backstamp

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I believe to be a unique cover, that was cancelled at every stop on the Trek route. Starting in Cape Town on 8 AUG 1938 and terminating at the Voortrekker
Monument on 16 XII 38. There are 48 transit backstamps via Philadelphia 9 AUG 38, reaching VEGKOP 1 NOV 38 to Parys on the 5th and leaving the
Orange Free State the cancellations continue on the front of the envelope with the first stop in Transvaal at Potchefstroom, continuing as far Northwest as
Zeerust, then heading East – Southeast via Germiston and South to Vereeninging then Northeast via Heidelburg towards Johannesburg and Pretoria and
journey’s end at the site of the Voortrekker Monument.
 
The real interest of this Proving cover is that the various transit cancels indicate that the actual journey taken by this ox wagon differs from the itinerary
Reisener published in his book, from Cape Town it went North, in the direction of Malmesbury, to Philadelphia and then swung South east towards
Stellenbosch and intermediate stops in the Cape such as Breederivier Station, Bonnievale, the delightful little town of Zuurbrak, Albertina and De Rust are
not mentioned. Nor are the Orange Free State towns of Wepener, Thaba ‘Nchu, Edenville, Heilbron, Kopjes and Vredefort included by Reisener.

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The journey in the Transvaal is also quite different & I gain the impression that the ox wagon almost went walk about as it wandered Northwest as far as
Zeerust before swinging back south to the Vaal river to the border town of Vereeninging. Again places in the Transvaal such as Vereeninging, Heidelburg,
Boksburg North, Boksburg and Alberton do not receive a mention in Reisener.

Also the dates on this cover do not agree with those in Reisener book and it ought to be appreciated that the information in Reisener often appears to reflect
 
an intended itinerary rather than the actual journey. I (Otto Peetoom) proved this when I researched the 1925 the Royal Tour by the Prince of Wales,
Reisener’s train journey was the initial planned route whereas the actual trip deviated in more than one instance with the result that the dates noted by the
author do not tally.

Eleven years later the creator of this cover returned to affix the stamps and cancels to celebrate the 16 DEC 1949 opening of the Voortrekker Monument.
 

The Blood River Trek

Vegkop 1 November 1938 to Bloedrivier 16 December 1938

Date Place No Date Place No Date Place No

01 Nov Vegkop 2713 15 Nov Estcourt 75 30 Nov Weenen 437
02 Nov Lindley 351 16 Nov Mooi River ? 03 Dec Bloukrans 821
03 Nov Senekal 263 17 Nov Howick ? 05 Dec Colenso 77
04 Nov Paul Roux 95 31 Oct Kranskop** ? 06 Dec Ladysmith 7
07 Nov Bethlehem 279 21 Nov Pietermaritzburg 1290 07 Dec Danskraal 1385
07 Nov Kestell 113 23 Nov Durban 603 ? Wasbank** ?
08 Nov Harrismith 5 26 Nov Wentworth 47 10 Dec Dundee 86
09 Nov Retiefklip 1085 28 Nov New Hanover 59 12 Dec Utrecht 34
10 Nov Bergville 115 29 Nov Greytown 49 14/16 Dec Blood River
12 Nov Winterton 114 30 Nov Muden 84  

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  **Kranskop & Wasbak were a Side Treks - Covers with a machine cancel backstamp

Illustrations courtesy of Siegfried Mayr and Otto Peetoom

  More to Follow
Voortrekker Stamp Issues and First Day Covers see Previous Page

Web design by Otto Peetoom

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