Bronkhorst House
The original house on Boekenhoutfontein before Paul Kruger bought it
by Professor Julius Pistorius, archaeologist.
Locality
Take the N4 west through Rustenburg and take Exit 169 to the Ottoman Highway north. After 10km take the 1st exit at the roundabout onto the R565. After 2.3km the entrance to Kedar Heritage Lodge is on the left. Enquire at reception for access to the Kruger houses.
What can be seen
The house has been restored to its original condition and is equipped with furniture and kitchen-ware appropriate to the period (1840s).
BRONKHORST HOUSE – BOEKENHOUTFONTEIN
The first house on Boekenhoutfontein built by Rudolf Bronkhorst or P.T. Erasmus from whom Paul Kruger bought the farm in 1862. (Photo V. Carruthers)
Narrative
In the early days of white settlement in the Transvaal, large tracts of land (usually between 3000ha and 4000ha) were allocated to all white adult male settlers. Title deeds for these allocated farms were formally registered for the first time in 1859. The farm Boekenhoutfontein was registered to Rudolph Bronkhorst, the original owner, at that time but it was immediately transferred to P.T Erasmus, indicating that the latter was already in possession. Kruger bought the farm and farmhouse from Erasmus in 1962, so the old house would have been built by him or by Bronkhorst between about 1840 and 1862. Traditionally it is known as the ‘Bronkhorst’ House.
The house is a simple structure, typical of the first homes built by migrant Voortrekker families when they settled permanently. Unpainted walls made from sun-baked mud bricks support a thatched roof. The original timber for roof beams, windows and door frames was cut from the local Boekenhout (Beechwood) trees, after which the farm was named. The widows are unglazed with wooden shutters. The interior comprised two rooms, one for sleeping and the other for living and eating with a large external oven on the west wall.
Paul Kruger was already a prominent figure in public life when he bought Boekenhoutfontein. He had been married twice (his first wife died of malaria two years after they were married.) He was commandant the Rustenburg region and the following year he became Commandant-General of the Transvaal and a member of the Volksraad Executive Council. He had taken part in numerous battles against the local indigenous people and had become involved in the simmering confrontations among the Boers themselves, and he had played a leading role in the establishment of the Gereformeerde (Dopper) Kerk van Zuid Afrika, founded in Rustenburg in 1859.
He was also a significant landowner by the time he bought Boekenhoutfontein. It was one of the 27 farms (about 100,000ha) he eventually owned in the Rustenburg area. Nine of these he had been awarded to him in lieu of payment for military service, but others, like Boekenhoutfontein, were purchased from other landowners.
It is unlikely that Kruger ever lived in the Bronkhorst farmhouse as he remained resident on another of his farms, Waterkloof, until much later. It was probably occupied by a bywoner or caretaker in the years after Kruger bought the farm.