page_title: Gerard Moerdijk
section_title: Voortrekker Monument
hierarchical_section_title: Gerard Moerdijk / Early life, education and career / Voortrekker Monument
caption_attribution_description: Voortrekker Monument Afrikaans: Die Voortrekkermonument buite Pretoria is in 1949 voltooi. Die Heldesaal bevat 'n marmerfries met 27 panele wat die gebeure van die Groot Trek herdenk; die uittog van boere uit die oostelike grensgebiede van die Kaapkolonie, vanaf 1835 tot 1854, na 'n nuwe tuiste in die binneland. In die midde van die kelderverdieping is die senotaaf geleë, met die inskripsie "Ons vir jou Suid-Afrika". 'n Opening in die koepel van die monument, is so geleë dat elke jaar, op die middag van die 16de Desember, 'n straal sonlig die senotaaf verlig. Voor die nuwe bedeling na die 1994 verkiesings is 16 Desember slegs gevier as Geloftedag, maar daarna ook as Versoeningsdag. Rondom die monument is 'n ringmuur met reliëfuitbeeldings van 64 waens wat in 'n laer getrek is. English: The Voortrekker Monument outside Pretoria was completed in 1949. Inside is a marble frieze containing 27 panels commemorating events of the Great Trek in which farmers of mainly Dutch origin emigrated from the eastern frontier region of the Cape Colony, to the inland regions of the current South Africa, between 1835 and 1854. At the centre of the monument is the cenotaph which bears the inscription "We for thee, South Africa". An opening in the dome atop the monument is positioned so that every year at noon on the 16th of December a beam of sunlight illuminates the cenotaph. Prior to the 1994 elections which heralded a new dispensation, December 16th was celebrated as the "Day of the Vow", commemorating the victory over Zulus forces in the Battle of Blood River; it remains a holiday but is now called "Reconciliation Day". Surrounding the monument is a circular wall with reliefs representing 64 wagons pulled into a circle.
context_page_description: Gerard Leendert Pieter Moerdijk, also known as Gerard Moerdyk, was a South African architect best known for designing the Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria.
context_section_description: The Voortrekker Monument on Proclamation Hill at the southern outskirts of Pretoria is considered to be Moerdyk's masterpiece. He was a South African Freemason.
  The Central "Volks" (People's) Monuments Committee started a "Structure Committee" which approached the public in 1936 for suggestions about the contents and form of a monument. Several sketches from sculptors, architects and other artists were submitted. Moerdyk’s design was eventually chosen. E.C Pienaar and A.d. Bouman designed the sculptural laager, or ring of ox-wagons, around the monument.
  The South African Academy for Arts and Science awarded Moerdyk an honorary membership in 1936 and in 1950 the University of South Africa awarded him an honorary doctorate.
caption: Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria
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