g.11. Gerrit Petrus Stephanus VAN DER WESTHUIZEN, geb. 1864

g.11. Gerrit Petrus Stephanus, geb. 1864, Goedeverwagting, dist. Heidelberg, oorl. 18/03/1915, Vlakfontein, dist. Heidelberg x 09/04/1888, Heidelberg met Martha Sophia JACOBS, geb. 20/10/1869, dist. Heidelberg, Tvl, oorl. 09/05/1902, Vereeniging Konsentrasiekamp xx 05/11/1903, Heidelberg met Elsie Magdalena BOSHOFF, geb. 1878. EMB voorheen met Benecke getroud. 

 Gerrit Petrus Stephanus was die seun van Nicolaas Jacobus Gerhardus van der Westhuizen en Johanna Aletta Jacobs.

Sy naam kom voor in hulle ma se sterfkennis van 1888.

Vee- en saaiboer.

Woon:  Vlakfontein nr. 287, Heidelberg.

Uit hulle ouers se testament:  14/10/1889.

NASIONALE ARGIEWE VAN SUID-AFRIKA

 Anglo boere-oorlog:

Vereeniging was probably the most contented of all the camps. Like Heilbron and Kroonstad in the ORC, it was located in the maize-growing belt of the highveld, but on the north bank of the Vaal River, in the Transvaal, sloping down to the river. It was already in existence when the first civilian inspection took place on 19 February 1901 but it probably started about September 1900. G.W. Goodwin reported in February 1901 that the people were of a ‘superior class’ and appeared in good health, happy and contented. (https://www2.lib.uct.ac.za/mss/bccd/Histories/vereeniging/)

The people themselves, many of them employees and tenants of Sammy Marks’s Vereeniging Estates Company, had benefited from the burgeoning markets of the goldfields and were probably relatively affluent. Dr Kendal Franks, who visited the camp in September 1901, thought them ‘a superior class of burgher, better educated and more advanced in the manners and arts of civilisation’. Their tents were often well furnished, some with carpets, and the inmates were active, sewing, making jam tarts and the like. One benefit from the association with the Vereeniging Estates Company was the lavish supply of coal so the inmates were never short of fuel. Like the wiser superintendents, Bentinck had immediately adopted the ration scale which included meat and food was always fairly plentiful and good. (https://www2.lib.uct.ac.za/mss/bccd/Histories/vereeniging/)

By the time that the first formal camp report was submitted for May 1901, the camp remained small, with never more than about 1,000 inmates.  A school was started early, by two young women in the camp, and about 100 children attended, rising to over 300. In time the camp was divided into two parts, with a small section, the ‘Burgher [Scout] Camp’, consisting of about twenty-five families (150 people). Their men were employed mainly in the ‘looting’ corps, bringing in cattle and horses. They were allowed to keep 75% of the stock they caught but had to hand the horses over to the British army. The camp must have had a slightly untidy appearance. The Scouts’ camp, where the families used their own tents and were not under the same discipline, was neither as clean nor as orderly as the main camp. Some fifteen families lived in their own ‘nachtmaal’ tents while another seventeen lived in the town, where they paid rent.  (https://www2.lib.uct.ac.za/mss/bccd/Histories/vereeniging/) 

The white camp at Vereeniging ran smoothly throughout its life. Although the inmates remained fairly well, the camp was dogged for many months by typhoid fever. The difference from other camps was that, although people fell sick, they did not die. The polluted Vaal River was the probably source of infection and, as the Boers disliked the taste of boiled water, they tended to draw river water when they could. Eventually a good supply was found over the river in the ORC and extensive engineering works did much to reduce the disease. Unfortunately in the rainy season, in summer, the Vaal River could not be forded and, by November 1901, as the river rose, the disease reappeared.  (https://www2.lib.uct.ac.za/mss/bccd/Histories/vereeniging/)

By July 1901 Vereeniging camp had grown to just over 1,000 inmates and, with the new arrivals, came measles. Isolation tents and a ‘contact camp’ were immediately established but, in spite of all his efforts, measles spread rapidly. Strikingly, however, unlike most camps, all the measles cases were immediately treated in hospital. The measures ensured, however, that the epidemic was brief. Measles reappeared at the end of the year, brought by a family from Krugersdorp, but this outbreak was milder, for the disease seemed to gain in virulence as more children fell ill. Even so, the mortality rate was high in this little camp, although the actual number of deaths was small. (https://www2.lib.uct.ac.za/mss/bccd/Histories/vereeniging/) 

Sterftes in die Vereeniging Konsentrasiekamp

Van der Westhuizen, Nicolaas J                         M     10                                                    Masels

Van der Westhuizen, Baba ongedoop kind                  1

Van der Westhuizen, Cornelius J                       M       8                                                    Masels

Van der Westhuizen, Baba ongedoop                     0.08       Loskop Heidelberg               Brongitis

Van der Westhuizen, Albert                              M       11       Uitvlucht Heidelberg             Koors

Van der Westhuizen, Johanna Aletta               V        11       Vlakfontein Heidelberg         Longontsteking

Van der Westhuizen, Johanna Carolina C       V         5       Brakfontein Heidelberg          Masels

Van der Westhuizen, Johannes N                   M       32       Slanghoek Heidelberg           Siekte

Van der Westhuizen, Cornelia FM                   V        3        Brakfontein Heidelberg          Masels

Van der Westhuizen, Maria Aletta                   V       52       Kafferskraal Heidelberg          Koors

Van der Westhuizen, Christiaan Petrus          M         2       Modderbult Heidelberg          Siekte

Van der Westhuizen, JAPC                                  0.83        Stadigfontein Heidelberg        Siekte

Van der Westhuizen, WJ                                           9        Stadigfontein Heidelberg

Van der Westhuizen, MJC                                   0.58        Stadigfontein Heidelberg

(http://www.fak.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/ABO-Konsentrasiekamp-sterftelys_-7-1.pdf)

Despite the prevalence of typhoid and measles, Vereeniging could be described as ‘healthy’. The camp was kept meticulously clean. Apart from the usual sanitary precautions, all the tents were struck once a fortnight and the sites thoroughly sterilised – a move which ensured that the camp ground did not become as polluted as many did. Nutrition was better than most camps, although scurvy made its appearance towards the end of 1901. Meat was usually in good supply and of a high quality. Fresh vegetables were also available from relatively early on. Swift action reduced the problem of scurvy; 4,000 lbs of vegetables were issued and a vegetable garden started. By February the inmates were also receiving two pounds of fruit a week. (https://www2.lib.uct.ac.za/mss/bccd/Histories/vereeniging/)

When the Ladies Committee visited the camp in October 1901, they were favourably impressed. ‘This is one of the pleasantest and most cheerful of the camps we have visited’, they wrote. Not only was it clean and orderly; it was the only one in which mortality from measles was ‘nominal’. There was a spirit of good will amongst the people, apart from some hostility to the ‘joiners’.  The Ladies attributed this contentment to the quality of the staff. Captain Bentinck continued to take a kindly interest in Vereeniging long after he left the camp, visiting regularly and giving talks on current topics; the sanitary officer, Piet van der Westhuizen, was widely praised and the officials all worked well together. (https://www2.lib.uct.ac.za/mss/bccd/Histories/vereeniging/)

 By the time the war ended, Vereeniging seems to have been a flourishing camp. 35 acres of gardens kept the inmates well supplied with vegetables and barley was planted to feed the transport animals. Flower beds beautified the hospital grounds. Teachers from England widened the school activities. The men were active with gardening, brickmaking (nearly half a million bricks had been made by May 1902), carpentry and tanning. News of the peace was received with ‘joy and thankfulness’ rather than the silent disappointment which characterised some of the camps. It is not surprising to hear that the coronation was celebrated with enthusiasm. (https://www2.lib.uct.ac.za/mss/bccd/Histories/vereeniging/)

Repatriation started promptly and, by the end of July 1902, almost half the camp had left, although returning prisoners-of-war and surrendered burghers increased the numbers. But, as the months wore on, the people became increasingly impatient about the delays in returning home. The planting season was upon them and even the landless hoped to get ground from the government. Bywoners were particularly resentful as they could not afford their own animals either to take them home or to use on the farms. They were mollified when they heard that the government was to make mules and ploughs available for loan. By October 1902 there were less than 200 people in the camp and it must have closed about the end of that month, for there are no reports for November. (https://www2.lib.uct.ac.za/mss/bccd/Histories/vereeniging/)
Personal Details
Name:
Ms Martha Sophia van der Westhuizen
Born in camp?
No
Place of death:
Vereeniging RC
Age died:
33 years
Died in camp?
Yes
Cause of death:
ziekte
Gender:
female
Race:
white
Nationality:
Transvaal
Unique ID:
21733
Camp History
Name:
Vereeniging RC
Farm History
Name:
Vlaakfontein / Vlakfontein (HA Vlakfontein)
District:
Heidelberg
Sources
Title:
RS 27 Transvaal DL
Type:
Death lists
Location:
National Archives, Pretoria
Reference No.:
RS 27
Notes:
p.472