KRUGERSDORP CEMETERY – BURGERSHOOP
The origin of the Krugersdorp Cemetery situated in Burgershoop dates back to the origin of the
town. It was the only cemetery for town’s people of all colour or creed until 1938 when the
cemetery opposite to the Sterkfontein Hospital was established. The main entrance to the
Krugersdorp cemetery with guard house and office for the caretaker was erected in 1912 and it
forms an integral part of the historical significance of the cemetery.
Separate sections in the cemetery for Blacks and Indians away form that of White people reflects
the social discrepancies at the time. The cemetery also has a separate section for Jewish citizens,
which were still in use until recent years.
The Concentration Camp-graves (Anglo-Boer War) was “renovated” in 1944 by local Afrikaner
Cultural Groups (Suid-Afrikaanse Vrouefederasie, Krugerdag-feeskommissie,
Reddingsdaadbond, and Helpmekaarbeweging) as it was much neglected at the time. The result
of this action was that all the graves are now identical in size and setup, which gives the false
impression that it is the graves of children, whilst it is in fact the graves of all the deceased from
the concentration camp. A memorial (obelisk) was also erected at the time.
The names of the deceased unfortunately are not known due to the non-existence of grave
numbers. A wall separates the concentration camp graves from that of the Muslim and Black
sections of the cemetery. The group of graves in the Krugersdorp cemetery relates to the White
women, children and elderly whom had died in the Krugersdorp Concentration Camp only.
Although Krugersdorp also had a concentration camp for black people on the farm Waterval, the
exact location of the graves of deceased inhabitants could not yet be found. A possibility exist
that deceased of the Black concentration camp could have been buried in the section for Blacks
in die the Krugersdorp cemetery, but no document proof to confirm such an assumption could be
found as yet. The poor condition of this part of the cemetery also makes it almost impossible to
trace graves or to link any of it to specific people.
The War Graves Commission re-interned British soldiers who had died in the Anglo Boer War in
the vicinity of Krugersdorp in a separate section in the Krugersdorp cemetery, next to the
concentration camp section. In the middle of this section stands a memorial with the names of
the deceased soldiers.
The Krugersdorp cemetery is of social and cultural significance as it holds the graves of
important pioneers and families in the history of Krugersdorp.
Information on the remaining
memorial stones is important records for recording family history as well as the history of early
Krugersdorp. The section for Black people lack memorial stones, which will make it difficult for
researchers to record the history of the first Black people that settled in Krugersdorp.
Compiled by: Dr. Janet du Plooy
WEST RAND OFFICE SERVICES
082 334 7913
Fax: 086 632 9455
Email: info@wros.co.za
http://wrhc.co.za/documents/krugercementry.pdf