BCCDBritish Concentration Camps
of the South African War
1900-1902
Mailing List Postings
Happy New Year
Posted on 05/01/2015

Happy New Year and welcome to all those who have recently joined the list.

I'm afraid that I have not been very active in 2014. However, we now have a query and I am hoping that someone might be able to help.

It concerns Hester Johanna Carry Conrdie. There is an entry about her in 'The South African Woman's Who's Who' in 1935 and 1938 which states:

"Mev Conradie is 'n Matrone, en is sedert 1897 vroedvrou van beroep. Een van die vrouens wat gedurende die Boere-Oorlog tot die laaste toe op die plaas gebly het. Is gevange geneem. Is die skryfster van die roman "Die Brandende Huis". Sedert sy haar familie groot gemaak het, is sy self-onderhoudend deur middel van verpleging, naaldwerk en borduurwerk. Haar liefheberye is tuinbou, huis-houdkunde, koek en brood-bak. Haar adres is P.K. Boshoek, Rustenburg, Transvaal."

We know that she was in the camps. Does anyone know anything of her novel, 'Die Brandende Huis'? We can't trace it in the National Libraries or elsewhere. Does anyone know of it and can help?

Many thanks
Elizabeth van Heyningen
05/01/2015

Acknowledgments: The project was funded by the Wellcome Trust, which is not responsible for the contents of the database. The help of the following research assistants is gratefully acknowledged: Ryna Boshoff, Murray Gorman, Janie Grobler, Marelize Grobler, Luke Humby, Clare O’Reilly Jacomina Roose, Elsa Strydom, Mary van Blerk. Thanks also go to Peter Dennis for the design of the original database and to Dr Iain Smith, co-grantholder.