Dr Anthonie Viljoen of Elgin - MLA Cape Colony

Sir Antonie Gysbert Viljoen (21 August 1858 – 26 October 1918) was an influential liberal Afrikaner politician and progressive farmer of the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when i ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Early life and career

Born on August 21, 1858, Viljoen was raised at Middelplaas, Caledon, and was the only one of his 10 siblings to be properly educated, matriculating at the South African College school in Cape Town. He studied medicine eventually at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, graduating with Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle. He travelled in Europe and studied a range of agricultural practices too. On returning to South Africa, he served as District Surgeon in Caledon, where he met and married his wife Margaretha Johanna Jacoba (Maggie) Beyers. The couple had three daughters, Maria Elizabeth Anna (who died at age 8 years), Johanna Jakobmina Kurgerina (Hannah) (married to Rawbone), and Oaklene Savoye Marguerite (married to Hewat).

Elgin farming (1898–1918)

In the 1880s he lived and worked in the Transvaal Republic, and served as pres Paul Kruger's personal surgeon (one of his daughters was named "Krugerina" after

Paul Kruger Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger (; 10 October 1825 – 14 July 1904) was a South African politician. He was one of the dominant political and military figures in 19th-century South Africa, and President of the South African Republic (or ...

) and with the money he earned there, he bought farmland in the

Elgin Valley Elgin may refer to: Places Canada * Elgin County, Ontario * Elgin Settlement, a 19th-century community for freed slaves located in present-day North Buxton and South Buxton, Chatham-Kent, Ontario * Elgin, a village in Rideau Lakes, Ontari ...

in 1898, part of which was the Oak Valley farm. He spent much of the next few years under house arrest on his farm (he had signed up as a medical officer with the Boer army, during the Anglo-Boer war, and was soon captured by the British. His internment on Oak Valley was only granted on condition that he paid for the services of two British soldiers to guard him for the duration of the war!) Antonie Viljoen was a farmer extraordinaire growing everything from grape vines to potatoes. Among his many farming achievements were the purchase of the first deciduous fruit trees in the Elgin valley after realising that the area was ideally suited for the cultivation of apples and pears. He is regarded as the pioneer to establish the apple industry of the region. These were initially grown and maintained by his farm labourers, largely as their own separate concern, however they constituted the first known deciduous orchard in the region.

Political career

Viljoen was elected to the Legislative Council (Upper House) of the

Cape Parliament The Parliament of the Cape of Good Hope functioned as the legislature of the Cape Colony, from its founding in 1853, until the creation of the Union of South Africa in 1910, when it was dissolved and the Parliament of South Africa was establis ...

in 1903, for the South Western Circle. For the year he was on the council, he worked primarily on healing the wounds between the English and Afrikaner ethnic groups after the

Anglo-Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

. In 1904 he was elected to the House of Assembly (Lower House) of the Cape Parliament, for the Caledon district. In this capacity, he worked on conservation (banning the sale of certain species of wild flower, and cooperating on the founding of

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden Kirstenbosch is an important botanical garden nestled at the eastern foot of Table Mountain in Cape Town. The garden is one of 10 National Botanical Gardens covering five of South Africa's six different biomes and administered by the South A ...

). Viljoen was part of a liberal grouping in parliament, who strongly supported women's suffrage and the extension of the multi-racial

Cape Qualified Franchise The Cape Qualified Franchise was the system of non-racial franchise that was adhered to in the Cape Colony, and in the Cape Province in the early years of the Union of South Africa. Qualifications for the right to vote at parliamentary elections ...

. His most famous contribution was in being part of the first attempt to extend the vote to women of all races, with fellow MPs

JW Sauer Jacobus Wilhelmus ("J.W.") Sauer (1850 – 24 July 1913), was a prominent liberal politician of the Cape Colony. He served as Minister in multiple Cape governments, and was influential in several unsuccessful attempts to enshrine equal political ...

and

James Molteno Sir James Molteno (5 January 1865 – 16 September 1936), was an influential barrister and parliamentarian of South Africa. Rising to prominence as an unconventional anti-imperialist, he was briefly opposition leader, before becoming parliame ...

on 4 July 1907. Viljoen was in fact the MP who first tabled the motion. At the formation of the Union of South Africa, he was also elected to the Senate, where he continued his policies of pushing for a more inclusive, multi-racial, and gender-sensitive future for the country. He was knighted by the British king in 1916. The Viljoen pass between Elgin and Villiersdorp is named after him. His descendants still farm on Oak Valley, Elgin, under the surname Rawbone-Viljoen after the husband of his daughter Johannah Jakobmina Krugerina, George Crundwell Rawbone, changed the family's surname to Rawbone-Viljoen to comply with Viljoen's will and testament, viz that the farm can only be inherited by a descendant who bears the surname "Viljoen".

Later life

In later life he served on the boards of Old Mutual and the National Bank of South Africa. He was knighted in 1916, and died at his Oak Valley farm in Elgin in 1918.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Viljoen Members of the House of Assembly of the Cape Colony Members of the Legislative Council of the Cape Colony Afrikaner people 1858 births 1918 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Elgin, Western Cape South African Knights Bachelor