Gerard Leendert Pieter Moerdijk (Zwaershoek farm near

Nylstroom Modimolle, also known as Nylstroom, is a town located near the southern edge of the Waterberg Massif in Limpopo province, South Africa. It is a medium-sized town that focuses primarily on agriculture and farming (citrus, grapes and cattle) as well ...

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

, 4 March 1890 –

, 29 March 1958), also known as Gerard Moerdyk, was a South African

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

best known for designing the

Voortrekker Monument The Voortrekker Monument is located just south of Pretoria in South Africa. The granite structure is located on a hilltop, and was raised to commemorate the Voortrekkers who left the Cape Colony between 1835 and 1854. It was designed by the a ...

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

Early life, education and career

Both Moerdyk's parents were

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

immigrants, who moved to

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 ...

in 1888. During the

Second 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 ...

(1899–1902) Gerard Moerdyk (then aged 10) was interned in the

Standerton Standerton is a large commercial and agricultural town lying on the banks of the Vaal River in Mpumalanga, South Africa, which specialises in cattle, dairy, maize and poultry farming. The town was established in 1876 and named after Boer leader Co ...

concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

with his mother, two brothers and two sisters. After the war, the family lived in

where Gerard went to the forerunner of

Pretoria Boys High School , motto_translation = "Through courage and labour" , location = , streetaddress = 251 Roper Street, Brooklyn, Pretoria, Brooklyn , region = , city = Pretoria , provi ...

. He matriculated with honours in 1909 and qualified as an

at the

Architectural Association The Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, commonly referred to as the AA, is the oldest independent school of architecture in the UK and one of the most prestigious and competitive in the world. Its wide-ranging programme ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He also studied in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

for a while and was exposed to classical

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

and

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

architecture in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Moerdyk was the first South African to be an Associate of the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

. Moerdyk returned to

in 1913 and received first prize for the design of a church in

Bothaville Bothaville is a maize farming town situated near the Vaal River in the Lejweleputswa District Municipality, Lejweleputswa DM of the Free State (South African province), Free State province, South Africa. It is situated 60 km east of the Vaal, ...

. He started his own practice and received more than eighty commissions to design churches. In his designs Moerdyk broke with the traditional

crucifix A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (Lati ...

plan, and replaced it with an octagonal formation, and incorporated domes, crescent-shaped windows and Cape Dutch gables. Another Church, the Nederduitse Hervormde Kerk, was designed in 1935. He was a member of the

Afrikaner Broederbond The Afrikaner Broederbond (AB) or simply the Broederbond was an exclusively Afrikaner Calvinist and male secret society in South Africa dedicated to the advancement of the Afrikaner people. It was founded by H. J. Klopper, H. W. van der Merwe, ...

He also designed several bank buildings, hospitals, houses and city halls. Commissioned works for which he is famous is the Reserve Bank building in

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State (province), Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legisla ...

, the Libertas building in Pretoria (now known as

Mahlamba Ndlopfu , image = Libertas, since 1994 known as Mahlamba Ndlopfu, in 1934 by Gerard Moerdijk designed as official residence in Pretoria for the state of the Union of South Africa. - panoramio.jpg , caption = Libertas, since 1994 kn ...

) and the Merensky Library at the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was ...

. This last building, now known as the ''Old Merensky Library'' – since a new library has been built – houses the Edoardo Villa Museum with the leading collection of sculptures by the artist

Eduardo Villa Edoardo Daniele Villa (1915–2011) was a notable South African sculptor of Italian descent who worked primarily in steel, and bronze. Early life Villa was born in Bergamo, Italy and he studied at the Andrea Fontini Art School. In 1937 due t ...

. . The foundation stone for this building was laid in 1937 by

General Jan Smuts Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts, (24 May 1870 11 September 1950) was a South African statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various military and cabinet posts, he served as prime minister of the Union of South Af ...

, then

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

. In 1991 it was declared a National Monument. It was later redesignated a provincial heritage site and in 2012 became a

national heritage site A national heritage site is a heritage site having a value that has been registered by a governmental agency as being of national importance to the cultural heritage or history of that country. Usually such sites are listed in a heritage registe ...

Voortrekker Monument

The

on Proclamation Hill at the southern outskirts of

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 A wagon fort, wagon fortress, or corral, often referred to as circling the wagons, is a temporary fortification made of wagons arranged into a rectangle, circle, or other shape and possibly joined with each other to produce an improvised militar ...

, 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 The University of South Africa (UNISA), known colloquially as Unisa, is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, U ...

awarded him an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

Legacy

The Dutch Reformed Church in

Piet Retief Pieter Mauritz Retief (12 November 1780 – 6 February 1838) was a ''Voortrekker'' leader. Settling in 1814 in the frontier region of the Cape Colony, he assumed command of punitive expeditions in response to raiding parties from the adjacent ...

was designed and built in 1921. A well-known

Colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

African African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

restaurant in the

suburb

Arcadia Arcadia may refer to: Places Australia * Arcadia, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Arcadia, Queensland * Arcadia, Victoria Greece * Arcadia (region), a region in the central Peloponnese * Arcadia (regional unit), a modern administrative un ...

is named Gerard Moerdyk Restaurant, after him.

also has an arts district on Gerard Moerdyk Street in the suburb of Sunnyside. It is known as The Overzicht Artists' Village and consists of old cottages, which were built around the 19th century. The village has theatres, craft shops, restaurants and an education museum. Moerdijk's family home in

, Moerdijkhuis, was declared a national monument in 1986 and was turned into a guesthouse by Moerdijk's grandson and his wife, in order to enable access to the monument while ensuring economic sustainability of this national asset.

References

External links

Gerard Moerdyk and images of the Voortrekker Monument
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moerdijk, Gerard 1890 births 1958 deaths People from Limpopo Afrikaner people South African people of Dutch descent Alumni of Pretoria Boys High School History of Pretoria Associates of the Royal Institute of British Architects 20th-century South African architects South African Freemasons

Early life, education and career

Voortrekker Monument

Legacy

See also

References

External links