Blue Plaque for Heritage to Anderson’s Residence
Anderson Residence recieves Blue Plaque Status.
A blue plaque for heritage was awarded to Anderson’s Residence on October 21.
The plaque is number 63 in the series of blue plaques.
David Anderson, a member of the Heidelberg Dorpswyk, was the owner of 2 Retief Street, Heidelberg in 1901.
There was a small memorial stone erected in the garden in memory of Anderson’s wife. The stone was dated 1885.
It could be a possibility that the Anderson’s already lived in the house at that time. Unfortunately due to age and time and corrosion, the stone is not there anymore.
The house on Retief Street was built next to the Brickfield native settlement. This is now the location of the Volkskool High School netball fields.
On the other side of the Spruit, the settlement graves were discovered and are still quite visible. The location of the settlement was found according to a map dated 1905.
Anderson lost his life in the battle of Chrissiemeer along with 80 other soldiers. The battle was fought on February 6, 1901.
At 02:55 on this day, the Boers under the leadership of General Louis Botha attacked British forces under General Smith-Dorrien at Chrissiemeer.
Botha’s main aim was to cripple the advance of Smith-Dorrien into the Eastern Transvaal. The Boers achieved initial success.
About 300 horses of the British force were killed or stampeded. Despite heavy losses on the Boer side the British advance into the eastern Transvaal was delayed by the loss of their horses, which gave the Boer commandos time to re-group.
The list was about 80 casualties from the Boers and the British suffered about 75 casualties.
The sponsors of the plaque are Louise and Dirk Opperman. The sponsors and current owners have stayed at the property for 22 years.
