Founders Day (South Africa)

Last updated April 02, 2019

Founders Day ( Afrikaans: Stigtingsdag) or Van Riebeeck's Day was a formal public holiday of the Union of South Africa and the Republic of South Africa until 1994.

Afrikaans is a West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and, to a lesser extent, Botswana and Zimbabwe. It evolved from the Dutch vernacular of South Holland spoken by the mainly Dutch settlers of what is now South Africa, where it gradually began to develop distinguishing characteristics in the course of the 18th century. Hence, it is a daughter language of Dutch, and was previously referred to as "Cape Dutch" or "kitchen Dutch". However, it is also variously described as a creole or as a partially creolised language. The term is ultimately derived from Dutch Afrikaans-Hollands meaning "African Dutch".

A public holiday, national holiday or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year.

The Union of South Africa is the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into being on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape Colony, the Natal Colony, the Transvaal, and the Orange River Colony. It included the territories that were formerly a part of the South African Republic and the Orange Free State.

Background

The holiday was established on 6 April 1952 during the Van Riebeeck Festival in honour of the 300th anniversary of the arrival of the Dutch in South Africa. Jan van Riebeeck arrived at Table Bay on 6 April 1652 as a result Cape Town was founded. From 1980, the day became known as Founders Day (Stigtingsdag).^[1]

Johan Anthoniszoon "Jan" van Riebeeck was a Dutch navigator and colonial administrator who arrived in Cape Town in what then became the Dutch Cape Colony of the Dutch East India Company.

Table Bay is a natural bay on the Atlantic Ocean overlooked by Cape Town and is at the northern end of the Cape Peninsula, which stretches south to the Cape of Good Hope. It was named because it is dominated by the flat-topped Table Mountain.

Cape Town is the oldest city in South Africa, colloquially named the Mother City. It is the legislative capital of South Africa and primate city of the Western Cape province. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality.

The holiday was abolished after the first universal franchise election in 1994 and the subsequent new constitution.

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Abraham van Riebeeck was a merchant with the Dutch East India Company and the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1709 to 1713.

The following lists events that happened during 1952 in South Africa.

Jan van Riebeeck landed at the Cape on 6 April 1652, setting up a supply station and fortifications for the Dutch East India Company. The decade saw the beginning of European settlement, marked by the introduction of crops from Europe and the New World and culminating in war with the Khoikhoi in 1659.

The following lists events that happened during the 1660s in South Africa.

The Castle of Good Hope Decoration was a military decoration for bravery which was instituted by the Union of South Africa on 6 April 1952, but never awarded. The decoration was intended for award to members of the South African Defence Force for a signal act of valour or most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent act of self-sacrifice or extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy.

The Castle of Good Hope known locally as the Castle or Cape Town Castle is a bastion fort built in the 17th century in Cape Town, South Africa. Originally located on the coastline of Table Bay, following land reclamation the fort is now located inland. In 1936 the Castle was declared a historical monument and following restorations in the 1980s it is considered the best preserved example of a Dutch East India Company fort.

The Liesbeek River is a river in Cape Town in South Africa. It is named after a small river in the Netherlands. The first "free burghers" of the Dutch East India Company were granted land to farm along the river in 1657, shortly after the first Dutch settlers arrived in the Cape. The river was originally called the Amstel or Versse Rivier. It is the first river that Jan van Riebeeck named.

The Port of Cape Town is the port of the city of Cape Town, South Africa. It is situated in Table Bay.

Van Riebeeck Decoration South African military award

The Van Riebeeck Decoration, post-nominal letters DVR, is a South African military decoration for bravery which was instituted by the Union of South Africa in 1952. It was awarded to officers for distinguished service in the field.

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Although the Portuguese basked in the nautical achievement of successfully navigating the cape, they showed little interest in colonization. The area's fierce weather and rocky shoreline posed a threat to their ships, and many of their attempts to trade with the local Khoikhoi ended in conflict. The Portuguese found the Mozambican coast more attractive, with appealing bays to use as waystations, prawns, and links to gold ore in the interior.

Gardens is an inner-city suburb of Cape Town located just to the south of the city centre located in the higher elevations of the "City Bowl" and directly beneath Table Mountain and Lion's Head. It is an affluent neighbourhood populated mostly by young professionals and contains numerous chic restaurants, hotels, boutique shops and loft apartments. The suburb is also a hub for the Cape Town creative industry, hosting the home of e.tv at Longkloof Studios and contains many modelling agencies, production and publishing companies and associated industries. It is also home to the world-famous five-star Mount Nelson Hotel.

HMS Wessex was one of eight W-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy during World War II. Completed in 1944, the ship spent most of the war assigned to the Eastern and Pacific Fleets. She screened British aircraft carriers as their aircraft attacked targets in the Japanese-occupied Nicobar Islands, the Dutch East Indies and Okinawa.

Hoërskool Jan van Riebeeck is an Afrikaans high school in Cape Town, South Africa. It was founded in 1926 by J.J. Jordaan.

The Redoubt Duijnhoop was a square demi-bastioned clay and timber Redoubt built fort constructed at the mouth of the Salt River, leading into Table Bay, South Africa in January–February 1654. It formed part of the defences of the Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie 'VOC' replenishment station, which had been established under Jan van Riebeeck in 1652. The purpose of the station was to supply ships travelling between the Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies.

The Fort de Goede Hoop was the first military building to be erected in what is now Cape Town. It was built in 1652, and was in use until 1674 when it was superseded by the Castle of Good Hope.

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References

↑ "On this day in history: Jan van Riebeeck arrived in Table Bay". Zululand Observer. 2016-04-06. Retrieved 2019-02-21.

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[1] "On this day in history: Jan van Riebeeck arrived in Table Bay". Zululand Observer. 2016-04-06. Retrieved 2019-02-21.