Historical Heidelberg figures: The town’s first magistrate

The first magistrate of Heidelberg was Frederik Korsten Maré.

Maré was born on November 27, 1821, on the farm Zwartkopsrivier in the Uitenhage area.

He was the 16th of 17 children. His parents were Paulus Jacobus Maré, and Johanna Magdalena Maré.

His uncle Dietlof Siegfried Maré, was a magistrate in Zoutpansberg as well as a member of the Volksraad of the ZAR.

His school days were in Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha). After school, he moved from the Cape Colony to settle in Pietermaritzburg in 1838.

In 1842 Maré took part in the Congella attack against the British troops.

Maré’s first wife was Gertruida Margaretha Maré.

He later remarried. In 1845 he married Johanna Helena Josina van Niekerk.

Johanna hailed from Graaff-Reinet. She was born on November 27, 1827. The couple had 10 children.The Maré family settled in the Transvaal before 1859. The specific date is not known.

His first appointment was as magistrate of Pretoria on July 19, 1861. He took over the position from JJP Prinsloo.
He held the position for two years. On November 3, 1863, he resigned from his post.

A year later Maré was nominated to the School Commission of Pretoria.

In 1864 Maré was an elder at the Hervormde Church in Pretoria.

A year later he resigned from his church post due to being the acting magistrate in Wakkerstroom in June 1865.
Maré was appointed magistrate of Heidelberg on July 10, 1866.

The first marriage Maré officiated was on October 20, 1866, when Willem Adriaan Smit and Jocomina Hendrina Viljoen married.

Maré tried to promote education in the area. Also under his leadership and advice the first school commission was brought to life.

Maré was a frontrunner for education in the Dutch language.

After the annexation of the Transvaal Republic in 1877, Maré refused to take the oath of loyalty to the British government and resigned from his post as the magistrate in March 1878.

At that time Heidelberg was described as a relatively small village as it consisted of about 25 houses and about 100 residents.

During the First Anglo-Boer War, Heidelberg was the capital for the provincial government of the Transvaal Republic and the Vierkleur Flag was raised in Heidelberg on December 16, 1880.

The peace treaty was signed in Heidelberg on March 21, 1881. In April 1882, Maré was reappointed as magistrate of Heidelberg.

He was actively involved in the advancements of the Nederduits Hervormde Kerk, but refused to be involved in the unification with the NG Kerk in 1885.

Maré died on January 4, 1895, after a short sickbed.

Johanna lived for a further 26 years and died on January 27, 1921. They are both buried in the Heidelberg Kloof Cemetery.

A street in Heidelberg was named after Maré.Sources: Heidelberg Methodist Archives, Heidelberg Heritage Association Archivies, Wikipedia