General Piet Retief Viljoen’s home receives blue plaque status
The house at 1 Pretorius Street was awarded a blue plaque status on November 26 by Tony Burisch of the Heidelberg Heritage Association.
The blue plaque was handed over to the owner of the house and sponsor of the plaque, Eugene Vorster.
The original owner of the house was Genl Piet Retief Viljoen.
His parents were Genl Marthinus Jacobus Viljoen and Magdalena Margaretha Viljoen and he was one of 13 children.
His mother’s signature can be found on a cave in KwaZulu-Natal, which she made during the Groot Trek.
Viljoen was born in Pretoria on July 25, 1853, and is a descendant of Voortrekker leader Piet Retief on his mother’s side.
As a young man, he fought in several campaigns around the Zuid-Afrikaanse Republiek (ZAR).
Viljoen became the mining commissioner in Heidelberg in 1887.
During the Anglo-Boer War, he displayed considerable courage and skill in the Orange Free State and Western Transvaal, now the North West province.
When the British forces took over Barberton, Viljoen and seven men escaped. Due to his leadership, he quickly had 300 men under his leadership once again.
Viljoen became a member of the ZAR executive council.
As history has it, to the north of Heidelberg, the Boer commando awaited the English by hiding in the hills surrounding the town. When bombs started to explode in the nearby vicinity of the town, the commander of Heidelberg, Viljoen, requested British leader Genl Hart to stop the bombing.
In return, the Boers would withdraw to save Heidelberg from a bomb attack. Hart agreed and Viljoen got rid of all the excessive weapons in the storeroom.
They left Heidelberg at midnight in the direction of Greylingstad. The British took control of Heidelberg in the early morning of June 23, 1901.
There is a legend stating that Piet Retief and his brother Marthinus Viljoen did not shave their hair during wartime until the war ended.
When Genl JC Spruyt died in 1901, Viljoen was appointed in Spruyt’s place.
The document Treaty of Vereeniging was signed by Viljoen on May 31, 1902, on behalf of Heidelberg.
At Chrissiemeer, Viljoen was badly wounded in action.
He died on February 13, 1926, and is buried in the Heidelberg Kloof Cemetery.
