Pretoria – Church Square is historically the centre of town.
In the 1980’s Church Square was the crown point of the TUKS rag procession, which consisted of several colourful floats and caricatures hustling and bustling from down Church Street to the square.
The students would wave cans around for onlookers to part with their coins.
Café Riche was the local coffee shop and restaurant on the square, with its art deco fittings, it attracted local advocates and lawyers and was seen as a grand place.
The Paul Kruger sculpture at the centre of Church Square was sculpted in 1896 by Anton Van Wouw; as commissioned by Sammy Marks, an enthusiastic supporter of President Paul Kruger.
Today the sculptures on the square, Paul Kruger and the four Burghers are fenced off with an imposing semi-transparent black fence, which was installed by the Tshwane Metro Council.
This year, despite the fence, the Burgher statues have been vandalised.
The Burghers had two gun stocks, two gun barrels, and one gun strap sawed-off.
While vandalism is a common theme in South African society, it appears as if figures of Afrikaner Heritage have been targeted.
Gerhard Pretorius, communications officer of the FAK, Federation for Afrikaans Cultural Organisations; points to the De La Rey statue in Lichtenburg which was vandalized, as well as the Burgher statue in Carolina; where the statue’s head was chopped off.
The FAK restored the Burgher statue in Carolina and moved it to the grounds of the local N.G. Church, where it resides safely and securely.
The FAK has made a petition to the Tshwane Metro Council to move the damaged Burgher sculptures to the Voortrekker Monument.
Here they will be restored by the cultural heritage organisation that is the FAK.
Replicas can then be resin cast to return to the square.
Pretorius said: “The Voortrekker Monument was the appropriate place to house the Anton Van Wouw Burgher statues, among other reasons because the monument also has sculptures depicting the Battle of Vegkop, 1836, in the Free State”.
These sculptures depict a 14-year-old Paul Kruger.
In addition to this, the dying chamber of President Kruger, which was in Switzerland has been successfully reconstructed at the Voortrekker Monument.
Church Square is surrounded by the Palace of Justice, Town Hall, and the Old Post Office.
During the day informal traders take photos of people around the sculptures at Church Square.
Photographer and trader, Solomon Khoza said the informal traders protect the sculptures all day long.
