Your guide to Heidelberg Gauteng
#Laer Volkskool
Heritage Blue Plaque #Nr 6
LAER VOLKSKOOL
What is the story here?
After the 2nd Anglo Boer War, the Nederduitsche Congregation cared for 28 orphans from a local concentration camp. Ds AJ Louw established an orphanage in a house on Begemann and Ueckermann Streets, later moving it to Pretorius Street. Education emerged as a concern, leading to a new school founded by Louw in the Klipkerk cellar, where Miss Anna Basson and others taught. By 1905, land was donated for a school, which opened in January 1907, honoring those who died in the war. The school grew under master Theo Donges, who became a notable figure in education and public life until his death in 1951.
THE HISTORY OF LAER VOLKSKOOL AND THEODOR AMADEUS DONGES
POST-WAR ORPHAN CARE AND THE CAVE OF ADULLAM (1902 - 1903)
Following the conclusion of the Second Anglo-Boer War, the local Nederduitsche Reformed congregation assumed immediate responsibility for 28 orphans rescued from the Heidelberg concentration camp. Reverend (Ds.) A.J. Louw established a temporary orphanage inside a house at the corner of Begemann and Ueckermann Streets, which was generously provided for the cause by Mr Cornelis Meyer. The orphanage was later relocated to a residence in Pretorius Street, managed first by the Widow Okker Spruyt and subsequently by the widow of Jan Spruyt.
A crisis emerged regarding the children's education. At the time, Heidelberg had two state-approved facilities: a fee-paying "Public School" at the corner of Maré and Begemann Streets, and a "free" school for impoverished children located on the low-lying terrain currently occupied by the Municipal Power Station. Because the British administration enforced English as the sole medium of instruction, the British Director of Education publicly declared: "What British arms have not been able to accomplish, we will achieve by means of education!"
Refusing to subject the orphans to a system designed with an English imperial bias, Reverend Louw established an independent, alternative school inside the stone cellar of the Klipkerk. The makeshift classroom became known as "the cave of Adullam." A certified teacher, Miss Anna Basson, was formally appointed to lead instruction. She was assisted by part-time volunteers from the congregation, including Miss Kitty Brink.
As word spread, local parents who rejected the government school withdrew their children and enrolled them in the cellar. To handle the growing enrollment, Miss Katie Human was hired as a second full-time teacher. The church cellar soon proved entirely too small to accommodate the influx of students.
THE FOUNDING AND BUILDING OF LAER VOLKSKOOL (1903 - 1907)
In July 1903, a public meeting of parents was convened inside the church cellar to address the spatial constraints, resulting in the election of a dedicated School Commission. The board comprised Reverend Louw as chairman, alongside Reverend J. van Belkum, Reverend W.J. de Klerk, Mr J. Freislich, Mr C.J. Bosman, Mr P.R. Viljoen, and Advocate Stockenström. The parents officially mandated the commission to acquire local ground, secure professional teachers, draw up academic guidelines, and negotiate directly with authorities in Pretoria to establish a permanent school.
In 1905, Frederik J. Bezuidenhout donated a plot of land for the construction of the school. His brother, Willem W.J. Bezuidenhout, and their brother-in-law, Cornelius F.J. Meyer, stepped forward to fully finance and manage the construction project. The Bezuidenhout brothers were the sons of the prominent pioneer Frederik J. Bezuidenhout, who had owned the historic farms Doornfontein, Braamfontein, and Turffontein prior to the Witwatersrand gold rush, and after whom Bez Valley in Johannesburg was named. The younger Frederik J. Bezuidenhout built the well-known mansion "De Rust" located on the Vereeniging road.
While construction was underway, the school operated out of temporary classrooms partitioned by hanging fabric curtains inside the Van Belkum Hall. The cornerstone of the permanent building was officially laid on 27 October 1906 in the presence of S.W. Burger, the former Vice-President of the South African Republic (ZAR). The structure was erected by a respected local deacon and builder, Mr J.S. Joubert, and opened its doors on 11 January 1907.
The main front entrance hall was named "Monument Hall" to honour the citizens of the Heidelberg District who perished during the Second Anglo-Boer War. Above the entrance doors to Monument Hall, a Dutch memorial inscription reads:
"Ter Roemryke nagedachtenis van hen, die tydens oorlog 1899-1902 uit het district Heidelberg zijn omkomen. T.w. 90 burgers die sneuvelden, 624 mannen, vrouwen en kinders in de kampen en 153 die te huis of in het veld gestorven zyn: 867 offers voor Vryheid, vaderland en volk."
(In glorious memory of those from the Heidelberg district who perished during the war of 1899-1902. Namely 90 burghers who fell in battle, 624 men, women, and children in the camps, and 153 who died at home or in the field: 867 sacrifices for freedom, fatherland, and people.)
On 15 January 1907, teachers and students formally took possession of the completed facility during a ceremony attended by parents and dignitaries, where Professor J.I. Marais of Stellenbosch presented initial academic prizes and certificates. Built entirely through community faith, local donations, and personal resolve without state funding, the school flourished. Reflecting on those pioneering years, founding teacher Mrs S. Dönges noted: "Those were days of hard work, but there was surely never a happier teaching staff; everyone was of one spirit, one purpose... the work was an unspeakable joy."
THE EARLY LIFE AND CAREER OF THEODOR AMADEUS DONGES
Theodor Amadeus Heinrich Dönges was born in Carnarvon on 28 August 1869, the son of the Reverend Michael Dönges. At the age of 14, he relocated to Stellenbosch to pursue his education, studying there for five years. Due to chronic eye strain, he was forced to suspend his medical studies, though he later completed a six-month practical course at the New Somerset Hospital once his eyesight recovered.
Dönges subsequently redirected his career towards education. In 1890, at the age of 21, he traveled to Johannesburg, but the severe city dust aggravated his eye condition, prompting him to relocate to the cleaner air of Elsburg. There, he founded and operated a successful one-man school for two and a half years before accepting a promotion to serve as the headmaster of a government school in Germiston.
On 27 November 1894, Dönges submitted a meticulously handwritten application for the vacant headmaster position at the Heidelberg Government School. He was selected for the post and officially assumed his duties on 21 January 1895, quickly implementing strict institutional codes of conduct.
MILITARY SERVICE AND WARTIME ENCOUNTERS
Upon the outbreak of the Second Anglo-Boer War in October 1899, Dönges immediately joined the Heidelberg Commando. Utilizing his medical background, he was appointed head of the field ambulance unit. He was subsequently promoted to the rank of Field Cornet (Veldkornet) and assigned to a specialized unit of the Heidelberg Commando tasked with serving as a protective guard to the South African Republic government in the field.
Dönges saw active combat, during which two horses were shot and killed under him. On one occasion, after being issued a particularly wild, unmanageable horse, the famous Boer scout Jopie Fourie offered to trade his own purebred Arabian steed for it. Dönges agreed to the swap on the strict honor-bound condition that he would return the valuable Arabian horse to Fourie unharmed after the war concluded.
POST-WAR LEADERSHIP AND LEGACY
Following the declaration of peace, Dönges returned to Heidelberg to find the education system completely restructured under Lord Milner’s British regime. Unwilling to teach under these parameters, he left the profession to study law, working under General C.F. Beyers. However, in 1903, Reverend A.J. Louw successfully persuaded him to return to education and accept the appointment as the first official headmaster of the newly formed independent Volkskool.
Dönges managed the school through its foundational years. On 18 October 1906, he married Miss S. van Huyssteen, who was one of the school’s founding teachers alongside Miss A. Basson, Miss Katie Human, and Miss C. Thom. The couple raised two sons and two daughters.
In 1907, Dönges was appointed as an inspector of education, and from 1909 to 1929, he served as the rector of the Teachers' Training College of Heidelberg. Following his retirement to his local farm, he remained a lifelong friend of Dr D.F. Malan and continued to serve in public life, eventually being appointed as a Senator. Dönges passed away at the age of 81 on 19 October 1951 and was buried alongside the commando memorial plot in the Heidelberg Kloof Cemetery.
His absolute commitment to his work left an indelible mark on his students. Years later, during a public address regarding a young Boer soldier who chose execution over betraying his commando, Dr Malan revealed that the soldier’s resolve was inspired entirely by the moral character of his old schoolmaster. Malan confirmed that the teacher who inspired such absolute devotion to duty was none other than T.A. Dönges of Heidelberg.
References: "Story of Heidelberg" (unpublished manuscript) by Rev. Noel Roberts; "Aan God Alleen Die Eer" by Dr A.E.F. Bosman; "Pro Deo Et Patria" by Dr A.E.F. Bosman; and "Heidelbergers of the Boer War" by Ian Uys. Photographic documentation provided by Nicholas Clark (artefacts.co.za) and Lille McGregor.
