Your guide to Heidelberg Gauteng
#Magistrate Maré's House
Heritage Blue Plaque #Nr 52
MAGISTRATE MARE'S HOUSE - 72 Strydom Street
What is the story here?
Seeing that Mr Maré owned stands 160, 161 and 174, it is assumed that he moved here from No. 60 Strydom Street, when he rented that building to the Standard Bank of British South Africa in August of 1879. Mr. Danie Steenkamp, a descendant of Mr Maré, disagrees with my assumption, stating that his grandmother stayed at No 60 Strydom Street and that the Maré family moved back into that house in November of 1881, after the bank had moved out of the house and after the 1st Anglo-Boer War.
THE HISTORY OF 72 STRYDOM STREET AND MAGISTRATE FREDERIK KORSTEN MARÉ
THE COW SHED GARAGE AND BLUE PLAQUE CEREMONY (2022)
The historic residential estate located at 72 Strydom Street uniquely preserves the raw material infrastructure of early highveld agricultural life. Positioned directly at the rear of the property stands the original, 19th-century pioneer cow shed, which has been sensitively adapted by subsequent custodians to function as a functional vehicle garage.
Historical field inspections conducted by local heritage monitors reveal that the interior fabric of the structure remains remarkably intact; the original masonry feeding troughs and the heavy iron tethering rings - where the family's dairy cows were fed and securely tied up while being manually milked - remain fully preserved within the modern garage workspace.
The deep architectural and administrative contribution of the estate to the development of the district achieved formal preservation recognition on 20 May 2022. During an official community ceremony hosted by the Heidelberg Heritage Association, local historian Mr Tony Burisch formally awarded a prestigious Blue Heritage Plaque to the contemporary property owner, Mr Hermias Nieuwoudt, marking the historic residence of Magistrate Frederik Korsten Maré as a permanently protected landmark.
The installation is catalogued as Blue Plaque Number 52 within the association's heritage master index, fully funded through the private civic sponsorship of Hermias and Elzabé Nieuwoudt.
PIONEER ROOTS AND ADMINISTRATIVE TRANSITIONS (1821 – 1881)
Frederik Korsten Maré was born on the farm Zwartkopsrivier in the Uitenhage district of the Cape Colony on 27 November 1821. He was born into an exceptionally large pioneer family, representing the second to last of seventeen children. Around 1838, Maré participated in the early trekking movements out of the Cape Colony, relocating to Pietermaritzburg where he entered his foundational marriage with Johanna Helena Jesina van Niekerk in 1845, a union that ultimately produced ten children.
In 1859, the Maré family migrated across the Vaal River into the territory of the Old Transvaal Republic (Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek). Recognizing his strong administrative capabilities, the republican government appointed Maré to serve as the resident Magistrate (Landdrost) of Pretoria in 1861, a strategic judicial post he managed for two years. His direct connection to the local history of the district was permanently established on 10 July 1866, when he was officially commissioned to serve as the very first resident Magistrate of Heidelberg.
His career faced a severe political crisis in 1877 when Great Britain unilaterally annexed the Transvaal Republic. Demonstrating fierce republican patriotism, Maré flatly refused to sign the mandatory British oath of loyalty to the occupying crown, choosing to immediately resign his prestigious judicial seat in protest. Following the restoration of republican independence at the conclusion of the First Anglo-Boer War of 1880 - 1881, the restored government reappointed Maré to his original post as the Chief Magistrate of Heidelberg.
THE ECCLESIASTICAL DISPUTES AND THE RENSBURG DELEGATION
Beyond his extensive state judicial obligations, Magistrate Maré possessed exceptionally powerful, conservative religious convictions. As an active, foundational member of the Nederduitsch Hervormde (NH) Church, he established himself as one of the most unyielding opponents of the church unification movement. When the NH and Nederduitsche Gereformeerde (NG) congregations voted to merge in 1885, Maré fiercely refused to participate in the unified body, choosing to stand strictly by his original theological principles.
He became a driving force behind the historic church struggle directed by the grieved conservative delegation in Rensburg, who mobilized to resurrect the independent Dutch Reformed Church from the ashes of the failed unification. This resistance triggered a bitter, long-running dispute over the legal division of valuable church properties, parsonages, and land parcels across the district.
The fraternal quarrel grew so fierce that even a personal, high-level mediation attempt by President Paul Kruger failed to secure an equitable settlement between the local factions. The complex property standoffs outlived the Magistrate himself; years following his death, the bitter legal battle was finally brought to a definitive conclusion via a sweeping judgment handed down in the High Court.
Magistrate Frederik Korsten Maré passed away on 5 January 1895 at the age of 73. He was returned to the town center under civic escort and interred alongside his wife, Johanna, within the historic family plot at the Heidelberg Kloof Cemetery, leaving behind an indelible mark on the legal and material foundations of the town.
SOURCES AND CREDITS
-
Primary Historiography: Derived from the heritage property feature article written by journalist Eugene Viljoen, published in the 25 May 2022 edition of the Heidelberg Nigel Heraut.
-
Military and Legal History: Supplemented by localized research profiles in "Heidelbergers of the Boer War" written by military historian Ian Uys.
-
Field Observations: Augmented by the contemporary property tracking registers, structural photography logs, and field commentary compiled by Tony Burisch for the Heidelberg Heritage Association.
