1820 Settlers Monument

Grahamstown, South Africa

Tom Bowker (grandson of Miles Bowker, see John Mitford Bowker's family) was the 'brainchild' behind the 1820 Settlers Monument, built to honour the achievements and contributions made by the settlers.  He raised money from individuals and other private sources to build the Monument.  It was opened on 13 July 1974.  The Settler family group depicts a settler man, his wife and their young daughter facing north towards the unknow hinterland which they and their descendants and other English speaking immigrants helped to develop in many fields.  It is made of bronze by Ivan Mitford-Barberton (a Settler descendant) in 1969,

The stones in front of the the building form an astronomical toposcope with markers for the points of the compass, the summer and winter solstices and the appearance of the constellation Pleiades (at dawn) and Canopus (at dusk) which mark the beginning of the African New Year.  You are able to identify stones signifying the points of the compass, the summer and winter solstices, the equinoxes, the Pleiades, Orion and Canopus.

This marks the spot where the 1820 British Settlers locations were surveyed. 57 bronze plaques record details of settlements. On a clear day you can see from The Great Fish River to Kwaaihoek. The stones in the wall are taken from ruins of original Settler homes. There are still quite a few of the original Settler Homes on working farms, surviving well and strong!

Fort Selwyn was built in 1836, it was used as an artillery barracks until 1870.

the Bowker Memorial, erected in 1991 to commemorate Dr Tom Bowker (1882-1964), founder of the Monument concept, and his wife Gladys (1884-1964).

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© Copyright Margaret C Manning 2007