African Deaths in the SA War of Independence Concentration Camps

This project uses new digital 3D technologies to narrate African deaths in the Anglo-Boer War concentration camps, working with the SA War Museum in Bloemfontein (Mangaung) and using Dry Hart African Concentration Camp in the Northern Cape as a case study. It aims to raise this important but little-known narrative to a new global audience through digital and online media.

The parties involved in this project include National Heritage Council (as funders), the SA War Museum in Bloemfontein, McGregor Museum in Kimberly and Dr Garth Benneyworth as the domain expert.

SA War Museum 360° Virtual Tour

A 360° virtual tour of the SA War Museum has been created. Starting at the museum entrance, the journey takes the visitor through the museum to the Sol Plaitjie Hall, where the material relating to the African experience in the Concentration Camps is displayed.

The Matterport Information Tags and Notes features provide a narrative on the most relevant exhibition artefacts. They will include links to othermaterial, where available (video, PDF etc.).

Link to the virtual tour:
https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=SLKtCD8Q3cN

Deaths in the Dry Harts Concentration Camp: Gravestones

Dry Harts Camp was the site of one of the South African War’s worst African forced labour camps established during the SA Anglo-Boer War. These refugees were not just the casual collateral victims of the British Army.They were subjected to unprecedented systemised incarceration, conscription, forced labour, and violence leading to a massive death toll on a let-die basis. 1 Under appalling neglect, their forced labour was not enough to save them. Many thousands perished in dire conditions.

When the cemetery was located in 2001, the initial estimate of graves was around 2 000 individual graves. However, the graves could contain multiple burials, so the final death toll is much higher. This practice had already been implemented on compound burials in Kimberley.

The Dry Harts, Forced Labour Camp conditions were terrible due to starvation, infectious diseases, and heat. Typhoid, enteric and dysentery contaminated drinking and cooking water, which could not be boiled due to an absence of wood for fuel…Under a project funded by the National Heritage Council (NHC), we have taken xx gravestones and have created a 3D digital version of these stones as part of the digital archival record.

Dry Harts Forced Labour Camp Register.

This register created for this thesis lists only prominent graves with engravings or other distinguishing features, identified during the 2008 survey. It includes the original GPS coding’s and grave numberings that were created during the survey so that should future scholars wish to access the original field notes they can do so and which are accessioned in the McGregor Museum, Kimberley. All photographs taken were by the author and the sketches drawn by E. Voigt and the author.