The historic site of Vegkop is situated 20Km south of Heilbron.
On the 2nd October, 1836 a battle took place between the Voortrekkers and the Matabele. 35 Able men under the leadership of Hendrik Potgieter and Sarel Cilliers was victorious over thousands of Matabele warriors commanded by Kalipi. The casualties were only 2 Voortrekkers killed versus 430 Matabele warriors. Hendrik Potgieter's brother, Nicolaas Potgieter and his brother-in-law, Piet Botha was burried on Vegkop.
The farm Vegkop became the property of P.A. Cilliers, the brother of Sarel Cilliers, 12 years after the battle of Vegkop. Ownership of the farm was attained by occupation, in other words the occupier had to ride on horseback from dawn to dusk to demarcate the borders of the farm. The Vegkop farm was orginally 3,413 morgen in size. Many years later 324 morgen was puchased by the state for £3,888 to utilise as a memorial terrain.
In 1904 the organisation "Christelike Jongeliede Debats Vereniging" built a hall where the annual Day of the Vow was commemorated on the 16th of December. The first monument was errected on top of the hill in 1883, but was later relocated to the present memorial site. In 1945 a museum was established on the site. During the symbolic ox wagon trek of 1938, a second monument comprising of a stone mound was erected on the site. Seven trees were planted of which only 3 survived. One of the trees was planted by Henning Klopper, the leader of the symbolic trek.
Shortly after the Anglo-Boer war the "Helpmekaar" organisation started a farm school with boarding at Vegkop. It was a reasonable large school with a principal and two assistants. The school was self-supporting with their own milk cows, sheep, pigs and chickens. Today only the foundations of the school are still visible.
In the seventies the government embarked with the restauration of Vegkop. A new hall with functional buildings was erected and the C.J.D.V. hall was converted to a museum. The two slain Voortrekkers were re-buried on the terrain. A striking statue by the sculptor Coert Steynberg was erected on the slope of Vegkop. The statue is erected on a high mound of stone. It was Steynberg's last sculpture and he called it his "Monument of faith". On the encircling wall around the sculpture there are 6 tablets by his daughter Issa Wichers. They depict the battle of Vegkop. The restored complex was unveiled in October 1984.
The CHR (RGN) bestowed the festive terrain to the community of Heilbron. An article 21 company was established and the board is responsible for the maintenance of the site.
Symbolism of the Vegkop Monument
The piled stones comprising the mound symbolise the encircling threat of yesteryear and today -- the onslaught of physical and spiritual forces against the Christian civilisation.
Out of these hostile surroundings the triumphant and imposing physique of a leader rises - though one leg is still within the enemy encirclement, in his acknowledged faith in victory his left hand holds a Bible and in his right hand, in humble reverence to an allmighty God, the rifle points downwards, against which enemy assegais shatter and bend.
The sculptor portrayed Ephesians 6:16 in upliftment for our time: "Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked."
