Monument Unveiling

Emily Hobhouse was one of the distinguished guests who had been invited to officiate the unveiling of the memorial. Although she was seriously ill and her doctor had advised her against undertaking the journey to South Africa, she started on the lengthy voyage in October 1912 and arrived in Cape Town in reasonably good health. Travelling to Bloemfontein by train, she could not stand the summer heat through the Karoo and had to turn back at Beaufort-West. However, she sent her speech, fully written out, to President Steyn and it was then decided that his Mrs R.I. (Tibbie) Steyn would perform the unveiling on 13 December 1913 while Charlie Fichardt would read her speech:

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