Gerard Moerdijk

During the Second Boer War (1899–1902) Gerard Moerdyk (then aged 10) was interned in the Standerton concentration camp with his mother, two brothers and two sisters.

In his designs Moerdyk broke with the traditional crucifix plan, and replaced it with an octagonal formation, and incorporated domes, crescent-shaped windows and Cape Dutch gables.

He was a member of the Afrikaner Broederbond[2][3] He also designed several bank buildings, hospitals, houses and city halls.

The foundation stone for this building was laid in 1937 by General Jan Smuts, then Prime Minister of South Africa.

The Voortrekker Monument on Proclamation Hill at the southern outskirts of Pretoria is considered to be Moerdyk's masterpiece.

Moerdijk's family home in Pretoria, Moerdijkhuis, was declared a national monument in 1986 and was turned into a guesthouse by Moerdijk's grandson and his wife, in order to enable access to the monument while ensuring economic sustainability of this national asset.