A central bronze group, sketched by English activist Emily Hobhouse and depicting her own experience of 15 May 1901, is of two sorrowing women and a dying child in the Springfontein camp.

The idea of a monument was expressed by Martinus Steyn, then president of the Orange Free State Republic, whilst receiving medical treatment in Europe after the Boer War.

His wife, Rachel Isabella "Tibbie" Steyn, played a part in the concept, having family members and associates who had died in the British concentration camps.

The start of construction was delayed by English-speaking members of the Bloemfontein Town Council, who felt the memorial would reflect poorly on Great Britain and by extension on the locals who had supported the war.

The Voortrekker Monument came a year after the victory of the National Party in the 1948 South African general election and coincided with the centennial of the Great Trek.

Wreaths are laid by Steyn's grave, and several ceremonies are held as students pledge to develop the potential of their Afrikaner, Christian heritage.

Initially, no men were depicted, but with the burial of Steyn at the foot of the structure, a new era of commemorations began, eventually bringing a war memorial into the area.

Tibbie Steyn expressed concern that the use of the grounds of the monument for burials of war veterans would dilute the original focus on the suffering of women and children.