South Africa 2004/P1040148.JPG

The monument is 41 meters (134 feet) high and was inaugurated on Dec. 16 1949, exactly 111 years after the Blood River Battle, and 11 years after the foundation stone was laid.

The monument is full of symbolism - the iron-spear design of the main gate symbolizes Zulu King Dingane's power, the cenotaph inside is the symbolic resting place of the Voortrekker leader Piet Retief. At noon on Dec. 16, a ray of light falls through an opening in the domed roof onto the cenotaph's inscription "Ons vir jou Suid-Afrika" - "We for thee - South Africa." The tourist booklet explains that "the ray of sunlight symbolizes God's blessing on the work and aspirations of the Voortrekkers" particularly on that day in 1838, when 420 voortrekkers defeated a Zulu impi in a blood bath that left 3000 Zulu warriors dead.