The South African Legendary Hero Wolraad Woltemade

Statue erected in Wolraad Woltemade's honor

This is the epic tale of one of South Africa's most legendary early heroes. It is the story of Wolraad Woltemade. Born in Germany in 1708 (long before the days of electricity and modern comforts) Wolraad eventually made his way across the world to settle in the Cape. By trade, he was a humble dairy farmer, but destiny had a far greater legacy in store for him.

The tragic events unfolded during a ferocious winter storm. A massive ship named De Jonge Thomas had run aground near the shoreline with nearly 200 terrified souls aboard. The tempest was incredibly violent, whipping the ocean into a frenzy of towering waves. People gathered on the beach, able to clearly see the stranded vessel and hear the desperate screams of the passengers, yet the sea was simply too wild for anyone to attempt a rescue. As the ship's cargo began washing ashore, Wolraad's son, Corporal Christiaan Ludwig Woltemade, was stationed on the beach as a soldier to guard the scattered goods from looters.

Wolraad rode down to the chaotic beach on his trusted horse, Vonk, simply intending to bring his son some food. Instead, he arrived to find a crowd of bystanders standing utterly paralyzed while the ship slowly broke apart beyond the crashing breakers. Frustrated by the inaction and refusing to just watch people die, the dairyman made a split-second decision. He spurred his brave horse forward, plunging directly into the raging surf.

Battling the violent swells, Wolraad and Vonk miraculously reached the side of the doomed ship. He shouted over the roaring wind, ordering two men to jump into the freezing water. With one survivor clinging to each side of the horse, Wolraad guided Vonk back through the treacherous waves to the safety of the beach. In an astonishing display of endurance and sheer willpower, man and beast braved the freezing ocean seven times, pulling fourteen people from the jaws of death.

By this point, Vonk was utterly exhausted. The brave horse was faltering and desperately needed to rest. Suddenly, De Jonge Thomas began to splinter apart completely, and the screams from the remaining passengers grew even more frantic. Unable to turn his back on their despair, Wolraad urged his weary companion into the deadly waters one last time. When they reached the hull, the panic of the doomed crew took over. Too many people leaped into the water at once, grabbing wildly at the horse. Weighed down by the sheer mass of desperate survivors, the exhausted Vonk was pulled under. Both Wolraad and his magnificent horse, along with those who had jumped, drowned in the churning sea.

Wolraad's body washed ashore the very next day. Out of the 191 people aboard the ill-fated ship, only 53 survived (and 14 of those owed their lives entirely to a humble dairy farmer and his fearless horse). Today, Wolraad Woltemade and Vonk are forever immortalized as some of the earliest and most selfless heroes in South African history.