The Kruger National Park is a favourite with local as well as international tourists. Kruger lovers Anton and Natasha Schutte discuss their favourite rest camps every month. In this edition, they look at the colourful history of the oldest rest camp in the park, Pretoriuskop.
We once met an old Dutchman on one of our adventures who claimed that South Africa’s history since 1488 must be one of the easiest to research and understand since most of it was recorded reasonably accurately. While this may be true, it certainly does not mean it is not clouded in controversy, as we all know. One such example is the history of Pretoriuskop in the Kruger National Park.
As legend would have it, the old Transvaal government of the 1800s was obsessed with discovering a trade route from Lydenburg to Delagoa Bay (known as Maputo today) since this would have secured total independence from the British. When rumours circulated that the Portuguese explorer Joâo Albasini had discovered a route, a fact-finding expedition led by J van Rensburg was launched. Among the explorers was a young man named Willem Pretorius. On the way to Delagoa Bay, near Skipberg, young Willem contracted malaria and became terribly ill.
The group decided that he should rather return to Ohrigstad, accompanied by two Shangaan men. They did not get far before the fever overwhelmed the young man, and he succumbed to the illness, dying under a Marula tree. The two Shangaans went to find help at Albasini’s homestead, located at today’s Phabeni gate. Upon their return, they buried Pretorius near the large granite head and baptised the area Pretoriuskop.
Many historians, however, claim that the area was named after President MW Pretorius, who visited the area in 1865. Then, a group of historians questioned which of the three granite formations is the correct one. New research has proved that the large granite head northwest of the camp, currently known as Shabeni, was the true landmark that pointed out the route of early explorers and trekkers.
Dr Gerrit Haarhoff’s research, published in his book Forgotten tracks and trails of the eastern escarpment of the Lowveld, caused further controversy. During a speech he delivered at the Congress of South African Cultural History, he provided evidence that Pretoriuskop was named incorrectly from the onset. According to his research, the area belongs to the Shabeni tribe, and he argues that Pretoriuskop should revert to the original name, “Mntsobe”. The historian pointed out that this renaming would not be politically motivated but purely for historical accuracy. We stumbled upon several other theories around the Pretoriuskop name during our research, but this magazine does not have enough space to discuss each in detail. So, best to leave it there.
https://4x4afrika.com/2023/03/23/the-st ... PTr_vwrsG4
Let sleeping dogs lie 
