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| The original farm house |
Danielsrust was settled on by Daniel Jacobus Oosthuizen in 1838.
He owned several thousand hectares of land stretching from here to nearly Broederstroom . He married Anna Sussana du Toit and together they settled on Danielsrust in 1861.
They had 5 sons, the eldest being General Sarel Oosthuizen, who served in the
Anglo-Boer War.
They had 4 daughters and the youngest daughter was Elizabeth Catharina. She married Johannes Wilhelmus van der Merwe who originally came from Ceres in the Cape.
They had 7 children... The 4th eldest son, Sarel Francois, was the present day owner, Pieter’s, father and Darrell’s grandfather.
During the second Anglo-Boer war, Elizabeth Oosthuizen was captured and placed in a Concentration camp. The houses on the farm were burnt down and were eventually rebuilt in 1901 when they returned to their land.
The house that Pieter and Gail van der Merwe live in today is the original house and is now 107 years old. It still has the original corrugated iron on the roof as well as yellowwood rafters and floors.
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| The school house |
The buildings that are used as sheds today was the local Primary School which Sarel Francois van der Merwe attended.
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| The kiln |
The Tobacco Kiln was used to dry tobacco about 70 years ago. It has now been converted into rustic overnight accommodation.
Daniel Jacobus Oosthuizen, his wife Anna Susanna as well as Sarel Francois van der Merwe and his wife Kathleen Mary are buried in the cemetery on the farm.
There are also many graves of children who died in the ‘flu epidemic in 1915, as well as other family members who stayed on the adjacent farms.
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| The graveyard |
There are also stone markers with no names on, where the soldiers who fought in the Battle of Dwarsvlei are buried. This battle endeavoured to keep the British Forces from moving west after they had occupied Krugersdorp. It was in this battle in which General Sarel Oosthuizen was wounded and succumbed to his wounds a couple of months later.
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| One of Danielsrust's beautiful horses |
The farm has changed from a dairy farm originally, to a commercial cattle and sheep farm and now a game farm. The decision to convert to a game farm was heavily influenced by the whole area being declared The Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site. One of the best ways to experience the game farm is on one of our horse trails.
Today, Pieter and Gail van der Merwe live on Danielsrust as well as Darrell, Michelle Dylan and Kerryn.
