Church Square and the Slave Tree

Look at the white church with the bell tower. This is the Groote Kerk, the ‘Great Church’, home of the oldest Christian congregation in South Africa. The present building dates from 1841, but beneath its floor lie figures from the colony's early days. Among them is the man from the previous stop: Governor Noodt was buried here on 30 April 1729.

1The tree that is no longer there

Now look down at the traffic island in Spin Street. A plaque in the paving, worn by countless feet, says that the old Slave Tree stood on this spot. For generations people have said that enslaved people were auctioned beneath its branches. The tree, a large pine, was cut down in 1916 and its stump disappeared when the street was widened.

In 2019 the historian Lalou Meltzer concluded that there is no conclusive evidence of auctions under this tree, although slaves were certainly sold in the town. The link belongs to popular memory.

The city's own heritage guides also note that enslaved people waited in this square while their owners attended church.

2The memorial

In 2008 the eleven black granite blocks you see were unveiled, the work of Gavin Younge and Wilma Cruise. They are engraved with the names of enslaved people, of ships and with words linked to resistance. Every year on the night of 30 November a commemorative walk sets out from here: it marks 1 December 1834, when slavery was abolished in the colony, although full freedom did not come until 1838.

3What to look for

• The tree plaque in Spin Street, now almost illegible.
• The granite blocks and the words carved into them.
• The tree sculpture by Spin Street, recalling the one that is gone.