The Van Riebeeck Tercentenary Festival was the three hundred year anniversary of the landing at the Cape of Jan van Riebeeck and with it the founding of what would later lead to the Cape Colony and then the Union of South Africa. It was, together with the Simboliese Ossewatrek in 1938 and the inauguration of the Voortrekker Monument in 1949, one of the three biggest festivals in South Africa in the twentieth century. The festival's slogan was: "We are building a nation" and the central thought for the celebrations: "South Africa after three hundred years."
Background The Van Riebeeck Tercentenary Festival took the same form as the previous folk festivals when it received generous state support. The central festival committee was chaired by dr. Abraham van der Merwe, co-teacher of the Groote Kerk in Cape Town for almost 40 years, elected moderator five times in a row by the Cape Synod and chairman of the first General Synod in 1962. Local festivals all over the country had to prepare the way for the central celebration in Cape Town. Before this, mail coaches, drawn by teams of horses, from the corners of the country undertook long journeys to Cape Town.
The idea was taken from the Simboliese Ossewatrek when the bullock carts moved to Pretoria for the laying of the cornerstone of the Voortrekker Monument 14 years before. The prime minister, dr. D.F. Malan, opened the proceedings with the departure of the first coach at Ohrigstad, the farthest point where the Voortrekkers originally settled. Along the way, the different communities each held their own festival, but unlike in 1938, it also involved English speakers and not just Afrikaans speakers. In several places, colored communities also took their place in the celebrations.
References
Sources Böeseken, dr. A.J., Krüger, prof. D.W. en Kieser, dr. A. 1953. Drie eeue. Die verhaal van ons vaderland. Kaapstad: Nasionale Boekhandel. Sentrale Komitee van die Van Riebeeckfees (1952). 1952. Amptelike program van die Van Riebeeckfees (1952). Kaapstad: Sentrale Komitee van die Van Riebeeckfees (1952). Cape Times (red.). 1952. The Festival in Pictures / Die Fees in Beeld. Van Riebeeck Festival – Fees 1952. Cape Town: Cape Times Limited.