KOOPMANS-DE WET, MARIA M

Maria Margaretha Koopmans-De Wet, (March 8, 1834-August 2, 1906) was a cultured woman, renowned as a hostess, patroness of the arts, and ardent patriot. She was often referred to as “the uncrowned queen of South Africa.” She was the elder daughter of a well-known Cape Town lawyer and doctor of law, Johannes De Wet, who was a member of the Cape Legislative Assembly for 15 years.

PHOTO CAPTION: Maria Margaretha Koopmans-De Wet. SOURCE: EA Library

Maria received an excellent education and became a fluent linguist with a knowledge of Dutch, English, French, German, and Italian. She was also an accomplished musician, painter and needlewoman. Owing to her father’s active role in public affairs the De Wet home was the venue of innumerable meetings and social gatherings. In this way, Maria met leading personalities and from an early age took a keen interest in the important political, cultural and social developments of the time. She was intensely conscious and proud of her Afrikaans nationality and heritage and was particularly interested in the history of the Voortrekkers and the fortunes of the republics they established.

In 1864 she married a Hollander, Johannes Christoffel Koopmans. He had come to South Africa as an officer in the German legion but, due to his proficiency in six languages, was soon appointed foreign correspondent in the general post office in Cape Town. When the latter post was later abolished as an economy measure, Koopmans became sergeant-at-arms to the Cape Legislative Assembly. After his early death in 1879, the devoted Maria wore mourning for the rest of her life.

She and her unmarried younger sister Margareta set up house in their deceased parents’ home at 23 Strand Street, Cape Town. Twice the sisters paid extensive visits to Europe and were received in exclusive circles in many countries. These tours gave Maria a new zest for life. She began collecting objets d’art and became determined to keep alive in her home the old Cape-Dutch tradition of gracious living and hospitality. To stimulate an interest in music and encourage young musicians, concerts of chamber music were held there. Important visitors from all over South Africa and overseas were welcomed to what became known as the “Strand Street Salon” and all bore testimony to the charm, stimulating intellect and warm hospitality of their hostess. Maria became acquainted with numerous well-known personages such as Cecil John Rhodes, while J.H. Hofmeyr and the four Boer presidents J.H. Brand, W.F. Reitz, S.J.P. Kruger and M.T. Steyn were numbered among her personal friends.

Due to her great interest in the group known as the Afrikaner Bond, Maria’s home was often referred to as the lobby of the Bond. She also worked for the establishment of the Afrikaanse Christlike Vroue Vereeniging (Afrikaans Christian Women’s Association), but withdrew her support when her suggestion to extend membership to all Christian women, including Catholics, was vetoed.

She advocated the preservation of national treasures and in 1886 agitated successfully against the demolition of the historic Castle of Good Hope. She also encouraged the planting of trees and the protection of indigenous flora. Her greatest interest was in education and in the advancement of the Afrikaans language. She and her sister established the De Wet fund to promote the training of clergy and the education of girls. They also provided the De Wet endowments from which the universities of Stellenbosch and Cape Town benefitted.

Advanced age did not deter Maria from the self-appointed task of assisting the Boer republics in every possible way during the South African War of 1899-1902. She drew up petitions and organised protest meetings against the deportation of Boer prisoners of war, the burning of farms, and the establishment of concentration camps. Her home became the main center for Boer relief work. She personally organised the channeling of gifts to prisoners of war and the concentration camps and dealt with all the correspondence involved. For her activities on behalf of the Boers she was placed under surveillance by the British authorities and her home was searched.

Cecil John Rhodes is reputed to have said of her: “She is a dangerous woman and I am more afraid of her than of the whole Afrikaner Bond,” while General J.B.M. Hertzog called her “South Africa’s most honourable woman.” One newspaper stated that if she had been a man she would have been prime minister of the Cape Colony. After her death in 1906 and her sister’s in 1911, their beautiful old Cape-Dutch home with its precious antiques became a famous cultural museum and was proclaimed a national monument in 1940.

L.E. VAN NIEKERK