TREGARDT, LOUIS
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Louis Tregardt [Swellendam district, August 10, 1783-Lourenço Marques (Maputo), October 25, 1838], a notable Voortrekker leader, was the eldest son of Carolus Johannes Tregardt and Anna Elisabeth Nel. Tregardt was the only Voortrekker leader who kept a diary of his travels.
PHOTO CAPTION: Louis Tregardt. SOURCE: EA Library.
The diary, preserved in the Transvaal archives, Pretoria, is regarded as a valuable source of philological and historical information. It also contains details regarding the Africans whom Tregardt encountered on his journey, and the geography of the Transvaal.
No portrait of Tregardt exists, and nothing is known of his youth and education. His diary, however, reveals him as an intelligent, observant, determined leader with wide interests.
He married Martha Elisabeth Susanna Bouwer (1795-1838) and settled in the Graaff-Reinet district in 1810. He farmed at various places in the Cape Colony before moving beyond the eastern frontier where he maintained friendly relations with the Galeka paramount chief, Hintsa (q.v.).
Dissatisfied with the British administration, Tregardt and his party trekked early in 1835 to the north, intent on eventually reaching the east coast, in Portuguese territory. At the end of May 1836 the Trekkers found themselves in the vicinity of the Soutpansberg in the Northern Transvaal where they remained till August 1837. Meanwhile malaria and cattle sickness began to take their toll. The threat of these diseases contributed to Tregardt’s decision to embark on the last, formidable stage of his journey to Lourenço Marques (Maputo).
Between the Trekkers and their destination lay the Drakensberg Mountain Range and the Olifants River, which they crossed no less than 13 times. The extremely hazardous journey came to an end on April 13, 1838, when Tregardt and 52 of his party reached Lourenço Marques. Men and animals were worn out by disease, and several Trekkers had already contracted malaria. Tregardt too fell victim to the dreaded fever and died on October 25, 1838. Twenty-eight survivors of the tragic trek returned to Port Natal in the ship Mazeppa in July 1839.
M.A. APPELGRYN
