Bernice van der Schyff: de la Rey
Posted on: Mon 14 May 2018
The Boer General who stirred up a hornet’s nest in modern day South Africa
General Jacobus Herculaas (Koos) de la Rey, known as the Lion of the West Transvaal, died in 1914. He is widely regarded as being one of the strongest military leaders during the Boer War. Why should a song written about him in 2006 cause unrest? While the song continues to be a best seller among South Africa’s 2.5 million Afrikaners, it’s also generating heated debate about what its success means. Bernice van der Schyff invites us to consider.
Producer Helen Meyer
Photo in Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons: Bearded Koos de la Rey in 1902.
