March 2011 for web.indd - OVK

fruit. Aspa ra gus once was one of the main crops and
many farmers are planting apple trees.
The town and district is renowned for the sand stone
forma tions. Many of the older buildings in and around
town were built with sandstone.
Some of the country’s most important buildings,
including the Union Buildings in Pretoria, were built from
sandstone originating in Ficksburg and surrounding
areas. From the early 1800s sandstone has been hewn
from quarries to be used for building.
Famous architects, including Sir Herbert Baker, even
planned buildings around sandstone. Al though the number
of craftsmen who are able to work in sandstone is
dwindling rapidly, there remain a few people who still
practise this craft.
The tallest sandstone structure in the world, an old mill
which is no longer in use, was built at Gumtree, a small
settlement just outside Ficks burg. In 1885 sandstone
was used architectu rally for the first time in a bay window
which can still be seen at what is now known as
McBride’s House.
Three outstanding examples of sandstone architecture,
the town hall, the old magistrates’ court and the old
post office – all national monu ments – are situated on
the town square.
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The town hall was built in 1887, the old magi strates’
court in 1899 and the old post office in 1907. The town
hall was used by the British during the Anglo Boer War
as a church and after that as a hos pital during the
deadly flu epidemic of 1918.
In front of the town hall general and Mrs. Fick’s remains
are buried at the foot of a monument commemorating
the man after whom Ficksburg is named.
The Setsoto municipality’s offices are situated in a building
on the western side of the town square which was
built in the early 1970’s as the head office for the hail and
crop insurance com pany, Sentra oes Co-operative (Pty)
Ltd (later known as Agri Risk Spe cialists and located in
Bloemfontein).
Some time after ARS relocated, the municipality purchased
the com plex, which is a piece of Ficksburg history
and a building which can hold its own with any impressive
office block in any city.
One of the most impressive buil dings in Ficksburg is
the historic Ne derduits Gereformeerde Kerk, which was
consecrated on 12 April 1907. Shortly after the arrival of
Rev. J.D. Kestell, who had served as chaplain to gen. C.
J. de Wet during the Anglo-Boer War, it was decided to
build a church as a monument honouring the Boers who
had died during the war. The plans and spe ci fica tions for
the church were drawn up by an architect, Mr. W. Donald-
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