Brandfort Concentration Camp - Brandfort, Free State

The Brandfort Concentration Camp Memorial Site commemorates one of the many concentration camps established by the British during the South African War of 1899–1902. It lies near Brandfort in the central Free State, about 60 km north-east of Bloemfontein, in an area whose quiet farming landscape gives little indication of the tragic events that took place here more than a century ago.

The Brandfort camp was established in early 1901 as part of the British policy of concentrating Boer civilians in camps after farms were cleared during the war. Many of the people brought to Brandfort were women and children from surrounding districts, including Bultfontein and Hoopstad. Initially, some families lived in wagons or among the town's buildings, but by August 1901 the camp population had largely been moved into tents.

The camp was known as Dwyersdorp, after Captain Dwyer, a British officer who was regarded as sympathetic towards the imprisoned Boer families. Conditions were difficult, with overcrowding, inadequate food and poor sanitation contributing to illness and death. A separate camp for Black South Africans, known as Nooitgedacht, operated nearby, reflecting the racial segregation imposed even within the wartime camp system.

The cemetery is the most tangible surviving reminder of the Brandfort camp. It contains the graves of 1,263 women and children who died during the period, with children making up the overwhelming majority. The cemetery was formally opened as a memorial in 1962 and was later declared a heritage site.

A particularly poignant memorial is the white angel and cross near the Dutch Reformed Church in Brandfort, erected in remembrance of those who died in the camps. The wider memorial landscape also reminds visitors that the war affected Black communities as well as Boer families, an aspect of the conflict that was long overlooked.

Today, the site offers a sobering opportunity to reflect on the human cost of the South African War. For visitors exploring the Free State's historical landscape, Brandfort provides an important connection to a difficult period in the country's past, when warfare, displacement, disease and civilian suffering profoundly changed communities across the province.

Location:  28°42'38.7"S 26°28'23.1"E   -28.710734290946426, 26.473051969652925
Please note:  There is a high probability this site is not open to the public

To confirm: Please try the Free State Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation – Museum and Heritage Services
Director - Museum and Heritage Services: Vincent Khetha
Tel: 051 410 4829
Email: khethav@sacr.fs.gov.za