Doornbult Concentration Camp Memorial

The Orange River Concentration Camp at Doornbult near Hopetown is one of the most significant and best-preserved Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902) heritage sites in South Africa. Established by the British in 1901 to house Boer civilians whose farms were destroyed during the scorched-earth campaign, the site holds immense historical and archaeological value. A comprehensive 2005 survey documented 577 points across 360 hectares, including visible tent floor outlines, scattered artifacts (tin cans, bottles, buttons, pipes), stone lookout posts, and the formal cemetery with memorial plaques. The site has been recommended for National Heritage Site status. Owner Rina Wiid provides personal guided tours by appointment, sharing the moving stories of those interned here. The archaeological artifacts have remained remarkably undisturbed for over a century.