- Sarel Cilliers
Sarel Arnoldus Cilliers was a
Voortrekker leader and apreacher . WithAndries Pretorius , he led theBoers to a huge victory over theZulus at theBattle of Blood River in 1838. In particular, Cilliers lead the Voortrekkers in avow which promised that if God would protect them and deliver the enemy into their hands, they would build achurch and that the day of their victory would be commemorated as if it were a Sunday by them and their descendants.He was a prominent member of the "Gereformeerde Kerk" (Reformed Church), an offshoot of the
Dutch Reformed Church . He is described as being a short, stout man, and was believed to have been very religious. He joined theGreat Trek at the age of thirty-five. [ [http://www.ourcivilisation.com/smartboard/shop/ransford/chap4.htm Potgieter: Chapter 4 of 'The Great Trek' ] ]The town of
Kroonstad was, according tofolklore , named after ahorse belonging to Cilliers, which drowned in a stream (Kroonspruit) where the town is situated.There is a Sarel Cilliers Museum as well as a statue of him (on the site of the Dutch Reformed Church) in Kroonstad. Numerous
street s androad s in Kroonstad and throughout South Africa are named after him.The Cillier Name
The progenitor of the Cillier name in the region was a French Huguenot refugee named Josué Cellier from Orléans France who arrived in the Cape in 1700. ref|france Other variations of the name include: Celliers / Cillie / Celliers and Sellier.
References
*Ces Francais Qui Ont Fait L'Afrique Du Sud. Translation: The French People Who Made South Africa. [http://www.amazon.fr/dp/2841000869 Bernard Lugan. January 1996. ISBN 2841000869']
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