Winburg Voortrekker monument, Concrete monument near Winburg, South Africa

The Winburg Voortrekker Monument is a set of five sculptural concrete pillars on a hill on the farm Rietfontein just south of Winburg. The white concrete was cast in sections using rough wooden formwork. The pillars' upward curves and the layout of the group carry the monument's symbolism.

In the 1930s Winburg vied with Bloedrivier for the central Voortrekker memorial, but a 1936 conference chose Pretoria by 14 votes to 12, agreeing that the Free State could raise a smaller monument. A 1964 design competition drew 36 entries and was won by Hans Hallen and M. Dibb of Durban. The five pillars recall the trek parties of Louis Trichardt, Hendrik Potgieter, Gerrit Maritz, Piet Retief and Pieter Uys.

The five pillars stand for the five Great Trek parties led by Louis Trichardt, Hendrik Potgieter, Gerrit Maritz, Piet Retief and Pieter Uys. The curving pillars rise like ox horns and also suggest the trek's drive upward toward higher ideals and the civilisation of the interior. A water basin links the pillars by five channels, standing for the Trekkers' faith.

The monument is accessible via pathways and the central cenotaph can be viewed from all sides. The best time for photographs is around midday when sunlight illuminates the interior spaces and carved inscriptions most clearly.

The monument was chosen for a hill on the farm Rietfontein just south of Winburg, partly for practical reasons: it could be watched over from town, reached from the highway and supplied with water from the Rietfontein dam. A nature garden and open-air museum were envisaged around it.