The Eerste Pastorie was built in 1850 in the newly formed town of Winburg in the Orange Free State of South Africa. It was a house built for the Dutch Reformed Church's Pastor or Predikant (the Dutch word for leader, in this instance Church Leader and is abbreviated as “ds" before his name).
Eerste Pastorie Today (Grant Hendrey)
In 1848 regular church services started being held in Winburg and the Church Council authorized the building of a church. A Pastor, ds Dirk Van Velden, was appointed and he was to arrive in Winburg in September 1850 from Holland.
ds Dirk van Velden
At the May 1850 Church Council meeting, the building of a house for ds Van Velden was tabled. It was to be built with the best building materials and with a roof of Tambookie grass. The house was built with 50 loads of stone and 40 000 bricks. Yellowwood planks and trusses were brought from the Cape by oxcart for the floors and roof. Unfortunately for Van Velden, when he arrived the house was not complete and he and his wife with 5 children...
