Gert Maritz (41), Voortrekker leader, dies.

Photo: Jackie Grobler Collection

Date: 23 Sep 1838
Updated: 23 Sep 2026

On 23 September 1838 Gerhardus Marthinus (Gert) Maritz, Voortrekker leader, died at Sooilaer, in Natal (now kwaZulu Natal), he was 41 years old. The Great Trek in South Africa started in 1835 when over a three year period more then 12,000 Boers (farmers) left the Cape Colony. They trekked (moved) into the interior by ox wagon, in search of land where they would be free and beyond British control. Gert Maritz, along with Piet Retief was one of the leaders that advocated a migration as early as 1834, but the Great trek 'officially' began in 1835 when separate parties crossed the Orange River and headed towards the Transvaal.

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How we know this

01Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau
02The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations. (2000) The History of South Africa. Greenwood Press: Westport, Conn and London

Last updated · 23 Sep 2026

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2011, March 16). Gert Maritz (41), Voortrekker leader, dies.. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010956

South African History Online (2011) 'Gert Maritz (41), Voortrekker leader, dies.', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010956 (Accessed: 4 October 2026).

South African History Online, Gert Maritz (41), Voortrekker leader, dies. [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010956, (accessed 4 October 2026).

"Gert Maritz (41), Voortrekker leader, dies.." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010956. Accessed 4 Oct. 2026.

South African History Online. "Gert Maritz (41), Voortrekker leader, dies.." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0010956.