Oom Paul Sleeping

They do say that Rustenburg is the place of rest, hence its name directly translated Rest Mountains, but to find a statue of Paul Kruger sleeping, or as he is affectionately known as Oom Paul, was interesting.

After a bit of digging up on the interwebs, I found that this is a statue of a Dejected Leader by French artist Jean Archand who was greatly moved by tragic of the Transvaal Republic and Oom Paul. After it was discovered in Paris it was brought to South Africa by Generals Jan Smuts and Louis Botha in 1919 but was deemed too small for Pretoria’s Church Square and was donated to Rustenburg, Oom Paul’s home town.

On Fathers'Day and with the longest ever strike in South Africa, the platinum Miners’ Strike, just about over maybe Oom Paul would be dejected. Uhmm, I prefer Oom Paul sleeping under a tree on his farm with all his great grand children playing at his feet under the shadow of the majestic mountains towering over the sleepy hollow of a town called Rustenburg.