Both Moerdyk's parents were
Dutch immigrants, who moved to
South Africa in 1888. During the
Second Boer War (1899–1902) Gerard Moerdyk (then aged 10) was interned in the
Standerton concentration camp with his mother, two brothers and two sisters. After the war, the family lived in
Pretoria where Gerard went to the forerunner of
Pretoria Boys High School. He matriculated with honours in 1909 and qualified as an
architect at the
Architectural Association in
England. He also studied in
France for a while and was exposed to classical
Roman and
Renaissance architecture in
Italy. Moerdyk was the first
South African to be an Associate of the
Royal Institute of British Architects. Moerdyk returned to
South Africa in 1913 and received first prize for the design of a church in
Bothaville. He started his own practice and received more than eighty commissions to design churches. In his designs Moerdyk broke with the traditional
crucifix plan, and replaced it with an octagonal formation, and incorporated domes, crescent-shaped windows and
Cape Dutch gables. Another Church, the Nederduitse Hervormde Kerk, was designed in 1935. He was a member of the
Afrikaner Broederbond He also designed several bank buildings, hospitals, houses and city halls. Commissioned works for which he is famous is the Reserve Bank building in
Bloemfontein, the Libertas building in Pretoria (now known as
Mahlamba Ndlopfu) and the Merensky Library at the
University of Pretoria. This last building, now known as the
Old Merensky Library – since a new library has been built – houses the
Edoardo Villa Museum with the leading collection of sculptures by the artist
Eduardo Villa. . The foundation stone for this building was laid in 1937 by
General Jan Smuts, then
Prime Minister of
South Africa. In 1991 it was declared a National Monument. It was later redesignated a
provincial heritage site and in 2012 became a
national heritage site.
Voortrekker Monument The
Voortrekker Monument on Proclamation Hill at the southern outskirts of
Pretoria is considered to be Moerdyk's masterpiece. He was a
South African Freemason. The Central "Volks" (People's) Monuments Committee started a "Structure Committee" which approached the public in 1936 for suggestions about the contents and form of a monument. Several sketches from sculptors, architects and other artists were submitted. Moerdyk's design was eventually chosen. E.C Pienaar and A.d. Bouman designed the sculptural
laager, or ring of ox-wagons, around the monument. The South African Academy for Arts and Science awarded Moerdyk an honorary membership in 1936 and in 1950 the
University of South Africa awarded him an
honorary doctorate. ==Legacy==