First Dorsland Trekkers depart for Angola

Background. The Dorsland Trek, or Thirstland Trek, was a series of explorations by Boer settlers from South Africa between 1874 and 1881. Participants, known as Dorslandtrekkers, originated from the Orange Free State and Transvaal. They sought political independence and improved living conditions, forming a community that spread across the Transvaal after the Great Trek.

Leadership. Gert Andries Jacobus Alberts, born in Swellendam in 1836, was elected leader of the first trek group. He departed from Pretoria on 27 May 1874. Sources disagree on when the group reached Lake Ngami: the Alberts biography records 29 April 1875, while the Dorsland Trek account places the arrival in September 1875, where the trekkers faced challenges with a local trader.

Journey. The first group, consisting of 10 families and 60 persons, trekked from the Pretoria district on 20 May 1874. They camped next to the Limpopo for a year before leaving the Transvaal in May 1875. Sources differ on the Lake Ngami arrival: 29 April 1875 per the Alberts biography versus September 1875 per the Dorsland Trek account. The group travelled with relatively little loss of cattle and people.