THE ZOUTPANSBERG PALMIETFONTEIN ESTATE AND GOLD MINING COMPANY, LIMITED - Pretoria, South African Republic (1889)

The Zoutpansberg Palmietfontein Estate and Gold Mining Company, Limited was the 289th company to be registered in the Transvaal Republic. It was registered in 1889 with a capital value of £250,000.

'This is to certify that G. E. J. Henny of Pretoria is the Registered Proprietor of One Hundred Shares, Nos. 90285 to 90384 inclusive. Given at Pretoria, S.A.R., this 30th day of April 1889.'

Signed by the Secretary and Directors.

The certificate was printed by Flavell, Brown & Co., Steam Printers, Pretoria and Johannesburg.

This share certificate is significant as it bears the signature of the Reverend S. J. du Toit in his capacity as one of the directors of the company. Du Toit made a fortune endorsing new mining ventures on the Witwatersrand by sitting on the boards of numerous companies. His name inspired confidence in investors as he was a famous and beloved religious leader, Superintendent of Education in President Paul Kruger's Transvaal Republic, and fighter for the Afrikaans language via his mouthpiece Di Afrikaanse Patrtiot - the first newspaper in the Afrikaans language. He was a strong and headstrong leader and these qualities ensured that he became part of the President's inner circle. Unfortunately these qualities also caused his downfall as an office bearer in the Republic as he frequently clashed with Kruger and his right-hand-man the State Secretary W. J. Leyds. By the year 1889, after returning from a holiday in Europe, he found out that he had lost everything with his business ventures as well as his position in the Government and subsequently returned to his home in the Paarl (Cape Colony) to continue his work as the leader of the First Afrikaans Language Movement.