FAIR TO BLOODY, 'n blik op dr. Petronella van Heerden (1887-1975)

20pp., illus., paperback, Imprimatur, Pretoria, 2024

ISBN: 9781037011740

A brief introduction to the life of Anna Petronella van Heerden, the first Afrikaner woman to qualify as a medical doctor. An archaeologist, socialist, suffragette and politician, she was a member of the Women's Enfranchisement League, served on the main committee of the Cape National Party (1924), and was active in the dispute over a national flag (1925-1927).

Born in Bethlehem, Orange Free State, she completed her medical degree at the University of Amsterdam (1908-1915) and served as an intern at the Volkshuishospitaal in Bloemfontein (1916). She had her own practice in Harrismith from 1917, and served in the South African medical corps during World War II. She went on to specialise in gynaecology in London (1921), completed her PhD in Amsterdam (1923), and practiced as a gynaecologist in Cape Town. After retiring from her practice in 1942, she farmed cattle on her farm Grootfontein outside Harrismith for many years. She is the author of two autobiographical texts, Kerssnuitels (1962) and Die sestiende koppie (1965), as well as other works, including Waarom ek ‘n sosialis is (1938) and Dames XVII (1969).

Text in Afrikaans.

Dr Johann Lodewyk Marais is a research fellow in the Department of Historical and Heritage Studies at the University of Pretoria. He is the author of 15 poetry collections, including Die somer is ’n dag oud (1985 Ingrid Jonker Prize) and Diorama (2012 South African Literature Award for Poetry) and several works of non-fiction, the latest of which is Koning Shaka: Van skakerings guys tot fassinering (2024).