Wolraad Woltemade An South African Hero 1708-1773 For the 'Hero's' competition at 3DCOMMUNE This was my second entry, no winning or placement, but the honor I had in doing this image was firstclass to me (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolraad_Woltemade) ''In the very early morning of 1 June, 1773 (early winter in the southern hemisphere), sailing ship, De Jonge Thomas, was driven ashore in a gale on a sand bar at the mouth of the Salt River in Table Bay. Many lives were lost as the ship started to break up but a substantial number of survivors were left clinging to the hull. The stricken ship was not too far from dry land and many sailors attempted to swim ashore. Most of those who did so perished; the water was cold and the current from the nearby Salt River too great. Apart from the very strongest swimmers, those who struck for the shore were carried out to sea. As he reached the beach, Wolraad was filled with pity for the sailors marooned aboard the wreck. Seeing that nothing could be done by those on the beach, He mounted his horse and urged the animal into the sea. As they approached the wreck Woltemade turned the horse and called for two men to jump into the sea and grasp the horse's tail. After a moment's hesitation two men threw themselves into the water, whereupon Woltemade urged the horse forward and dragged them to shore. Wolraad rode out seven times, bringing back fourteen men. By this time he and his horse were exhausted but at that moment, as they rested, the ship began to collapse. Wolraad once more urged his horse into the water but by now the desperation amongst the sailors was tremendous. Seeing this as probably their last chance to escape, before the ship was destroyed, six men plunged into the sea, grabbing at the horse. Their weight was too much for the exhausted steed; all were dragged below the waves and drowned. Woltemade's body was found the next day. His horse was called 'Fleur'. Of the 191 souls on board, only 53 survived and of these 14 were saved by Woltemade. Woltemade immediately became a hero. The Dutch East India Company provided amply for his widow and children. A suburb of Cape Town is named after him. The Union of South Africa King's Medal for Bravery, instituted in 1939, bore a depiction of Woltemade's heroic act on its obverse. In 1970 the Woltemade Decoration for Bravery was instituted as the highest civilian decoration for bravery in South Africa. This was replaced in 1988 by the Woltemade Cross for Bravery. The Woltemade Cross was discontinued in 2002, as part of the move towards establishing a new South African honours system, following the advent of majority rule."") (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolraad_Woltemade) More http://www.christianaction.org.za/articles/wolraadwoltemade.htm Rendered in Bryce 6 with Coral photopaint for postwork! Thank you for viewing and for any comments that you may care to leave.