Two of the Claimants

Stories abound about people who've tried to claim the Bantjes legacy over the last 130 years. And not all were named Bantjes.

Frederick Wiggett Breman, a senior officer in the Johannesburg police force, is believed to have staked a claim in 1900.

Cornelius Johannes Pieterse of Pietermaritzburg is said to have been another claimant. His claim was based on the fact that he was the grandson of a sister of the Voortrekker Jan Gerritz Bantjes.

Have you or anyone you know tried to claim the money? Are you related to any of the people listed here or do you know anything about them? Please get in touch, we'd love to hear from you.

Chess Players attributed to Henry Maull. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gilman Collection, Museum Purchase, 2005.