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The Groottrek Gedenkteken (Great Trek Memorial) in Fauresmith, Free State, was erected in 1938 to commemorate the centenary of the Great Trek, the mass migration of Dutch-speaking settlers (Voortrekkers) from the Cape Colony into the interior of South Africa in the 1830s and 1840s. The monument is part of a broader wave of Afrikaner nationalist memorials built around the same period, including the Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria, which was also inaugurated in 1938. The year 1938 was marked by symbolic ox-wagon re-enactments of the trek, which culminated in the laying of foundation stones for many local monuments across the country. Fauresmith itself is one of the oldest towns in the Free State, founded in 1848 on the farm Rietfontein. It was named after two figures: Reverend Phillip Faure, a Dutch Reformed Church minister, and Sir Harry Smith, then governor of the Cape Colony. The town is situated in the southern Free State and has a history tied to the Boer republics, the Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902), and early frontier settlement. The memorial likely stands in a public space or near a church, reflecting the commemorative culture of the era. Specific details about the exact design, inscription, or current condition of the Groottrek Gedenkteken in Fauresmith are not widely documented in standard heritage records. However, such monuments typically feature a stone obelisk or a simple plinth with an Afrikaans inscription referencing the Voortrekkers and the centenary year. The site is not listed as a national heritage site under the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) in commonly available registers, but it remains a local landmark of historical interest within the town's broader heritage landscape. Contextually, the 1938 centenary celebrations were a pivotal moment in the rise of Afrikaner nationalism, which later influenced the political landscape leading to the 1948 election and apartheid. Memorials like this one were often erected by local communities, church groups, or cultural organisations such as the Afrikaner-Broederbond or the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie, and they served to reinforce a specific historical narrative among Afrikaner communities in rural towns like Fauresmith.

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