Boom van Sameswering, Onze Rust, Bloemfontein

The so-called Tree of Conspiracy stands on the farm Onze Rust, and once belonged to Marthinus Steyn, the last President of the Free State, who bought the land in 1897, and settled here in 1905, after his return from Europe. The tree is reputed to have been one of the president's favourite places of repose but, sadly, no conspiracy plots were ever concocted beneath its spreading boughs. Its declaration as a national monument, therefore, only serves to mark the folly of the former National Monument's Council, whose declarations also celebrated old tree stumps, holes in the ground, and the holiday homes of retired politicians. It was declared a National Monument under old NMC legislation on 24 November 1950.