Woltemade Cross for Bravery, Gold
| Woltemade Cross for Bravery, Gold | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Awarded by the State President | |
| Country |
  South Africa
|
| Type | Civil decoration for bravery |
| Eligibility | South African citizens and others |
| Awarded for | Acts of outstanding bravery |
| Status | Discontinued in 2002 |
| Post-nominals | WD |
| Statistics | |
| Established | 1988 |
| Pre-1994 & post-2002 orders of wear | |
| Next (higher) |
Pre-1994 precedence:
|
| Next (lower) |
Pre-1994 succession:
Post-2002 succession:
|
 Ribbon bar |
|
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The Woltemade Cross for Bravery, Gold, post-nominal letters WD, is the senior of two classes of a South African civil decoration for acts of bravery. It replaced the Union of South Africa King's Medal for Bravery, Gold, Union of South Africa Queen's Medal for Bravery, Gold and Woltemade Decoration for Bravery, Gold, all of which ranked on par with each other and the award of which had been discontinued in 1952, 1961 and 1988 respectively.
The Woltemade Cross for Bravery, Gold, post-nominal letters WD, was instituted by Warrant of 16 September 1988, published in Government Gazette no. 11519 dated 30 September 1988.
It is the senior of two classes of South Africa's highest civilian decoration for bravery and it replaced the Woltemade Decoration for Bravery, Gold.
The cross was named in memory of Wolraad Woltemade, an elderly servant of the Dutch East India Company, who gave his life while rescuing shipwrecked sailors in Table Bay on 1 June 1773. The ship De Jonge Thomas broke anchor in a gale force Northwestern and was driven ashore in the Salt River Mouth. Woltemade rode his horse into the sea seven times and brought surviving sailors ashore each time, but on the eighth excursion Woltemade and his exhausted horse were overladen by panic-stricken sailors and drowned.
The Woltemade Cross for Bravery, Gold could be awarded to South African citizens who have distinguished themselves by outstanding bravery, by placing their own lives in great danger whilst trying to save the life of another person, or by saving or protecting property belonging to the state, within or beyond the borders of the Republic of South Africa. The cross could also be awarded to non-citizens who have distinguished themselves in this manner, by placing their own lives in great danger whilst trying to save the life of a South Africa citizen, or by saving or protecting property belonging to the state, within or beyond the borders of the Republic of South Africa.
The position of the Woltemade Cross for Bravery, Gold in the official national order of precedence was revised three times after 1990 to accommodate the inclusion or institution of new decorations and medals, first with the integration process of 1994, again when decorations and medals were belatedly instituted in April 1996 for the two former non-statutory para-military forces, the Azanian People's Liberation Army and Umkhonto we Sizwe, and again with the institution of new sets of awards in 2002 and 2003. The position of the cross only changed in 1996.
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