A small ceremony on an Island in Hamilton Harbour this morning will be marked down as a momentous event in the annals of South African history.

South African Ambassador to the United States Franklin Sonn will lay a wreath at the National Trust's Boer War Cemetery on Long Island.

And yesterday he warned that if the symbolism of the event was not grasped then everything was lost.

"Today is a symbolic day. It is significant far beyond the 30 or so graves of the South African patriots lying on the Island.

"If you understand the history of apartheid and Nelson Mandela then you will get a feeling of why this is such a momentous event.

"These are the graves of our patriots. It is very important and it needs to be taken very seriously. If people don't grasp the symbolism of this afternoon then everything is lost.'' Those patriots represented the South African regime of their time, he pointed out. They were the first revolutionaries while the South Africans who fought apartheid at a later date were the second revolutionaries.

The Ambassador said he had come to take ownership of the graves at Long Island along with the history they represented.

The people who lost their lives and were buried in Bermuda were heroes but that focus was often lost, said Ambassador Sonn.

OBITUARY OBT