Dirk Postma

Dirk Postma (Dokkum, Friesland, the Netherlands, 10 January 1818 – Burgersdorp, 28 December 1890) was the first minister in the Reformed Church in South Africa and the founder and first professor of the Church’s theological school in Burgersdorp, in the Eastern Cape, the forerunner of the Theological School and University in Potchefstroom.

His biographer, Dr. G.C.P. Van der Vyver, wrote in 1958 in the only comprehensive biography published (as of 2025) on Postma, that he “was a deeply devout, sincerely pious man who recognized 'God's Providence' in all things and therefore continually wrestled in prayer for God’s counsel and guidance. Strongly warmhearted by nature, he walked and communed with the Lord as a Friend and Counselor. And it is precisely this faith and relationship with God that gave a steadfastness to his character which left a deep impression on his contemporaries.”

Postma is the South African patriarch of the remarkable Postma family, which has contributed in many areas and continues to do so today. He was married five times, three times in the Netherlands and twice in South Africa, and outlived all his wives except the last. From these marriages, 20 children were born, of whom five did not reach adulthood. Among the children who gained prominence were, Petrus Postma, a Reformed minister in Pretoria, and chaplain to Paul Kruger; Martinus, the first Reformed minister on the Witwatersrand; Dirk Jr., a Reformed minister, writer and church historian; Stephanus, a Reformed minister and theologian; and Willem, a Reformed minister also known by his pen name Dr. O'kulis.

Postma is one of only three ministers in the Afrikaner churches to have had five sons who also became ministers. The other two, both belonging to the Dutch Reformed Church (NGK), are Andrew Murray and Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr.