The Genootskap vir Regte Afrikaanders (Society for Real Afrikaners) was formed on Saturday August 14 1875 in the town of Paarl by a group of Afrikaans speakers from the Western Cape region. It published a journal in Afrikaans called "Die Patriot" ("The Patriot") as well as a number of books, including grammars, dictionaries, religious material and histories.

Arnoldus Pannevis , a teacher, is generally considered to be the spiritual father of the society. He had observed that most of the South Africans from Dutch descent could not speak the "pure" form of their original mother tongue anymore. In the course of its (then) 200 year old history, the language of the immigrants from the Netherlands had been thoroughly changed by the influence of other European immigrants, indigenous tribes such as the Khoikhoi (Hottentots) and especially the (so-called) Cape Malays.

The actual founding members were Gideon Malherbe , CP Hoogenhout , DF du Toit (nicknamed Dokter, i.e. "Doctor"), DF du Toit (nicknamed Oom Lokomotief, i.e. "Uncle Locomotive"), his brother SJ du Toit , August Ahrbeck , Petrus Malherbe and SG du Toit . Everybody except Hoogenhout and Arbeck were related.