 Such was the regard in which he was held that he was later to be elected as the Member for Malmesbury in the Cape Parliament.Smuts's mother, born Catharina Petronella de Vries, was the sister of Boudewijn Homburg de Vries, the predikant of the nearby town of Riebeek West, some three miles (5 km) from Bovenplaats.The de Vries family originated from the area around Worcester, Cape Colony.