Balju looks to me like a corruption of or variation on a Dutch word related to "baillie" or "bailiff" or some such word. Differences between legal systems could of course mean that the exact duties of the functionary so named could be very different and that a different word might be used in English. In Scotland a bailie is a kind of magistrate, while Baillie is the name of a Covenanting Minister of the 17th Century and of a 19th century poetess. The word comes from a French word meaning an open space within the walls of a castle (a certain style of early Norman castle in England is known as a "Mott and Bailey" castle, the Mott being the main defensive tower. These words are almost certainly related to each other, but in various ways. There is also the present-day surname Baillieu, which as it happens is the name of the present Premier of the State of Victoria and of the long-established firm of stockbrokers in Melbourne which involves some of his relatives. Balju seems closest Baillieu if you say it out loud. It all goes to show that spelling is a flexible matter and one should look past it to find the meaning and origin of a word. Sheriff is another interesting word of interesting origin -- it's from Arabic, via the various Muslim conquests in the Mediterranean. On 24 Sep 2011, at 9:48 AM, various people wrote (snips from the string): > Here is his gravestone. > > http://www.eggsa.org/library/main.php? > g2_itemId=1463486&g2_imageViewsIndex=1 > > I had never heard the term "balju" before today. > > Balju is the Afrikaans for Messenger of the Court or Sheriff.