Bloemhof

Bloemhof
Bloemhof
	Bloemhof railway station
	Bloemhof Bloemhof
	Coordinates: 27°39′0″S 25°35′24″E / 27.65000°S 25.59000°E
Country	South Africa
Province	North West
District	Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati
Municipality	Lekwa-Teemane; Mayor Sebang Motlhabi
Established	1864
Area
• Total	47.33 km2 (18.27 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• Total	2,339
• Density	49/km2 (130/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
• Black African	26.5%
• Coloured	7.0%
• Indian/Asian	4.2%
• White	61.9%
• Other	0.4%
First languages (2011)
• Afrikaans	72.1%
• Tswana	7.4%
• English	7.3%
• Sotho	4.1%
• Other	8.9%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)	2660
PO box	2660
Area code	053

Bloemhof is an agricultural town of about 2,000 inhabitants situated on the banks of the Vaal River in North West Province of South Africa.

History

It was founded in August 1864 when diamonds were discovered in the area.^[4] The town was established on the farm owned by John Barclay, who survived the shipwreck of HMS Birkenhead in 1852. Like Bloemfontein, the place is named after Jan Bloem II^[5] (also known as Blumtseb or !Xāskx'aob) who was the right hand to the chief of the ǀŨdiǁʼais (Springbok clan) of the !Orakuana ("Korana") nation. In June 1869, the South African Republic's Volksraad created a new district called Bloemhof named after the town itself.^[4] Currently Bloemhof has a variety of social milieus; it has a township called Boitumelong and former coloured residence called Coverdale. Salamat is also a small residence, formerly an Indian suburb, which is situated in this town.

Notable people

Lieutenant-General Willem Louw (24 November 1920 – 4 July 1980) was a South African military commander. He joined the South African Army in the Special Service Battalion in 1938.
Moosa Moolla (12 June 1934) TIC activist, member of COP National Secretariat, Treason trialist, 90 day detainee, MK and ANC member, editor of Spotlight, ANC Chief Representative in India, head of the ANC's Egypt and Middle East mission and the ANC representative on the Permanent Secretariat of the Afro-Asian Peoples Solidarity Organisation, recipient of the National Award, The Order of Luthuli, in Silver
Juan-Philip Smith (born 30 March 1994) is a South African rugby union player for the Seattle Seawolves in Major League Rugby in the United States.
Monnapule Saleng Orlando Pirates super star was born and bred in Bloemhof.

Education

Bloemhof Combined School
Bloemhof primary School
Boitumelong primary School
Gaopalelwe Senior Secondary School
Matlhajaneng Public Primary School
Thamagane Primary School
Thuto-Lore Secondary school
Tshenolo Primary School
Vaaloewer Combined School

Tourist attractions

References

^ Robson, Linda Gillian (2011). "Annexure A" (PDF). The Royal Engineers and settlement planning in the Cape Colony 1806–1872: Approach, methodology and impact (PhD thesis). University of Pretoria. pp. xlv–lii. hdl:2263/26503.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Main Place Bloemhof". Census 2011.
^ ^a ^b Bloemhof SP from Census 2011.
^ ^a ^b Theal, George McCall (1889). History of South Africa: the republics and native territories from 1854 to 1872. London: S. Sonnenschein & co. p. 230.
^ Ingligting (4 November 2018). "Bloemhof". Supertaal. Retrieved 11 October 2024.

[established-1] Robson, Linda Gillian (2011). "Annexure A" (PDF). The Royal Engineers and settlement planning in the Cape Colony 1806–1872: Approach, methodology and impact (PhD thesis). University of Pretoria. pp. xlv–lii. hdl:2263/26503.

[census2011-2] "Main Place Bloemhof". Census 2011.

[c2011-3] Bloemhof SP from Census 2011.

[Theal01-4] Theal, George McCall (1889). History of South Africa: the republics and native territories from 1854 to 1872. London: S. Sonnenschein & co. p. 230.

[5] Ingligting (4 November 2018). "Bloemhof". Supertaal. Retrieved 11 October 2024.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]