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Piet De Wet
Pieter Daniël de Wet (18 August 1861 – 27 February 1929) was a Boer general in the Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902) and a younger brother of Boer general and politician Christiaan de Wet. Piet de Wet participated in the Battle of Poplar Grove (7 March 1900), the Battle of Sanna's Post (Sannaspos, 31 March 1900) for the waterworks there, and defeated the 13th Battalion Imperial Yeomanry at Lindley (31 May 1900). In July 1900, he surrendered to the British at Kroonstad, Orange Free State. He became a prominent member of the National Scouts helping the British in the last years of the Boer War. Early career De Wet was born at the farm Nuwejaarsfontein in Dewetsdorp as one of the fourteen children of Jacobus Ignatius de Wet (13 July 1823, Boonjieskraal, Caledon, Western Cape – 1891, Dewetsdorp) and Aletta Susanna Margaretha Strydom (28 February 1828, Caledon – 16 May 1870, Dewetsdorp). With his older brother Christiaan he left the Orange Free State in 1879 for the Heidel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dewetsdorp
Dewetsdorp is a small town in the Free State (province), Free State province of South Africa, 68 km south-east of Bloemfontein. The town was set up, without approval of the Volksraad of the South African Republic, Volksraad, by field-cornet Jacobus de Wet, father of the Boer War, Second Anglo-Boer War general Christiaan de Wet. Eventually recognized officially, the town became a municipality and named De Wet in 1890. General Christian de Wet successfully attacked English forces stationed there in November 1900. It was laid out on the farm Kareefontein in 1876 and at first bore this name. Applications to the Volksraad in 1876 for the establishment of a village failed, but another request in 1879 led to recognition in 1880 under the name Dewetsdorp. Municipal status was attained in 1890. Dewetsdorp was the scene of heavy fighting in the Second Anglo-Boer War. In 1927, three officials died when the town hall was blown up by one Huibrecht Jacob de Leeuw in an attempt to cover up e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heidelberg, Gauteng
Heidelberg is a town with 35,500 inhabitants in the Gauteng province of South Africa at the foot of the Suikerbosrand next to the N3 highway, which connects Johannesburg and Durban. History Heidelberg began in 1862 as a trading station built by a German, Heinrich Julius Ueckermann. A town was laid out around the store and named after Ueckermann's alma mater. In 1866, the District of Heidelberg was created from the eastern portion of the Potchefstroom district with its own ''landdroost'' (magistrate) having been laid out as a churchplace in 1865. Heidelberg is some 50 kilometres south-east of Johannesburg, close to the Mpumalanga border. Just south of the town is the De Hoek toll plaza on the newest section of the N3, which opened in December 2001. Heidelberg sits nestled at the eastern end of the Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve, a large tract of land that is home to Gauteng's highest point, almost 2,000 metres above sea level. Heidelberg has played an important part in South Afr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts
Field Marshal Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts, (30 September 1832 – 14 November 1914) was a British Victorian era general who became one of the most successful British military commanders of his time. Born in India to an Anglo-Irish family, Roberts joined the East India Company Army and served as a young officer in the Indian Rebellion during which he was awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry. He was then transferred to the British Army and fought in the Expedition to Abyssinia and the Second Anglo-Afghan War, in which his exploits earned him widespread fame. Roberts would go on to serve as the Commander-in-Chief, India before leading British Forces for a year during the Second Boer War. He also became the last Commander-in-Chief of the Forces before the post was abolished in 1904. A man of small stature, Roberts was affectionately known to his troops and the wider British public as "Bobs" and revered as one of Britain's leading military figures at a time whe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colesberg
Colesberg is a town with 17,354 inhabitants in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, located on the main N1 road from Cape Town to Johannesburg. In a sheep-farming area spread over half-a-million hectares, greater Colesberg breeds many of the country's top merinos. It is also renowned for producing high-quality racehorses and many stud farms, including one owned by renowned golfer, Gary Player, are nearby. History Founded in 1830 on an abandoned station of the London Missionary Society, and initially named Toverberg after a nearby hill, it was renamed Colesberg after Sir Galbraith Lowry Cole, then Governor of the Cape Colony. The site of the town lay on one of the well-travelled routes used by traders, hunters and explorers to gain access to the interior. Towerberg or Coleskop is a prominent hill near the town and a landmark easily seen from a distance by travellers. Colesberg saw a large number of battles and skirmishes during the second Anglo-Boer War, and the Col ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orange River
The Orange River (from Afrikaans/Dutch: ''Oranjerivier'') is a river in Southern Africa. It is the longest river in South Africa. With a total length of , the Orange River Basin extends from Lesotho into South Africa and Namibia to the north. It rises in the Drakensberg mountains in Lesotho, flowing westwards through South Africa to the Atlantic Ocean. The river forms part of the international borders between South Africa and Lesotho and between South Africa and Namibia, as well as several provincial borders within South Africa. Except for Upington, it does not pass through any major cities. The Orange River plays an important role in the South African economy by providing water for irrigation and hydroelectric power. The river was named the Orange River in honour of the Dutch ruling family, the House of Orange, by the Dutch explorer Robert Jacob Gordon. Other names include simply the word for river, in Khoekhoegowab orthography written as !Garib, which is rendered in Afrikaan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martinus Theunis Steyn
Martinus (or Marthinus) Theunis Steyn (; 2 October 1857 – 28 November 1916) was a South African lawyer, politician, and politician, statesman. He was the sixth and last president of the independent republic the Orange Free State from 1896 to 1902. Early life The Steyn family lived near Winburg on the farm Josephinesdal. Steyn was born on 2 October 1857 on the farm Rietfontein near Winburg in the Orange Free State. His father Marthinus (known as Marthinus 'blinkstewels') was away from home, following the death of his own father, to assist his mother on a three-month-long round trip from Winburg to Swellendam in the Cape Colony. As Steyn's mother, Cecilia, was pregnant with Marthinus Theunis, they thought it safer for her to stay with her sister Gertruida, who was married to Theunis Wessels, a farmer at Rietfontein. Steyn was intended to be named only Marthinus after his father, but because of the care that Theunis and Gertruida took during Cecilia's pregnancy, Steyn was name ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siege Of Ladysmith
The siege of Ladysmith was a protracted engagement in the Second Boer War, taking place between 2 November 1899 and 28 February 1900 at Ladysmith, Natal. Background As war with the Boer republics appeared likely in June 1899, the War Office in Britain dispatched a total of 15,000 troops to Natal, expecting that if war broke out they would be capable of defending the colony until reinforcements could be mobilized and sent to South Africa by steamship. Some of these troops were diverted while returning to Britain from India, others were sent from garrisons in the Mediterranean and elsewhere. Lieutenant General Sir George White was appointed to command this enlarged force. White was 64 years old and suffered from a leg injury incurred in a riding accident. Having served mainly in India, he had little previous experience in South Africa. Outbreak of war Contrary to the advice of several British officials such as Sir Alfred Milner, the High Commissioner for Southern Africa, the Bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bethlehem, South Africa
Bethlehem is a town in the eastern Free State province of South Africa that is situated on the Liebenbergs river (also called Liebenbergs Vlei) along a fertile valley just north of the Rooiberg Mountains on the N5 road. It is the fastest growing town in the Free state province, with its target of being the third largest city after Bloemfontein and Welkom. It is a wheat growing area and named after the biblical Bethlehem, from he, בֵּית לֶחֶם ("Beit Lechem"), meaning "house of bread". The town lies at an altitude of and this contributes to its cool climate with frosty winters and mild summers. The average annual temperature is around . Bethlehem is situated approximately north-east of Bloemfontein, east of Kroonstad and west of Harrismith. The town is strategically situated in the heart of the picturesque north-eastern Free State and originally developed as a service centre. Bethlehem is the seat of the Dihlabeng Local Municipality (this municipality is situate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Field Cornet
A field cornet () is a term formerly used in South Africa for either a local government official or a military officer. The office had its origins in the position of ''veldwachtmeester'' in the Dutch Cape colony, and was regarded as being equivalent to a sergeant. The British administration enhanced its importance with the term field cornet, making it equivalent to an officer's rank. The term was used for a civilian official in a local government district ('' drostdy'') of the Cape Colony, acting as and invested with the authority of a military officer and empowered to act as a magistrate. The field cornet was subject to the landdrost of the district and acted as his representative. As such, a field cornet performed important functions in administrative, judicial and police matters. In addition, in peacetime the field cornet was the head of the militia, was responsible for maintaining law and order in his area, and was tasked with supervising the handover of postal items on arr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pretoria
Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foothills of the Magaliesberg mountains. It has a reputation as an academic city and center of research, being home to the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), the University of Pretoria (UP), the University of South Africa (UNISA), the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and the Human Sciences Research Council. It also hosts the National Research Foundation (South Africa), National Research Foundation and the South African Bureau of Standards. Pretoria was one of the host cities of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Pretoria is the central part of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality which was formed by the amalgamation of several former local authorities, including Bronkhorstspruit, Centurion, Gaute ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Volksraad (South African Republic)
The ''Volksraad of the South African Republic'' (English: "People's Council" of the South African Republic, Afrikaans: Volksraad van die Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek) was the parliament of the former South African Republic (ZAR), it existed from 1840 to 1877, and from 1881 to 1902 in part of what is now South Africa. The body ceased to exist after the British Empire's victory in the Second Anglo-Boer War. The ''Volksraad'' sat in session in Ou Raadsaal in Church Square, Pretoria. In 1840, at the beginning of the Natalia Republic, an adjunct ''Volksraad'' was created in Potchefstroom for settlers west of the Drakensberg. The Potchefstroom ''Volksraad'' continued despite the Natalia_Republic#Annexation, British annexation of the Natalia Republic in 1843. It eventually passed the Thirty-three Articles, the precursor to the 1858 constitution (''Grondwet''), in 1849. In 1858 the ''Grondwet'' permanently established the ''Volksraad'' as the supreme authority of the nation. Initially a u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liebenbergsvlei River
The Liebenbergsvlei River is a tributary of the Wilge River, flowing in the Free State province of South Africa. Lesotho Highlands Water Project The Liebenbergsvlei is a conduit for water delivered by the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. The water is discharged at the As River Outfall, situated 9 km north of Clarens, which was opened in 1998. The As delivers water to the Saulspoort Dam and the Liebenbergsvlei and Wilge Rivers downstream, where after the water enters the Vaal Dam. The Vaal Dam can also be augmented from the Tugela-Vaal Water Project, by releasing water from the Sterkfontein Dam The Sterkfontein Dam, located just outside the town of Harrismith, in the Free State, province of South Africa, is part of the Tugela-Vaal Water Project and the Drakensberg Pumped Storage Scheme, and located on the Nuwejaarspruit, a tributary of ... via the Nuwejaarspruit and Wilge River. Canoe marathon The annual Liebensbergvlei canoe marathon is an annual event consisting of tw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
