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Standerton is a large commercial and agricultural town lying on the banks of the
Vaal River The Vaal River ( ; Khoemana: ) is the largest tributary of the Orange River in South Africa. The river has its source near Breyten in Mpumalanga province, east of Johannesburg and about north of Ermelo and only about from the Indian Ocean. ...
in
Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...
,
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, which specialises in
cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...
,
dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...
,
maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
and
poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for their eggs, their meat or their feathers. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes (which includes chickens, quails, a ...
farming. The town was established in 1876 and named after
Boer Boers ( ; af, Boere ()) are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape Colony, Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controll ...
leader Commandant A. H. Stander. During the
First Boer War The First Boer War ( af, Eerste Vryheidsoorlog, literally "First Freedom War"), 1880–1881, also known as the First Anglo–Boer War, the Transvaal War or the Transvaal Rebellion, was fought from 16 December 1880 until 23 March 1881 betwee ...
a British garrison in the town was besieged by the Boers for three months. General Jan Smuts won this seat during elections and went on to assist in setting up the
League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
. Standerton is part of the
Lekwa Local Municipality Lekwa Local Municipality is a South African local municipality situated in the southwest of the Gert Sibande District Municipality of Mpumalanga. Standerton, an urban node, is the seat of the Lekwa Local Municipality. The municipality was inaugu ...
.


History

Standerton was founded in 1878 on a farm called ''Grootverlangen'' and named after its owner Commandant Adriaan Henrik Stander. The
South African Republic The South African Republic ( nl, Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, abbreviated ZAR; af, Suid-Afrikaanse Republiek), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer Republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when it ...
's Volksraad approved the formation of a town at the drift in 1876 and proclaimed two years later. It was granted municipal status in 1903. The crossing over the
Vaal River The Vaal River ( ; Khoemana: ) is the largest tributary of the Orange River in South Africa. The river has its source near Breyten in Mpumalanga province, east of Johannesburg and about north of Ermelo and only about from the Indian Ocean. ...
, now bridged, was known as ''Stander's Drift'' and a hill close to the town was called ''Standerskop'' were also named after Stander. During the
First Boer War The First Boer War ( af, Eerste Vryheidsoorlog, literally "First Freedom War"), 1880–1881, also known as the First Anglo–Boer War, the Transvaal War or the Transvaal Rebellion, was fought from 16 December 1880 until 23 March 1881 betwee ...
(1880–81), a British unit was besieged by the Boer forces who shelled them from the nearby hill, the former holding out until the end of the war in February 1881.


Great Trek memorial controversy

The town has received nationwide media attention in 2007 and 2008 following the destruction of an important
voortrekker The Great Trek ( af, Die Groot Trek; nl, De Grote Trek) was a Northward migration of Dutch-speaking settlers who travelled by wagon trains from the Cape Colony into the interior of modern South Africa from 1836 onwards, seeking to live beyon ...
memorial. This monument, located near the facade of the municipality building, was constructed by
Afrikaner Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from Free Burghers, predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: ...
s to mark the 150th anniversary of the
Great Trek The Great Trek ( af, Die Groot Trek; nl, De Grote Trek) was a Northward migration of Dutch-speaking settlers who travelled by wagon trains from the Cape Colony into the interior of modern South Africa from 1836 onwards, seeking to live beyon ...
. The Lekwa municipality's mayor Queen Radebe-Khumalo ordered the structure demolished in April 2007. "That piece of thing means nothing to us. It's just a piece of cement with tracks. I do not even know where it comes from", Radebe-Khumalo declared in a statement quoted by the ''
Beeld ''Beeld'' (freely translated as ''Picture'' or ''Image'') is an Afrikaans-language daily newspaper that was launched on 16 September 1974. ''Beeld'' is distributed in four provinces of South Africa: Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and North West, ...
'' newspaper. The incident led to widespread condemnation by the local Afrikaans community. Jan Bosman, a spokesperson for the Afrikanerbond, claimed that "actions like these undo the spirit of reconciliation as promoted by former president
Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...
and Archbishop
Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop ...
". In June 2007, a joint initiative between
AfriForum AfriForum is a South African non-governmental organisation focused mainly on the interests of Afrikaners, a subgroup of the country's white population. AfriForum has been frequently described as a white nationalist, alt-right, and Afrikaner nation ...
and
Solidarity ''Solidarity'' is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. It is based on class collaboration.''Merriam Webster'', http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio ...
lodged an application to the
Pretoria High Court The Gauteng Division of the High Court of South Africa is a superior court of law which has general jurisdiction over the South African province of Gauteng and the eastern part of North West province. The main seat of the division is at Pretoria, w ...
requesting that the mayor offer compensation for damages claimed. A subsequent court order ruled that Radebe-Khumalo and her municipality would pay for the damage and prohibited attempts to remove another statue erected in memory of
Anglo-Boer war The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...
concentration camp victims. In May 2010, the memorial was rebuilt on its original site.


Sakhile Township riots

The township of Sakhile near Standerton was the site of violent, service delivery riots that led to the Lekwa Municipality mayor Juliet Queen Radebe-Khumalo and other senior municipal officials, being recalled by the
African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...
in October 2009. The riots included the burning of tyres and blocking some entries to the town.


Economy


Agriculture

The area around the town promotes mixed agriculture with crops such as
maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
,
sunflower seed The sunflower seed is the seed of the sunflower ('' Helianthus annuus''). There are three types of commonly used sunflower seeds: linoleic (most common), high oleic, and sunflower oil seeds. Each variety has its own unique levels of monounsat ...
s, ground nuts and
potatoes The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern United ...
. Poultry and dairy farming is also conducted in the region.


Manufacturing


Standerton Mills

Standerton Mills Pty Ltd was established in 1947. Mainly manufacturing and supplying yarn and woven industrial fabrics.


Education


Schools

Standerton Primary School is a school that was officially opened in the year 1959, with its first acting principal being Miss C. Fisher and a total of 153 learners after its initial opening. The school anthem was composed by one Joan Whitington. The new hall is called the Barbara Dunbar Hall. There are three houses called Hawks, Eagles and Falcons. The school motto is ''"Sapienta Vincit"'' (Latin for "Wisdom Conquers"). The key on the school badge represents unlocking knowledge. The official school colours are blue, red and yellow. The current principal is Mr C. J. van Vuuren. Khula-Sakhile Secondary School is a school that had been struggling for years with their matriculants' results when finally in the 2013-14 matric group, the school managed to score a 100% pass rate which was seen as a very proud moment for both the Sakhile area as well as the Mpumalanga province as a whole.


Infrastructure


Dams

Grootdraai Dam is situated in the upper reaches of the
Vaal River The Vaal River ( ; Khoemana: ) is the largest tributary of the Orange River in South Africa. The river has its source near Breyten in Mpumalanga province, east of Johannesburg and about north of Ermelo and only about from the Indian Ocean. ...
less than 10 km upstream of Standerton. It has a catchment area of 8,195 km2, a mean annual precipitation of approximately 750 mm, a mean annual potential evaporation at the dam site of 1,400 mm and a natural inflow of 580 million m3/a. The full supply capacity of the reservoir is 364 million m3. The Grootdraai dam was completed in 1982.


Notable people

Although Standerton is a rural town surviving mainly on agriculture, it has produced talented people prominent in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
n society. *
Arnold S de Beer Arnoldus Stephanus de Beer (10 June 1942 – 20 October 2021) was a South African journalist who was a Professor Extraordinary in the Department of Journalism, Stellenbosch University, South Africa. His research topics included the role of media ...
- journalist and academic *
Pieter Hendriks Pieter Hendriks (born 13 April 1970), is a former South African rugby union player who played for the South Africa national rugby union team between 1992 and 1996. Playing career Hendriks represented the South Eastern Transvaal Schools team at ...
-
South Africa national rugby team The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...
player * Angel Khanyile - member of the
National Assembly of South Africa The National Assembly is the directly elected house of the Parliament of South Africa, located in Cape Town, Western Cape. It consists of four hundred members who are elected every five years using a party-list proportional representation syste ...
. Shadow
Minister of Home Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
*
Jaco Kriel Jacobus Albertus Kriel (born 21 August 1989 in Standerton, South Africa) is a rugby union player for . He plays as a flanker. Kriel has also represented the University of Johannesburg in the Varsity Cup. He was the headboy of Hoërskool Stan ...
-
South Africa national rugby team The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...
player * Mark Lawrence - retired international rugby union referee. He refereed his first international test match, in 2000, and was chosen to officiate at both the 2003 Rugby World Cup and 2007 Rugby World Cups. *
Frans Lourens Herman Rumpff Frans Lourens Herman Rumpff, (5 June 1912 – 4 April 1992) was the Chief Justice of South Africa from 1974 to 1982. Early life and education Born in Standerton, Transvaal, Rumpff was educated at the University of Pretoria, where he obtain ...
-
Chief Justice of South Africa The Chief Justice of South Africa is the most senior judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, Constitutional Court and head of the judiciary of South Africa, who exercises final authority over the functioning and management of all the c ...
, 1974-1982 *
Rooi Mahamutsa Rooi Mahamutsa (born 26 October 1981 in Standerton) is a South African association football defender. Career It was Rooi Mahamutsa's goal that helped Orlando Pirates to only its second CAF Champions League final in 18 years, his header givin ...
- South African football defender for
Premier Soccer League Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
club, Free State Stars F.C. and South Africa also played for
Orlando Pirates Orlando Pirates Football Club (often known as "The Buccaneers") is a South African professional football club based in the Houghton suburb of the city of Johannesburg and plays in the top-tier system of Football in South Africa known as DStv ...
. *
Mfundo Ndhlovu Mfundo Kevin Ndhlovu (born 5 April 1997) is a South African rugby sevens player for the South Africa national team. His regular position is wing. Playing career Ndhlovu made his debut for the South Africa national sevens team at the 2018 H ...
-
South Africa national rugby sevens team The South African national rugby sevens team competes in the World Rugby Sevens Series, the Rugby World Cup Sevens, the Summer Olympic Games and the Commonwealth Games. Overall, the team has won the World Rugby Sevens Series 4 times, as well as h ...
player * JC Ritchie - professional golfer * Gary Van Aswegen -
Rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
player *
Constand Viljoen General Constand Laubscher Viljoen, (28 October 1933 – 3 April 2020) was a South African military commander and politician. He co-founded the Afrikaner Volksfront (Afrikaner People's Front) and later founded the Freedom Front (now F ...
- South African military commander. co-founded the
Afrikaner Volksfront The Afrikaner Volksfront (AVF; ) was a separatist umbrella organisation uniting a number of right-wing Afrikaner organisations in South Africa in the early 1990s. History The AVF was formed by General Constand Viljoen and three other gene ...
(Afrikaner People's Front) and later founded the
Freedom Front The Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus; af, Vryheidsfront Plus, ''VF Plus'') is a right-wing political party in South Africa that was formed (as the Freedom Front) in 1994. It is led by Pieter Groenewald. Its current stated policy positions include ...
(now Freedom Front Plus)


References


External links


Interactive Standerton WebsiteLocal Standerton Website
Monument] {{Authority control Populated places in the Lekwa Local Municipality Populated places founded by Afrikaners Second Boer War concentration camps