Bloemhof is an agricultural town of about 2,000 inhabitants situated 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 Oce ...
in
North West Province
North West ( ; ) is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Mahikeng. The province is located to the west of the major population centre and province of Gauteng and south of Botswana.
History
North West was incorporated after the end of ...
of
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
.
History
It was founded in August 1864 when
diamond
Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...
s were discovered in the area.
[ 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]South African Republic
The South African Republic (, abbreviated ZAR; ), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer republics, Boer republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when it was annexed into the British Empire as a result ...
's ''Volksraad The Volksraad was a people's assembly or legislature in Dutch or Afrikaans speaking government.
Assembly South Africa
* Volksraad (South African Republic) (1840–1902)
* Volksraad (Natalia Republic), a similar assembly that existed in the Natalia ...
'' created a new district called ''Bloemhof'' named after the town itself.
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
Moosa Moolla OLS (12 June 1934 – 25 March 2023) was an Indian South African activist and diplomat. A member of the African National Congress, Moolla was arrested and eventually found not guilty in the 1956 Treason Trial. In 1961, he was a ...
(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
Juan-Philip Smith (born 30 March 1994) is a South African professional rugby union player who plays for the Seattle Seawolves in Major League Rugby (MLR) in the United States. His regular position is scrum-half, but he has played as a fly-hal ...
(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
* Bloemhof Dam
* Bloemhof Dam Nature Reserve
* Sandveld Nature Reserve
* S.A. Lombard Nature Reserve
References
{{Authority control
1864 in South Africa
Populated places founded by Afrikaners
Populated places in the Lekwa-Teemane Local Municipality
Populated places established in 1864