Thaba 'Nchu, also known as Blesberg (''bald mountain'' in

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

), is a town in Free State,

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 ...

, 63 km east of

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...

and 17 km east of

Botshabelo Botshabelo, meaning "a place of refuge", is a large Township (South Africa), township set up in 1979. It is located east of Bloemfontein in the present-day Free State (South African province), Free State province of South Africa. Botshabelo is no ...

. The population is largely made up of

Tswana Tswana may refer to: * Tswana people, the Bantu languages, Bantu speaking people in Botswana, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and other Southern Africa regions * Tswana language, the language spoken by the (Ba)Tswana people * Tswanaland, ...

and

Sotho people The Sotho (), also known as the Basotho (), are a Sotho-Tswana peoples, Sotho-Tswana ethnic group indigenous to Southern Africa. They primarily inhabit the regions of Lesotho, South Africa, Botswana and Namibia. The ancestors of the Sotho peo ...

. The town was settled in December 1833 and officially established in 1873. The town grew larger following the 1913

Natives' Land Act The Natives Land Act, 1913 (subsequently renamed Bantu Land Act, 1913 and Black Land Act, 1913; Act No. 27 of 1913) was an Act of the Parliament of South Africa that was aimed at regulating the acquisition of land. It largely prohibited the sal ...

that declared the area a

homeland A homeland is a place where a national or ethnic identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethnic natio ...

for the Tswana people.

History

The three Barolong clans ( boo-Seleka, boo-Ratlou and boo-Tshidi) under their Chiefs, migrated here in December 1833. A decade earlier, these clans were driven from their land of origin, over the

Vaal 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 ...

, by

Mzilikazi Mzilikazi Moselekatse, Khumalo ( 1790 – 9 September 1868) was a Southern African king who founded the Ndebele Kingdom now called Matebeleland which is now part of Zimbabwe. His name means "the great river of blood". He was born the son of M ...

, and sojourned at a place they called Motlhaana-wa-pitse (Jaw-bone of a horse), in what is now the western Free State. Upon reaching an agreement with King

Moshoeshoe I Moshoeshoe I () ( – 11 March 1870) was the first king of Lesotho. He was the first son of Mokhachane, a minor Tribal chief, chief of the Bamokoteli lineage, a branch of the Koena tribe, Koena (crocodile) clan. In his youth, he helped his fat ...

, they settled in the area with their Wesleyan Methodist Missionaries- Samuel Broadbent and Thomas L. Hodgson. Then their numbers were augmented by other Barolong (boo-Rapulana under Matlaba) scattered by Mzilikazi. These Barolong people accepted the Voortrekkers as allies. The first Voortrekkers to stay here on their northward journeys were

Louis Tregardt Louis Johannes TregardtFootnote (translated): Various opinions exist concerning the spelling of the surname which arrived with Louis' grandfather from Sweden. This forebear and his son almost always wrote it as "Tregard". Louis initially wrote it ...

and Hans van Rensburg in 1835. The town subsequently became a safe meeting place for leaders such as

Hendrik Potgieter Andries Hendrik Potgieter, known as Hendrik Potgieter (19 December 1792 – 16 December 1852) was a Voortrekker leader. He served as the first head of state of Potchefstroom from 1840 and 1845 and also as the first head of state of Zoutpansberg ...

, who arrived in May 1836, Piet Uys and Gerrit Maritz. After Potgieter's trek was attacked and plundered at Vegkop, Moroka II swiftly assisted him with draught oxen and a liberal provision of supplies. The

Boer Boers ( ; ; ) are the descendants of the proto Afrikaans-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled the Dutch ...

party was also assisted in returning to a refugee camp at Thaba 'Nchu, named "Moroka's Hoek". The Boer leader held a war council with the Barolong chiefs, Moroka, Tawana, Gontse, and Matlaba where a Boer-Barolong-Griqua allegiance was formed, which shortly routed Mzilikazi, who then founded the kingdom of

Matabeleland Matabeleland is a region located in southwestern Zimbabwe that is divided into three provinces: Matabeleland North, Bulawayo, and Matabeleland South. These provinces are in the west and south-west of Zimbabwe, between the Limpopo and Zambezi ...

. In 1841, when Tawana, Gontse, and Matlaba returned to their original home, Moroka II made Blesberg his permanent home. The area was considered a friendly native state of the Boer-governed

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( ; ) was an independent Boer-ruled sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeated and surrendered to the British Em ...

, established in 1854. It, however, became an insular territory during the Basotho Wars, during which the Basotho were expelled from its vicinity. In the

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

era, the town was the only Free State town that formed part of the area set aside for the

Bantustan A Bantustan (also known as a Bantu peoples, Bantu homeland, a Black people, black homeland, a Khoisan, black state or simply known as a homeland; ) was a territory that the National Party (South Africa), National Party administration of the ...

Bophuthatswana Bophuthatswana (, ), officially the Republic of Bophuthatswana (; ), and colloquially referred to as the Bop and by outsiders as Jigsawland (In reference to its enclave-ridden borders) was a Bantustan (also known as "Homeland", an area set asid ...

, nominally ruled by the then President

Lucas Mangope Kgosi Lucas Manyane Mangope (27 December 1923 – 18 January 2018) was the leader of the Bantustan (homeland) of Bophuthatswana. The territory he ruled over was distributed between the Orange Free State – what is now Free State – and North ...

. It was then a trading centre. Under the Presidency of Mangope and the Chieftainship of Moroka II's great grandson – Robert Tawana Mokgopa Moroka – Thaba 'Nchu Sun & Naledi Sun Hotel & Casino were established by

Sun International Sun International is a South African gambling and hospitality company, founded by Sol Kerzner in 1967. Sun International owns diverse assets, including the Sun City resort near Rustenburg, in the North West Province, and an online gambling ...

, and it then became a major tourist attraction of the Free State, due to its proximity to

Geography

Geographical features include the promontories of the

Lesotho Lesotho, formally the Kingdom of Lesotho and formerly known as Basutoland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Entirely surrounded by South Africa, it is the largest of only three sovereign enclave and exclave, enclaves in the world, t ...

mountains, suitable for large lands with ample game, wherein a game reserve, the

Maria Moroka Nature Reserve Maria Moroka National Park is named after Chieftainess Maria Moipone Moroka of the Barolong Tribe in Thaba Nchu. The national park is near Thaba Nchu in the Mangaung District of the Free State (province), Free State Province, South Africa. The par ...

, has been maintained. A variety of wildlife and bird species are found here, besides a hiking trail, a traditional Tswana site, and amenities for various activities and adventures in the reserve. The reserve has been named after the political town hero Dr. Maria Moroka. Much of the surrounding land is arable, which has been employed for large scale farming of both commercial and domestic nature. The town is also known for the Aran hand-knitted woolen garments made by local

craftspeople An artisan (from , ) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art, sculpture, clothing, food ite ...

Culture

Sport

The Mmabana Stadium is located in the town.

Notable people

* W.Z. Fenyang * Winnie Kgware * Mmanthatisi *

Ox Nché Retshegofaditswe 'Tshego' Nché – more commonly referred to as Ox Nché – (born 23 July 1995) is a South African rugby union player for the in the United Rugby Championship and the South African national team (the Springboks). His regula ...

* Kgosi Seepapitso IV

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Mangaung Populated places established in 1892 African National Congress politicians