Vryburg, North West
Encyclopedia
Vryburg is a large agricultural town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
with a population of 48,200 situated in the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati district of the North West Province of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. It is the seat and the industrial and agricultural heartland of the district of the Bophirima region.
Location
It is situated halfway between Kimberley (the capital of the Northern Cape Province) and MafikengMafikeng
Mahikeng – formerly legally, but still commonly known as Mafikeng – is the capital city of the North-West Province of South Africa. It is best known internationally for the Siege of Mafeking, the most famous engagement of the Second Boer War.Located on South Africa's border with Botswana, it is ...
(the capital of the North West Province). It is on Cecil Rhodes’s great northern railroad, which ran from Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
through the Kimberley diamond fields, Vryburg, Mafikeng, and northwards beyond Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls
The Victoria Falls or Mosi-oa-Tunya is a waterfall located in southern Africa on the Zambezi River between the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe.-Introduction:...
. It is also on the N14 National Road which runs from Gauteng Province in a southwesterly direction through Vryburg, Kuruman
Kuruman
Kuruman is a town with 12,701 inhabitants in Northern Cape province of South Africa, famous for its scenic beauty and the Eye of Kuruman, a geological feature bringing water from deep underground to the surface in the Kalahari Desert....
and Upington to the mining town of Springbok
Springbok, Northern Cape
Springbok is the largest town in the Namaqualand area in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. it had a population of 10,294. Springbok is located on the N7 national road which connects the Cape with Namibia, and at the western end of the N14, which connects it with Upington and Pretoria...
in the North-western Cape. This road also connects Gauteng Province with Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
.
The township Huhudi (Tswana
Tswana language
Tswana or Setswana is a language spoken in Southern Africa by about 4.5 million people. It is a Bantu language belonging to the Niger–Congo language family within the Sotho languages branch of Zone S , and is closely related to the Northern- and Southern Sotho languages, as well as the Kgalagadi...
for "running water") is situated just south of the town. The Tiger Kloof Native Institute was set up south of the town by the London Missionary Society
London Missionary Society
The London Missionary Society was a non-denominational missionary society formed in England in 1795 by evangelical Anglicans and Nonconformists, largely Congregationalist in outlook, with missions in the islands of the South Pacific and Africa...
in 1904. A cornerstone for the building of the institute was laid in 1905 by the Earl of Selborne
William Palmer, 2nd Earl of Selborne
William Waldegrave Palmer, 2nd Earl of Selborne KG, GCMG, PC , styled Viscount Wolmer between 1882 and 1895, was a British politician and colonial administrator.-Background and education:...
. The stone church on the premises is a national monument
National heritage sites (South Africa)
National heritage sites in South Africa are structures or defined areas of land declared to be of historic or cultural importance and granted certain legal protections...
.
History
Vryburg has a strong sense of history, one which its citizens nurture with pride. The name Vryburg comes from the period in the 1882 when Vryburg was established as the capital of Republic of StellalandStellaland
Stellaland, officially known as the Republic of Stellaland from 1882–1883 and, after unification with the neighbouring State of Goshen, as the United States of Stellaland from 1883–1885, was a Boer republic located in an area of Bechuanaland, west of the Transvaal.During its short history,...
. The Republicans called themselves Vryburgers ("free citizens"), hence the name of the town.
Vryburg was founded on September 20, 1882, when a site for a township was selected and named Endvogelfontein. On November 15 the same year, the name was changed to Vryburg. In December that year, newly laid out plots were apportioned to the volunteers by means of a lottery and by February 1883 some 400 farms had been established.
On August 16, 1883, Administrator Van Niekerk proclaimed the Republic of Stellaland with Vryburg as capital and himself as President. Stellaland split into two rival factions – those who supported annexation into the Cape Colony
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
as mooted by Cecil Rhodes, and those who preferred independence.
In February 1884, the London Convention was signed, making Stellaland a British protectorate, with the Reverend John McKensie appointed Commissioner to British Bechuanaland. Vryburg today is the industrial and agricultural capital of the Bophirima (Western) region.
When the Boer Republic
Boer Republics
The Boer Republics were independent self-governed republics created by the northeastern frontier branch of the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of the north eastern Cape Province and their descendants in mainly the northern and eastern parts of what is now the country of...
of Stellaland was established in 1882, Vryburg ('Fort of Freedom') was established as its capital. The first and only president was G.J. van Niekerk. By 1884 the town consisted of around 20 houses. In 1885, the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
seized the town and incorporated the area into British Bechuanaland, which in turn became part of the Cape Colony
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
in 1895. During the Second Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
, the British built a concentration camp here to house Boer
Boer
Boer is the Dutch and Afrikaans word for farmer, which came to denote the descendants of the Dutch-speaking settlers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 18th century, as well as those who left the Cape Colony during the 19th century to settle in the Orange Free State,...
women and children. In 1910, the Cape Colony became the Cape Province
Cape Province
The Province of the Cape of Good Hope was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequently the Republic of South Africa...
, one of the four provinces of the Union of South Africa
Union of South Africa
The Union of South Africa is the historic predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into being on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the previously separate colonies of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and the Orange Free State...
and later the Republic of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. When nine provinces were established in 1994, it became part of the North West Province.
Economy
Vryburg is South Africa's largest beefBeef
Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...
producing district, with Bonsmara
Bonsmara
The Bonsmara is a cross breed of cattle known for its high quality beef. Originating in South Africa as a scientific experiment of professor Jan Bonsma, the Bonsmara was created after many criss-cross matings consisting of 5/8 Afrikaner , 3/16 Hereford and 3/16 Shorthorn animals .-External...
cattle the most popular. It is sometimes called "the Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
of South Africa". Maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
and peanut
Peanut
The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...
s are important crops
Crop (agriculture)
A crop is a non-animal species or variety that is grown to be harvested as food, livestock fodder, fuel or for any other economic purpose. Major world crops include maize , wheat, rice, soybeans, hay, potatoes and cotton. While the term "crop" most commonly refers to plants, it can also include...
produced in the district. The town hosts South Africa's third largest agricultural show.
The town today is a thriving industrial and agricultural hub, which radiates an atmosphere of prosperity. Its modern architecture blends naturally with its surroundings and the well-preserved old buildings are carefully maintained.
There are excellent roads, rail and air connections to all the major centers in the country. Vryburg is also situated on the main railway lines from Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
to Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
and Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
. The town offers residential areas, business centers and all modern facilities.
Museums
The Theiler Museum on the farm Armoedsvlakte, 8 km west of Vryburg, holds a collection of equipment used by Sir Arnold TheilerArnold Theiler
Sir Arnold Theiler Pour le Mérite] is considered to be the father of veterinary science in South Africa. He was born in Frick, Canton Aargau, Switzerland. He received his higher education, and later qualified as a veterinarian, in Zurich...
, the veterinarian
Veterinarian
A veterinary physician, colloquially called a vet, shortened from veterinarian or veterinary surgeon , is a professional who treats disease, disorder and injury in animals....
who established the Onderstepoort
Onderstepoort
Onderstepoort is situated in Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa. Its geographical coordinates are .Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute and the faculty of veterinary science of the University of Pretoria, founded by Sir Arnold Theiler, is also situated here...
veterinary research institute near Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
.