Brandfort

Brandfort means Burning Fort. The town was either named after a small fortification that was burnt down by a Sotho tribe during the skirmishes between the Boer and Sotho people, or after President Brand of the Republic of the Orange Free State.

Attractions

Also see the neighbouring towns

Brandfort is about 40Km north of Bloemfontein on the R30. Winburg and the Erfenis Dam is about 65Km to the east, and the mineral baths at Florisbad less than 30Km to the west.

Soetdoring Nature Reserve

The Soetdoring Nature Reserve is about 50Km west of Brandfort.

Garden of remembrance at Dwyersdorp

A Garden of remembrance commemorates the 15'500 women and children who died during the Anglo-Boer War at the concentration camp, Dwyersdorp at Brandfort.

Nooitgedacht memorial

The site of the Nooitgedacht concentration camp for black people, has been declared a national heritage site.

President CR Swart house

The country farm house of President CR Swart, near Brandfort, was restored and is now a national monument. CR Swart was the first State President of the Republic of South Africa: 1961 - 1967.

Charles Robberts Swart (1894 - 1982)

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Museum

The house in which Winnie Madikizela-Mandela lived for nine years in Brandfort was turned into a museum.

History

Jacobus van Zijl owned a farm Keerom around 1838. In 1866 the Dutch Reformed Church established a church on the farm, and the first erven were set aside. In 1874 it was proclaimed a town.

There are two legends about the origin of the town's name. In one, the town was named after President Johannes Henricus Brand (1823 - 1888, president 1864 - 1888) of the Republic of the Orange Free State. In the other legend the town was named after a small fortification was burnt down by a Sotho tribe. Brandfort means Burning Fort.

Johannes Henricus Brand (1823 - 1888)

Anglo-Boer War

Several skrimishes between the British and Boer forces occurred in the Brandfort area.

The British forces established two concentration camps near Brandfort during the Anglo-Boer War: Dwyersdorp for whites, and Nooitgedacht for blacks. Perhaps about 15'500 women and children died at the Dwyersdorp concentration camp alone. Many diseases flourished in these camps, such as typhoid, dysentery and measles, especially among children. During one 3-week period, about 10% of the inmates died. Information about the black concentration camp is very scant.

Cornelius van Gogh

Cornelius van Gogh was the youngest brother of the painter Vincent van Gogh by 14 years. Just before the Anglo-Boer War about 6000 Dutch came to southern Africa, assisting in building the railway line between Pretoria and Mocambique. Cornelius van Gogh was a train builder at Elandsfontein near Germiston. When the Anglo-Boer War broke out, he joined the Hollanderkorp as an ambulance driver. He was imprisoned by the British and fell ill. He died on 14 April 1900 in a make-shift hospital in Brandfort. He was buried here in an umarked grave.

Cornelius van Gogh (1867 - 1900)

During the Anglo-Boer War a private home was turned into a hospital. After the war it became a maternity home, then a boarding house for school kids. The room used for operations was converted into bathrooms, but the rest (all the doors and windows) is still original except for the pantry window (replaced with a steel window after a burglary) And sorry, except for the owner - no ghosts.
[Reported by David Joubert, present owner of the house].

First aeroplane

The first aeroplane builder in South Africa lived in Brandfort. M J L Weston immigrated here from the USA. While still there, he built a glider in 1892. In South Africa, between 1907 and 1909 he built an aeroplane on the farm Kalkdam, in the Bultfontein district. However, the engines were not powerful enough. The Farman brothers in France then installed a 50 horsepower Gnome engine. This plane did its first flight on 18 June 1911 near Kimberley. Weston's longest flight lasted 8 minutes.
[Thanks to George Van Loggerenberg for this information].

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela

During the Apartheid era, after the 1976 Soweto riots, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, for involvement, received a jail sentence of 6 months in 1977. After her release she was exiled to Brandfort, where she spent 9 years. Winnie's home language was Xhosa, while the local language in Brandfort is seSotho. By banishing her here, the then government tried to lessen her impact on local populations. Despite these actions, she nevertheless mobilised the local community, and focus on the empowerment of women. Her house in Brandfort was bombed twice, the assailants unknown.

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela (born 1936, maiden names: Nomzamo Winifred Zanyiwe Madikizela)

Economy

Mixed farming: maize, cattle and sheep. Brandfort is a centre for wool and maize, and situated in the Maize Triangle.

TOP