Wepener

Wepener is named after Lourens (Louw) Wepener, who died during a skirmish in 1865 between Dutch-Afrikaans settlers and the Basotho people.

Attractions

Also see the neighbouring towns

Wepener is located near the mountainous Lesotho with the Thaba Putsoa mountain range to the far east.

Louw Wepener Memorial

The memorial to Lourens Wepener (Louw) Wepener has a bronze bust created by the South African sculptor Coert Steynberg. It was unveiled in 1965 - the centennial anniversary of Wepener's death.

Architecture

Several sandstone buildings can be viewed in town. The Dutch Reformed Church was built in 1882, and the Town Hall in 1927.

Bushman paintings

There are many Bushman paintings in the area, some dated as far back as 25'000 years ago. Ventershoek Farm in particular has good paintings to be viewed.

Fraser House

Ian Fraser, Baron Fraser of Lonsdale (1897 – 1974), was a businessman and a British politician in the Conservative Party. He was the of son of William Percy Fraser, who lived in South Africa, and had business interests in Johannesburg in the early days of that city.

Fraser fought at the Battle of the Somme on 23 July 1916. A bullet blinded him for life, but he became a well-known businessman and politician in Britain.

Two of his uncles also had business interests in South Africa, the company Frasers Limited. From 1936 he served on the company's Advisory Council. Since then he spent two to three months every year at Fraser House in Wepener.

Today this house is a guest house.

Caledon Nature Reserve

The Caledon Nature Reserve is about 15Km south of Wepener on the R701.

Welbedacht Dam

The Welbedacht Dam lies in the Caledon River on the southern tip of the Caledon Nature Reserve. This dam supplies water to Bloemfontein and several other towns in the Free State.

Fishing: barbel, mudfish, yellowfish and carp.

Sport: canoeing, boating, hiking and walking trails.

Jammersdrift Battlesite

Jammersdrift is less than 10Km west of Wepener on the R26.

See Siege of Jammerbergdrif below. There are many soldiers' graves in the area.

Lesotho

Lesotho is just 7km away via the Van Rooyens Gate Border Post.

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History

The first known inhabitants of the area were the Khoisan (Bushmen), as shown by the many rock painting in the area, particularly at Ventershoek Farm. Some painting have been dated to 25'000 years ago.

The Basotho people under leadership of Moshoeshoe (c1823 - 1870, also written as Moshweshwe) also lived in the area.

When the European settlers moved into the area, several clashes occurred between them and the Basotho people. These skirmishes are called wars - but not fought with proper armies, so "war" is a misnomer.

In 1865 the settlers attacked the Basotho at Thaba Bosiu, a mountain stronghold. During the skirmish, the leader of the boer settlers, Louw Wepener, was killed.

The town of Wepener was laid out in 1867 on the banks of Jammersbergspruit, which a tributary of the Caledon River. The purpose of the town was to serve as a location of presence for the Europeans on the border with the Basotho.

Siege of Jammerbergdrif

In 1900 a British garrison of 2000 men under Col EH Dalgety was stationed in the area of Jammersdrift. Boer troups (about 5500) under leadership of General Christiaan de Wet attempted to overrun the British forces, and besieged them.

This siege lasted 17 days. British reinforcements arrived on 25 April 1900 to end the battle in favour of the British.

General Christiaan de Wet
(1854 - 1922)

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Economy

Farming: wheat, maize, cattle, sheep, wool.

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