Lennie Gouws

Potchefstroom today is a city, but in the pioneer years they experienced frontier living at its utmost. The Voortrekkers crossed the Vaal River to colonize the area at the end of 1838 and Potchefstroom was proclaimed on 22 December 1838, the first town to be established by the Voortrekkers. In a short space of time it became a frontier town, the last outpost of 'civilization' for travellers into Africa.

The primary aim of the Voortrekkers, or emigrants as they called themselves, was to colonize the area and almost all of them settled on farms. In the beginning therefore, there were no shops where they could buy necessities which they could not produce themselves. Products that they needed were weapons, ammunition, victuals such as sugar, coffee, clothes, medicine and metal ware and all these needed to be imported.  It was only later that itinerant peddlers started visiting farms to sell their wares.

The backbone of the existence of the Voortrekkers was farming. Non-existent roads and a lack of markets meant that that each farmer only produced what he and his dependants could consume.

Under the guidance of Andries Hendrik Potgieter, their leader, the Volksraad prohibited all Englishmen from crossing the Vaal River. English merchants were regarded as political agents. This strict rule was later lifted to allow English subjects to live in towns, but they were not allowed to own property outside the town. Subsequently they settled in town, becoming shop-owners, as opposed to the Afrikaans speaking Voortrekkers who were farmers and landowners.

It...

Although it has been severely contested, it is generally accepted that Potchefstroom is the oldest town founded by the Voortrekkers north of the Vaal River and that it was founded in 1838. The Mooi River area was well-known to Andries Hendrik Potgieter, the founder, when his party of Voortrekkers, or emigrants, as they were known at the time, settled here. Potgieter first saw the area during the winter months of 1836 and he passed through the area again later when on commando against Mzilikazi. Due to the beautiful stream of clear water (Mooi River) and the fertile soil on the banks of the river Potgieter decided to settle here. It is said that he planted a willow tree on the banks of the Mooi River indicating the place where he wanted to settle.

His scouts, which were sent ahead of the larger group, however, chose an area about 11 km upstream from where Potgieter was said to have planted the tree. This is where Potgieter’s group settled in 1838.

The official history of Potchefstroom, written by Prof Gert van den Bergh, accepts the official founding date as 22 December 1838. This is due to a newspaper report that appeared in the ‘The Natal Advertiser’ in 1921 which said “Old Mr Barent Swart, of Klerksdorp, furnished me many years ago with . . . an exact date of its founding. His words were: ‘Oudedorp was proclaimed a dorp on December 22, 1838." By the time this was written the town was relocated and...

We spotted this wonderful story in Heritage Potchefstroom's fourth quarter newsletter. It tells the story of the establishment and growth of the first English church in the Transvaal. Thank you to Heritage Potchefstroom for giving us permission to publish.

About two decades after the first Voortrekkers came to the Mooi River valley, they were followed by itinerant traders, some of whom were English speaking. The Voortrekkers were mostly farmers and in need of the wares that the traders were selling.

Dr Edward Twells, bishop of the Anglican Church in the Free State visited the Mooi River area in 1862 and held the first English service here.

The first deacon was Mr W Richardson who arrived in Potchefstroom in June 1866 to serve the 60 members of the church. The first service he held was on 26 June 1866. At first a vacant store was used as a place of worship. One of the first churchwardens was Thomas Ayres (1828 -1913), who later became known worldwide as a naturalist, but died in poverty in his house in Sol Plaatjes Avenue.

First St Mary's -The first church was erected at 166 Walter Sisulu Avenue. The Standard Bank was later built on the street front, slightly in front of the church. This photograph was taken on 7 November 1900 and appeared in the Potchefstroom Herald on 29 August 1969...