Wesselsbron is a small maize farming town 75 kilometres south of
Bothaville
Bothaville is a maize farming town situated near the Vaal River in the Lejweleputswa District Municipality, Lejweleputswa DM of the Free State (South African province), Free State province, South Africa. It is situated 60 km east of the Vaal, ...
in
Free State province of
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
.
Town 32 km east of
Hoopstad and 48 km north-west of
Welkom
Welkom () is the second-largest city in the Free State province of South Africa, located about northeast of Bloemfontein which is the provincial capital. Welkom is also known as Circle City, City Within A Garden, Mvela and Matjhabeng. The ci ...
. It was laid out in 1920 and became a municipality in 1936. Named after Commandant
Cornelis J Wessels who was in command of the
Siege of Kimberley
The siege of Kimberley took place during the Second Boer War at Kimberley, Cape Colony (present-day South Africa), when Boer forces from the Orange Free State and the Transvaal besieged the diamond mining town. The Boers moved quickly to tr ...
from 13 October 1899
to 12 February 1900. Bron is Afrikaans for ‘source’, ‘spring’.
Wesselsbron has a vast district which stretches from the
Vet River
The Vet River ( af, Vetrivier) is a westward-flowing tributary of the Vaal River in central South Africa. Its sources are between Marquard
Marquard is a small farming town in the Free State province of South Africa that serves Winburg in the n ...
in the south to the
Vaal River
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 Ocean. ...
in the north. The main cultivation is corn, but also wheat, sunflower and peanuts are cultivated. The grain silos of Senwes are the biggest silo complex in the Southern Hemisphere and can cope with the enormous amount of 275,000 tons of grain. Escorted tours can be organized to visit the silos as well as a private milling complex next to Senwes. Because of the growing demand for liquidated fertilizer, Omnia opened a factory in Wesselsbron in 1997, one of the biggest factories in South Africa. Raw material is obtained from overseas, Richards Bay, Sasolburg and Rustenburg to be processed in the Wesselsbron factory. Tons of liquidated fertilizer is distributed to the rich cultivated fields of the Western Free State, Northwest and North Cape. In the late 1970s due to apartheid pressure, Black people of the informal settlement of (Marantha) were removed in order to accommodate white settlers and what is now called Wesselsbron Golf Club. Black people were settled at the lower/ muddy edge of the area which was known as (Marumpenyane) now called Monyakeng.
Education
At present, only basic education facilities are available in Wesselsbron and Monyakeng (township of Wesselsbron).
High Schools
Hoerskool Sandveld (which is a combination of primary and high school), Iphateleng High School, Ithabeleng High School and Monyakeng High School.
Primary Schools
Katoloso Primary School, Letsibolo Primary School, Mmabana Primary School and Tataiso Primary School.
Coat of arms
Wesselsbron established a municipality in 1936. The council later assumed a coat of arms, and registered it with the Orange Free State Provincial Administration in September 1961.
[Orange Free State ''Official Gazette'' 50 (22 September 1961).]
The arms were : ''Argent, on a fess Azure between two birds sable in chief and in base two mealie cobs with leaves proper, a tower between two millrinds all Or''. In layman's terms, the silver shield displayed, from top to bottom, two black birds, a blue horizontal stripe bearing a golden tower between two golden millrinds, and two mealie cobs.
See also
*
Wesselsbron virus
References
{{Authority control
Populated places in the Nala Local Municipality
Populated places established in 1920