Bloemhof

Bloemhof
Bloemhof railway station
Bloemhof Bloemhof Bloemhof  Bloemhof shown within North West
Coordinates: 27°39′0″S 25°35′24″E / 27.65000°S 25.59000°ECoordinates: 27°39′0″S 25°35′24″E / 27.65000°S 25.59000°E
Country	South Africa
Province	North West
District	Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati
Municipality	Lekwa-Teemane
Established	1864[1]
Area[2]
• Total	50.9 km^2 (19.7 sq mi)
Population (2011)[2]
• Total	27,904
• Density	550/km^2 (1,400/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)[2]
• Black African	83.9%
• Coloured	9.5%
• Indian/Asian	0.7%
• White	5.5%
• Other	0.4%
First languages (2011)[2]
• Tswana	65.4%
• Afrikaans	14.6%
• Sotho	7.2%
• Xhosa	6.6%
• Other	6.3%
Postal code (street)	2660
PO box	2660
Area code	053

Bloemhof is an agricultural town of about 28,000 inhabitants situated on the banks of the Vaal River in North West Province of South Africa.

History

It was founded in August 1864 when diamonds were discovered in the area.^[3]:230 The town was established on the farm owned by John Barclay, who survived the HMS Birkenhead shipwreck in 1852. The place became known as Bloemhof (flower court) because of the lovely gardens that were planted by Barclay's daughter. In June 1869, the South African Republic's Volksraad created a new district called Bloemhof named after the town itself.^[3]:230 Currently Bloemhof has a variety of social milieus; it has a township called Boitumelong and former coloured residence called Coverdale. Salamad is also a small residence formerly an Indian suburb which is situated in this town.

Tourist attractions

• Bloemhof Dam
• Bloemhof Dam Nature Reserve
• Sandveld Nature Reserve
• SA Lombard Nature Reserve

References

1. "Chronological order of town establishment in South Africa based on Floyd (1960:20-26)" (PDF). pp. xlv–lii.
2. Sum of the Main Places Bloemhof, Coverndale and Boitumelong from Census 2011.
3. Theal, George McCall (1889). History of South Africa: the republics and native territories from 1854 to 1872. London: S. Sonnenschein & co.