Where Is Harrismith In South Africa
Harrismith is a large town in the Free State province of South Africa. It was named for Sir Harry Smith, a 19th-century British governor and high commissioner of the Cape Colony.It is situated by the Wilge River, alongside the N3 highway, about midway between Johannesburg, about 300 km to the north-west, and Durban to the southeast.
The town is located at the junction of the N5 highway, which continues westward towards the provincial capital Bloemfontein, some 340 km to the south-west. This important crossroads in South Africa’s land trade routes is surrounded by mesas and buttes. It is located at the base of one of these called Platberg (i.e. “flat / flat-topped mountain” in Afrikaans).The municipality was placed under administration in 2018 after then-mayor Vusi Tshabalala was removed from office on the basis of corruption allegations.
The History Of Newcastle In South Africa
The town was founded in 1849 and named after British Governor Harry Smith, who tried to persuade the Voortrekkers not to abandon the Cape Colony.The town was initially laid out by Robert Moffat about 25 km from the present location, in present-day Aberfeldy on the Elands River.
That site however proved to be deficient in water and Harrismith was shifted to its present site in January 1850. Twenty-four years later it became a municipality and during the diamond rush at Kimberley, the town became a busy staging post on the Natal transport route. As a direct result of this, hotels, stores and public buildings sprang up.
By the 1880s the town was seen as the second largest in the Orange Free State. The increased infrastructure and traffic in the region made fording of the Wilge river impractical. After heavy rains the swollen river prevented communication, interrupted transport and claimed lives. The government was petitioned and two bridges were opened in 1884, one six miles towards Bethlehem, and another at the current Swinburne. The use of these were taxed until 1905.
Harrismith was a major base during the South African (Anglo-Boer) War and visitors can see the several blockhouses, engineering works and a military cemetery that are evidence of this. The town’s main street, Warden Street, is named after Major Henry D. Warden, at that time a British resident in Bloemfontein.
The town is around 90 kilometers west from Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, a town named after Sir Harry Smith’s wife, and a similar distance east of Bethlehem. The small nearby hamlet of Swinburne (originally ) is named after Sir John Swinburne, a gold prospector.
How Is Newcastle Like Today?
Harrismith is well known as an overnight or refreshment stop along the N3 route, and a convenient refuelling stop for trucks and vehicles, but it has much more to offer. Beyond the highway is a tidy town with many elegant late 19th century buildings made of hewn sandstone. There are numerous bed & breakfast places catering to visitors.
It is the best access point to the northernmost Drakensberg, including Tugela Falls and Mont-Aux-Sources (accessed via the Sentinel Hiking Trail, in the QwaQwa region of the Free State, 80 km south-west of Harrismith on the R57), Sterkfontein Dam Nature Reserve (20 km southeast of town on the R74), Royal Natal Park and the uKhahlamba / Drakensberg Park World Heritage Site (66 km southeast via Oliviershoek Pass beyond Sterkfontein Dam) and the spectacular Golden Gate Highlands National Park 50 km south-west of town on the R712.
Harrismith is the centre of one of the five wool producing districts in Southern Africa.The town is home to the largest truck stop in the Southern Hemisphere, Highway Junction.Harrismith is also home to the small Harrismith Airport.Two other places in the world bear the same name: Harrismith Beach and Harrismith House near Bottom Bay in Barbados and Harrismith in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia.
How Is Harrismith Like?
A rather charming example of a typical Free State town, Harrismith is probably best known by South Africans as the ‘halfway house’ – half way, that is, between Durban and Johannesburg. For years it has served as the midway stop to tank up both on fuel and food.
Suffice it to say that Harrismith has remained in obscurity pretty much until recently. Harrismith lies just off the N3, roughly 314 kilometres from Johannesburg and 315 kilometres from Durban, and the N5 from Bethlehem comes to an end in the middle of the town, which serves as the centre of one of the five wool producing districts in the country.
The town hall in Harrismith, a national monument, is a graceful sandstone and brick building built in 1907. This and the Harrismith Wildflower Gardens, founded in 1967 as a botanical garden, with some fine examples of the Drakensberg region’s flora and a wonderful picnic spot, are reason enough to visit Harrismith. The town also serves as something of a gateway into the Drakensberg Mountains and people use Harrismith to stock up on last minute items or to make speedy reconnaissance trips for dwindling supplies.
There’s plenty to do in and around the town: The Sterkfontein dam close by is the third largest dam in the country and a haven for water enthusiasts; the Platberg Game Reserve adjoins the Botanical Garden and offers some amazing hiking and mountain bike trails; and Swinburne, a little village just south of Harrismith lies in a particularly beautiful part of the country.
