Theunissen
Encyclopedia
Theunissen is a small town that has the only wine
estate, the Theunissen Wine Farm, in the Free State
province of South Africa
. It was founded by Boer War Commandant Helgaardt Theunissen. Theunissen has a small community (mostly farmers and miners) which supports the local businesses.
(OFS).
When gold was discovered in the Witwatersrand
, railways to the new gold fields were a necessity. During this period there were no railways in the OFS and the Transvaal
. The nearest railway lines were Kimberley
and Pietermaritzburg
. Connecting to the coastal ports from the Witwatersrand was vital. A race started from the Natal
and Cape
coastal ports to connect with the gold fields. In 1887 the Cape government received a concession from the OFS government to build a railway line through the OFS. This railway line was completed in sections which were opened on the following dates:
The line reached the Witwatersrand during the same year. Smaldeel station was erected directly to the west of Winburg
. Because Winburg, the oldest town in the OFS, was not connected with the main railway line, the residents insisted that the OFS Government had to build a railway line from Winburg to Smaldeel. After careful consideration, the Government decided that a railway line will be built through Winburg to Clocolan
. The line from Smaldeel to Winburg was opened on 1 November 1898. The building of the line to Clocolan was in an advanced stage when the Second Anglo-Boer war broke out. The line, to date, has not been completed.
Smaldeel grew rapidly, as it was the junction where the main line from Bloemfontein and the line from Winburg, Clocolan, Ficksburg
and Ladybrand
, met. The residents of the Smaldeel station and the farmers from the region decided that the time has come to apply for the establishment of a township. There were objections to the establishment of a town. On the one hand there were the settlers at the railway station and the farmers in the region who wanted to see the establishment of a town. They were represented by Helgaardt Theunissen who, from the beginning, put all his weight behind the campaign for the establishment of a town. On the other hand were the residents of the Winburg district, who believed that the establishment of a township in the vicinity would greatly hamper trade in their town, especially with the recent establishment of the nearby towns such as Senekal
, Ventersburg
and Marquad. The result was the submission of two requisitions to the Legislative Council of the OFS:
Requisition number one was received on the 3rd of May 1906 and contains the following:
When a request was submitted that a Township be established at Welgelegen instead, a petition was signed by 232 farmers and residents of Smaldeel.
This was not the only requisition that was submitted opposing the proclamation of a town. On 20 July 1906 and 6 February 1907, opposing requisition was received from Winburg and Kroonstad respectively.
It was impossible for the Legislative Council to make up its mind right away. A few months later the petitioners from Smaldeel received a letter from the Secretary of Legislative Council dated 18 September 1906, stating that the case of proclaiming a town will be investigated by a commission of enquiry consisting of Surveyor General, Mr. J.W.H. Steyn and Mr. W.J.C. Brebner. They were also informed that certain improvements needed to be made to their letter of request.
On 23 June 1906 the residents of Smaldeel had a meeting where a declaration was drawn up, giving Helgaardt Theunissen authority to amend the first letter of request, and to sign all the following declarations and to appear in front of the Legislative Council
, in person, on their behalf.
Theunissen, assisted by his lawyer, Mr. G.A. Hill, drew up a complete declaration, dated 23 June 1906, containing information of which farms should be purchased and at what price. He concludes by declaring:
This important document is accompanied by a medical report compiled by the district’s physician Dr. A.J. Baird, wherein he states considered sanitary and health circumstances within Smaldeel. He concludes:
Following the submission of the declaration the area was visited by the commission of enquiry, Mr. Steyn and Brebner. The report from the commission appears on 4 January 1907. This stipulated their findings, as well as the arguments for and against the forming of a township, and stating their recommendation as follows:
After they were sighted on the possible difficulty that they could encounter, their findings were as follows:
The requisition for the founding of a Township at Smaldeel appeared in front of the Legislative Council on 1 March 1907. The request was approved. The Secretary of the Legislative Council sent a letter, dated 6 March 1907, to Mr. H Theunissen:
The official proclamation of Smaldeel to the township of Theunissen dragged on until September. The official proclamation appeared in the Government Gazette of 13 September 1907 – Proclamation 41 of 1907. It reads as follows:
The name Theunissen is given to the town in acknowledgement of the services of Field Commandant Helgaardt Theunissen.
has a farm called Tama just outside the town.
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
estate, the Theunissen Wine Farm, in the Free State
Free State
The Free State is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bloemfontein, which is also South Africa's judicial capital. Its historical origins lie in the Orange Free State Boer republic and later Orange Free State Province. The current borders of the province date from 1994 when the Bantustans...
province of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. It was founded by Boer War Commandant Helgaardt Theunissen. Theunissen has a small community (mostly farmers and miners) which supports the local businesses.
History
The founding of Theunissen and its history goes hand in hand with the development of the railway system in the Orange Free StateOrange Free State
The Orange Free State was an independent Boer republic in southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, and later a British colony and a province of the Union of South Africa. It is the historical precursor to the present-day Free State province...
(OFS).
When gold was discovered in the Witwatersrand
Witwatersrand
The Witwatersrand is a low, sedimentary range of hills, at an elevation of 1700–1800 metres above sea-level, which runs in an east-west direction through Gauteng in South Africa. The word in Afrikaans means "the ridge of white waters". Geologically it is complex, but the principal formations...
, railways to the new gold fields were a necessity. During this period there were no railways in the OFS and the Transvaal
South African Republic
The South African Republic , often informally known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer-ruled country in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century. Not to be confused with the present-day Republic of South Africa, it occupied the area later known as the South African...
. The nearest railway lines were Kimberley
Kimberley, Northern Cape
Kimberley is a city in South Africa, and the capital of the Northern Cape. It is located near the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers. The town has considerable historical significance due its diamond mining past and siege during the Second Boer War...
and Pietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg is the capital and second largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838, and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its "purist" Zulu name is umGungundlovu, and this is the name used for the district municipality...
. Connecting to the coastal ports from the Witwatersrand was vital. A race started from the Natal
Colony of Natal
The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on May 4, 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three other colonies to form the Union of South Africa, as one of its...
and Cape
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
coastal ports to connect with the gold fields. In 1887 the Cape government received a concession from the OFS government to build a railway line through the OFS. This railway line was completed in sections which were opened on the following dates:
- (i) the line Norvalspont to BloemfonteinBloemfonteinBloemfontein is the capital city of the Free State Province of South Africa; and, as the judicial capital of the nation, one of South Africa's three national capitals – the other two being Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Pretoria, the administrative capital.Bloemfontein is popularly and...
on 17 December 1890; - (ii) the line Bloemfontein to KroonstadKroonstadKroonstad is the third-largest town in the Free State province of South Africa, and lies two hours drive from Gauteng. In the 1991 census it had a population of 110,963...
on 20 February 1892 and - (iii) the last section from Kroonstad to the Vaal RiverVaal RiverThe Vaal River is the largest tributary of the Orange River in South Africa. The river has its source in the Drakensberg mountains in Mpumalanga, east of Johannesburg and about 30 km north of Ermelo and only about 240 km from the Indian Ocean. It then flows westwards to its conjunction...
on 7 May 1892.
The line reached the Witwatersrand during the same year. Smaldeel station was erected directly to the west of Winburg
Winburg
Winburg is a small mixed farming town in the Free State province of South Africa.It is the oldest proclaimed town in the Orange Free State, South Africa and thus along with Griquatown, one of the oldest settlements in South Africa located north of the Orange River.Winburg is situated midway...
. Because Winburg, the oldest town in the OFS, was not connected with the main railway line, the residents insisted that the OFS Government had to build a railway line from Winburg to Smaldeel. After careful consideration, the Government decided that a railway line will be built through Winburg to Clocolan
Clocolan
Clocolan, established in 1906, is a small town in the Free State province of South Africa. The Basotho called the place Hlohlolwane . New inhabitants mispronounced the name and called it Clocolan....
. The line from Smaldeel to Winburg was opened on 1 November 1898. The building of the line to Clocolan was in an advanced stage when the Second Anglo-Boer war broke out. The line, to date, has not been completed.
Smaldeel grew rapidly, as it was the junction where the main line from Bloemfontein and the line from Winburg, Clocolan, Ficksburg
Ficksburg
Ficksburg is a town situated at the foot of the 450m high Imperani Mountain in Free State province, South Africa. The town was set up by General Johan Fick who won the territory in the Basotho Wars...
and Ladybrand
Ladybrand
Ladybrand is a small agricultural town in the Free State province of South Africa, situated 18 km from Maseru, the capital of Lesotho. Ladybrand is one of five towns that forms the Mantsopa Local Municipality...
, met. The residents of the Smaldeel station and the farmers from the region decided that the time has come to apply for the establishment of a township. There were objections to the establishment of a town. On the one hand there were the settlers at the railway station and the farmers in the region who wanted to see the establishment of a town. They were represented by Helgaardt Theunissen who, from the beginning, put all his weight behind the campaign for the establishment of a town. On the other hand were the residents of the Winburg district, who believed that the establishment of a township in the vicinity would greatly hamper trade in their town, especially with the recent establishment of the nearby towns such as Senekal
Senekal
Senekal is a town situated on the banks of the Klipspruit River in the eastern part of the Free State province of South Africa. It was named after Commodant-General FP Senekal. Senekal lies on the N5 national...
, Ventersburg
Ventersburg
Ventersburg is a small town in the Lejweleputswa District Municipality of the Free State province in South Africa. It was established on the farm Kromfontein which was owned by PA Venter who died in 1857. His son allowed a Reform Church to be established on the farm in 1864 and by 1871, the first...
and Marquad. The result was the submission of two requisitions to the Legislative Council of the OFS:
- The request from the residents of Smaldeel for the establishment of a town, and
- The request from the residents of Winburg, with 67 signatures, opposing this.
Requisition number one was received on the 3rd of May 1906 and contains the following:
“The petition of the inhabitants of Smaldeel district Winburg, O.R.C. humbly sheweth:
- A.
- 1. That Smaldeel is an important Railway Junction with refreshment room employing a full staff.
- 2.That there are 7 General Stores, 1 butchery, 2 bakeries, 2 boarding houses, a large Government School with 1 principal and 2 assistant teachers and an attendance of 100 children daily, a Dutch reformed church, a Court House with a Special Justice-of-the-Peace.
- 3. That Smaldeel has a population of some 400 souls of which 200 plus minus are coloured and it already presents the appearance of a town.
- 4. That having such a considerable population it is desirable and very necessary that the place should be under proper Municipal supervision for reasons of sanitation, the bad state of the Roads and Streets, the want of proper rules as to native location and the proper control of natives and wandering stock, etc.
- 5. The funds have been nearly fully subscribed to erect a D.R. Church to seat 600 people, the present church building to be converted into a parsonage.
- 6. That is very necessary for the whole of the very large and extended Ward Vet River to have a proclaimed Township at Smaldeel, it being as near as possible central for the ward, and almost equidistant from Winburg, Brandfort
BrandfortBrandfort is a small town in the Free State province of South Africa. Jacobus van Zijl, a Voortrekker elder, established a church on his farm Keerom in 1866. The community was visited by Orange Free State president Brand and, shortly afterwards, the town was named in his honour. The British built a...
, Bultfontein, Odendaalsrust and Ventersburg, as the outlying farms of the Ward Vet River are from 35-42 miles distant from their political centre, Winburg, and it is next to impossible for the inhabitants living so far away to get there whenever it may be necessary.- B. That the farms of which the proposed township will consist are Albany, 1912 morgen (widow Rasmussen), Smaldeel 891 morgen (S.J. Nieman), Statie 61.5 morgen (W. Mucke), Winburg Road North (W. Isaacman), Railway Curves 106.5 morgen, in all plus minus 3000 morgen.
- C. That a resolution was passed at a public meeting of Householders held in the Court House on the 30th day of April 1906 that the municipality of the proposed Township shall consist of 7 members.
And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray."
When a request was submitted that a Township be established at Welgelegen instead, a petition was signed by 232 farmers and residents of Smaldeel.
This was not the only requisition that was submitted opposing the proclamation of a town. On 20 July 1906 and 6 February 1907, opposing requisition was received from Winburg and Kroonstad respectively.
It was impossible for the Legislative Council to make up its mind right away. A few months later the petitioners from Smaldeel received a letter from the Secretary of Legislative Council dated 18 September 1906, stating that the case of proclaiming a town will be investigated by a commission of enquiry consisting of Surveyor General, Mr. J.W.H. Steyn and Mr. W.J.C. Brebner. They were also informed that certain improvements needed to be made to their letter of request.
On 23 June 1906 the residents of Smaldeel had a meeting where a declaration was drawn up, giving Helgaardt Theunissen authority to amend the first letter of request, and to sign all the following declarations and to appear in front of the Legislative Council
Legislative Council
A Legislative Council is the name given to the legislatures, or one of the chambers of the legislature of many nations and colonies.A Member of the Legislative Council is commonly referred to as an MLC.- Unicameral legislatures :...
, in person, on their behalf.
Theunissen, assisted by his lawyer, Mr. G.A. Hill, drew up a complete declaration, dated 23 June 1906, containing information of which farms should be purchased and at what price. He concludes by declaring:
“It is confidently anticipated that the total cost of forming the Township… will not exceed ₤20,000.”
This important document is accompanied by a medical report compiled by the district’s physician Dr. A.J. Baird, wherein he states considered sanitary and health circumstances within Smaldeel. He concludes:
“It is highly desirable that a recognized municipal authority should be appointed.”
Following the submission of the declaration the area was visited by the commission of enquiry, Mr. Steyn and Brebner. The report from the commission appears on 4 January 1907. This stipulated their findings, as well as the arguments for and against the forming of a township, and stating their recommendation as follows:
“On an inspection of the properties your Commission had doubts as to a sufficient supply of water being obtainable for the wants of a township, but got assurance that plenty could be obtained from the existing spring and dam, which would be supplemented by the sinking of wells: underground water is struck at a depth of from 13 to 20 feet”
After they were sighted on the possible difficulty that they could encounter, their findings were as follows:
“Your commission recommends that the petition be granted.”
The requisition for the founding of a Township at Smaldeel appeared in front of the Legislative Council on 1 March 1907. The request was approved. The Secretary of the Legislative Council sent a letter, dated 6 March 1907, to Mr. H Theunissen:
“I have the honour to inform you that the Legislative Council has sanctioned the formation of a township at Smaldeel on conditions of which I enclose a copy"
The conditions were as follows:
- i) That A.N. Mucke for his farm Statie, is paid ₤1,200
- ii) That J.S. Nieman for his farm Smaldeel, is paid ₤5,500
- iii) That Jacobs W.A. du Plessis and Jozeph A. du Plessis for their farm Poortjie receives ₤3 per morgen, for the portion that lies within the township. (it was more or less 400 morgen)
- iv) That land is set aside for the building of a church, school, magistrate buildings, post office, jail, town hall, etc.
- v) That at least 2 town squares be lain out.
- vi) That the streets may not be less than 70 feet wide.
- vii) That the costs for the founding of the township should be ₤11,700
The official proclamation of Smaldeel to the township of Theunissen dragged on until September. The official proclamation appeared in the Government Gazette of 13 September 1907 – Proclamation 41 of 1907. It reads as follows:
“Whereas the Legislative Council of this Colony has determined that it is necessary that a township be formed at Smaldeel in the district of Winburg. Now, therefore, under by virtue of the powers in me vested, I do hereby proclaim and make known as follows:
A township has been formed at Theunissen formerly known as Smaldeel in the district of Winburg in terms of the resolution of the Legislative Council dated 1st March 1907, consisting of the following farms viz. Statie No. 667 registered in the name of A.N. Mucke, Smaldeel No. 262 registered in the name of S.J. Nieman and that part of the farm Poortjie No. 259 registered in the names of J.W.A. du Plessis and J.A. du Plessis and situated between the North East Boundary of the farm Smaldeel and the main railway line, all in the said district of Winburg.
GOD SAVE THE KING
Given under my hand and the public seal of the Orange River Colony at Bloemfontein, this 13th day of September 1907.
H. Goold-Adams
Governor.”
The name Theunissen is given to the town in acknowledgement of the services of Field Commandant Helgaardt Theunissen.
Notable residents
Springbok rugby legend, Os du RandtOs du Randt
Jacobus Petrus du Randt, better known as Os du Randt , is a former South African rugby union loosehead prop who retired as the most-capped forward in the history of the Springboks...
has a farm called Tama just outside the town.