Winnie Mandela (Brandfort)

History

Brandfort developed on a farm called "Keerom", which means "to turn around" in Afrikaans. A Voortrekker elder and early landholder in the area named Jacobus van Zijl(van Zyl), portioned and sold land on which developed into the town that still exists to this day. The Dutch Reformed Church was founded on "Keerom" in 1866. The town served as an important link between Bloemfontein and western regions of the Orange Free State, sustained by an agricultural environment. After the town was proclaimed and registered in 1874, the community was visited by the then Orange Free State President, Johannes Brand, and the settlement was named in his honour shortly afterwards. By the late 19th century, the town had established institutions, such as schools, a magistrate's court, and basic municipal infrastructure. During the Second Anglo-Boer War, the British authorities built a concentration camps in and around Brandfort to house Boer civilians, mostly women and children, as well as a separate camp for Blacks. Conditions in the camp were characterized by overcrowding, poor hygiene, starvation, disease, and high mortality rates, reflecting the cruel circumstances imposed by the British throughout camps in the Orange Free State. A historical connection emerged from this period of war when the brother of the famous Dutch painter, Vincent van Gogh, picked up arms to join the Boer army as a volunteer. Çornelis 'Çor' van Gogh emigrated to South Africa in 1899 at the age of 22. He suffered an untimely death on the 14th of April 1900 in a military hospital. He was subsequently buried in an unmarked grave in an unknown location near Brandfort. In the early 20th century, Brandfort became associated with technological innovation through the work of Rear Admiral John Wesson, whose house is now…

Most-observed species

• Red-knobbed Coot

  Fulica cristata Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  60
• Egyptian Goose

  Alopochen aegyptiaca (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  31
• Cape Wagtail

  Motacilla capensis Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  27
• White-browed Sparrow-Weaver

  Plocepasser mahali A.Smith, 1836 · Aves
  27
• Long-tailed Widowbird

  Euplectes progne (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  27
• Long-tailed Cormorant

  Microcarbo africanus (Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  27
• Blacksmith Lapwing

  Vanellus armatus (Burchell, 1822) · Aves
  26
• South African Shelduck

  Tadorna cana (J.F.Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  24

Most recent

• M 4.6 — 2022-06-15
  6 km SSW of Kutloanong, South Africa
• M 4.2 — 2021-07-14
  7 km SW of Welkom, South Africa
• M 4.5 — 2020-01-25
  11 km S of Welkom, South Africa
• M 4.4 — 2019-07-23
  27 km NNW of Theunissen, South Africa
• M 4.9 — 2019-03-22
  8 km WNW of Virginia, South Africa
• M 4.3 — 2018-09-14
  16 km NE of Theunissen, South Africa