Harrismith

For the town in Western Australia, see Harrismith, Western Australia.
Harrismith

View from the north
Harrismith
Harrismith
Harrismith

 Harrismith shown within Free State

Coordinates: 28°17′0″S 29°08′0″E / 28.28333°S 29.13333°E / -28.28333; 29.13333Coordinates: 28°17′0″S 29°08′0″E / 28.28333°S 29.13333°E / -28.28333; 29.13333
Country South Africa
Province Free State
District Thabo Mofutsanyane
Municipality Maluti-a-Phofung
Established 1849[1]
Area[2]
 • Total 138.80 km2 (53.59 sq mi)
Population (2011)[2]
 • Total 27,869
 • Density 200/km2 (520/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)[2]
 • Black African 87.1%
 • Coloured 0.8%
 • Indian/Asian 1.3%
 • White 10.7%
 • Other 0.2%
First languages (2011)[2]
 • Zulu 49.4%
 • Sotho 32.6%
 • Afrikaans 10.4%
 • English 3.7%
 • Other 3.8%
Postal code (street) 9880
PO box 9880
Area code 058
Website Harrismith - Community Website


Harrismith, named after Sir Harry Smith who was a British governor of the Cape Colony,[3] is a town in the Free State province of South Africa. It is situated by the Wilge River, on the N3 highway approximately midway between Johannesburg, about 300 km north-west, and Durban. The town is at the junction with the N5 highway, which continues west towards the provincial capital Bloemfontein, around 340 km south-west. This important crossroads in South Africa's land trade routes is surrounded by mesas and buttes and located at base of one of these called Platberg ("Flat Mountain" translated from Afrikaans).

History

The town was founded in 1849 and named after British Governor Harry Smith, who tried to persuade the Voortrekkers not to abandon Natal.

The town was initially laid out by Robert Moffat about 25 km from the present location, in present-day Aberfeldy on the Elands River. This site unfortunately 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. 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, a town named after Sir Harry Smith's wife that is located in the KwaZulu-Natal province. It is a similar distance east of Bethlehem

The small nearby hamlet of Swinburne is named after Sir Johan Swinburne, a gold prospector.

Present day

Harrismith is well known as a convenient refuelling stop for trucks, vehicles and people 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. Located near the scenic eastern escarpment border with KwaZulu-Natal Province, 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 Qwa-Qwa region of the Free State, 80 km South 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 of town on the R712.

Harrismith is the centre of one of the five wool producing districts in Southern Africa.

The town is also 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.

Tourist attractions

Platberg's western aspect
Sterkfontein Dam with Platberg in the distance

Coats of arms

Municipal (1)

By 1931, the Harrismith municipal council had assumed a pseudo-heraldic coat of arms.[5] The shield was divided by a horizontal line, the upper half depicting three upright maize cobs and three sheaves of wheat on a silver background, and the lower half a cornucopia. The crest was a plough, and the motto Grandescunt aucta labore.

Municipal (2)

A proper coat of arms was designed (by Schalk Pienaar) in the 1970s, and registered at the Bureau of Heraldry in September 1977.[6]

The arms were : Argent, a chevron Azure between in chief an elephant statant proper and in base a demi-cogwheel issuant Gules, two flaunches Vert each charged with an ear of wheat, Or. In layman's terms, the shield is silver and depicts, from top to bottom, an elephant, a blue chevron, and the upper half of a red cogwheel, and on each side is a curved green segment bearing a golden ear of wheat.

Once again, the crest was a plough and the motto was Grandescunt aucta labore.

References

  1. ↑ "Chronological order of town establishment in South Africa based on Floyd (1960:20-26)" (PDF). pp. xlv–lii.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Main Place Harrismith". Census 2011.
  3. ↑ "Sir Harry Smith - An autobiography showing him to have seen warfare in four continents." (PDF). The New York Times. 1902-05-24. Retrieved 2008-10-21.
  4. ↑ "Harrismith Mountain Race". Harrismith Mountain Race. Retrieved 2011-03-10.
  5. ↑ The arms were depicted on a cigarette card issued in 1931.
  6. ↑ http://www.national.archsrch.gov.za
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