Harrismith
Encyclopedia
Harrismith, named after Sir Harry Smith, is a large town 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...
, situated on the N3 highway approximately midway between Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, about 300 km north-east, and Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
. The town is at the junction with the N5 highway, which continues west towards the provincial capital Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein 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...
, around 340 km south-west. This important crossroads in South Africa's land trade routes is surrounded by mesa
Mesa
A mesa or table mountain is an elevated area of land with a flat top and sides that are usually steep cliffs. It takes its name from its characteristic table-top shape....
s and butte
Butte
A butte is a conspicuous isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; it is smaller than mesas, plateaus, and table landform tables. In some regions, such as the north central and northwestern United States, the word is used for any hill...
s and located at base of one of these called Platberg ("Flat Mountain" translated from Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
).
History
The town was founded in 1849 and named after British Governor Harry Smith, who tried to persuade the disillusioned VoortrekkersVoortrekkers
The Voortrekkers were emigrants during the 1830s and 1840s who left the Cape Colony moving into the interior of what is now South Africa...
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
Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein 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...
.
The town is around 90 kilometers west from Ladysmith
Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal
Ladysmith is a city in the Uthukela District of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is north-west of Durban and south of Johannesburg. Important industries in the area include food processing, textile and tyre production...
, a town named after Sir Harry Smith's wife that is located in the KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....
province. It is a similar distance east of Bethlehem
Bethlehem, Free State
Bethlehem is a town in the eastern Free State province of South Africa that is situated on the Liebenbergs river along a fertile valley just south of the Rooiberg Mountains on the N5 highway....
The small nearby hamlet of Swinburne is named after Sir Johan Swinburne, a gold prospector
Prospecting
Prospecting is the physical search for minerals, fossils, precious metals or mineral specimens, and is also known as fossicking.Prospecting is a small-scale form of mineral exploration which is an organised, large scale effort undertaken by mineral resource companies to find commercially viable ore...
.
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 DrakensbergDrakensberg
The Drakensberg is the highest mountain range in Southern Africa, rising to in height. In Zulu, it is referred to as uKhahlamba , and in Sesotho as Maluti...
including Tugela Falls
Tugela Falls
Tugela Falls is the world's second highest waterfall. The total drop in five free-leaping falls is . They are located in the Drakensberg in the Royal Natal National Park in KwaZulu-Natal Province, Republic of South Africa. They are easily viewed after a heavy rain from the main travel road into...
and Mont-Aux-Sources
Mont-Aux-Sources
Mont-aux-Sources is a mountain range in Africa, forming one of the highest portions of the Drakensberg. A sheer wall of 1,000 vertical ft., known as the Sentinel, can be found here. A basalt plateau which lies at an elevation of about 10,000 feet , it is mostly within Lesotho.Mont-Aux Sources was...
(accessed via the Sentinel Hiking Trail, in the Qwaqwa region of the Free State, 80 km South of Harrismith on the R57), Sterkfontein Dam Nature Reserve
Sterkfontein Dam Nature Reserve
Sterkfontein Dam Nature Reserve, Free State, South Africa is an 18.000 Ha reserve situated to the south west of Harrismith. The reserve is close to the Drakensberg Mountain nature reserve....
(20 km southeast of town on the R74), Royal Natal Park
Royal Natal National Park
The Royal Natal National Park is located in the KwaZulu Natal province of South Africa and forms part of the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park World Heritage Site...
and the uKhahlamba / Drakensberg Park World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
(66km southeast via Oliviershoek Pass beyond Sterkfontein Dam) and the spectacular Golden Gate Highlands National Park
Golden Gate Highlands National Park
Golden Gate Highlands National Park is located in Free State, Republic of South Africa, near the Lesotho border. It covers an area of 340 km² . The park's most notable features are its golden, ochre, and orange-hued deeply eroded sandstone cliffs and outcrops, especially the Brandwag rock...
50 km south of town on the R712.
Harrismith is the centre of one of the five wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
producing districts in Southern Africa
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. Within the region are numerous territories, including the Republic of South Africa ; nowadays, the simpler term South Africa is generally reserved for the country in English.-UN...
.
The town is also home to the largest truck stop in the Southern Hemisphere, Highway Junction.
Two other places in the world bear the same name: Harrismith Beach and Harrismith House near Bottom Bay in Barbados and Harrismith
Harrismith, Western Australia
Harrismith is a small town in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, approximately south-east of Perth between the towns of Wickepin and Kulin.-History:...
in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia.
Tourist attractions
- Harrismith Town Hall - A graceful sandstone and brick building built in 1907, and a National Monument.
- Platberg Reserve - One of the most famous landmarks in the Eastern Free State is the 9 kilometre long, 2,394 metre high, Platberg. The reserve covers the western slopes and summit of the mountain, including the former Drakensberg Botanical Garden (founded as a national botanical garden in 1967 but unfortunately now defunct), along with numerous trails and the Donkey Pass road to the mountain summit. The reserve is popular with hikers and mountain bike riders. The two dams in the former wildflower gardens are part of a series of aqueducts, flowing from the Gibson Dam on the mountain summit, that were built as a water supply to support the town and the British troops stationed here after the South African War. A well preserved sandstone blockhouse from that time guards over this water supply. Much of the southern slopes of the mountain are covered in Eucalypt, Wattle, and other exotic timber plantations from the time when a forestry centre was based here. Akkerbos, near the base of Donkey Pass, is a grove of oak trees that provided a picnic site during a Royal Tour by the British monarchy, including Elizabeth II in 1947. The reserve is home to herds of Eland, Black Wildebeest, Blesbok and Mountain Reedbuck along with introduced species such as Waterbuck and Fallow Deer.
- The annual Platberg Mountain Race is a 15 km foot race, including a scrambling ascent and descent of the mountain. This race forms part of the Berg Bohaai festival (literally "Mountain Mania" translated from Afrikaans). The race has been described as the "toughest marathon in the world" by Wally HaywardWally HaywardWallace Henry Hayward was a South African endurance athlete with a 60 year career. He has won the Comrades Marathon five times and completed the distance of around 90 km the last time just before his eighty-first birthday.He was born and died in Johannesburg...
. It originated in 1922 when a British soldier, Major A E Belcher, returned to Harrismith where he had been stationed near 42nd Hill during the Second Boer WarSecond Boer WarThe Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
. He referred to Platberg as "that small hill of yours", and one of the locals immediately bet him that he could not reach the top in less than 60 minutes. He accepted the challenge and covered the distance with eight minutes to spare. Afterwards Major Belcher presented a floating trophy as a prize awarded to the first athlete to reach the top of the mountain (the record time today is 22 minutes and 9 seconds). The 15 kilometre race starts from the town's sports grounds, and the route is up the slopes of Platberg passing through the terrain where the concentration camp once stood. The top is reached via One Man's Pass, close to which a fort, built during the Second Boer WarSecond Boer WarThe Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
, is to be seen. After traversing a short distance along the top, the descent is made via Zig-Zag Pass, and the race is completed at the sports grounds. - Harrismith Golf Course - The scenic 18-hole golf courseGolf courseA golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...
, arguably the third oldest in South Africa (after the Royal Cape and GeorgeGeorge, Western CapeGeorge is a city with 203,253 inhabitants in South Africa's Western Cape province. The city is a popular holiday and conference centre and the administrative and commercial hub of the Garden Route.- Location :...
Golf Clubs) was founded in 1887. - Dirty Harry - The Dirty Harry is a mountain bike race sponsored by the N3 Toll Company. The Dirty Harry forms part of the wonderful Berg Bohaai festival. This festival is held annually in early October.
- Kerkenberg - The VoortrekkersVoortrekkersThe Voortrekkers were emigrants during the 1830s and 1840s who left the Cape Colony moving into the interior of what is now South Africa...
camped in the area, while their leader, Piet RetiefPiet RetiefPieter Mauritz Retief was a South African Boer leader. Settling in 1814 in the frontier region of the Cape Colony, he assumed command of punitive expeditions in response to raiding parties from the adjacent Xhosa territory...
, descended into KwaZulu-Natal to negotiate for land with the Zulu chief Dingane. Retief's daughter wrote his name and recorded the date, which was also his birthday, on the rock where they held a church service. - Sterkfontein DamSterkfontein DamThe Sterkfontein Dam, located just outside the town of Harrismith, in the Free State, province of South Africa, is part of the Tugela-Vaal Water Project, and located on the Nuwejaarspruit, in the upper catchment area of the Vaal River...
- The third largest dam in South Africa. Practically all the water is pumped up the escarpment from KwaZulu-Natal. Built before the Lesotho Highlands Water ProjectLesotho Highlands Water ProjectThe Lesotho Highlands Water Project is an ongoing water supply project with a hydropower component, developed in partnership between the governments of Lesotho and South Africa. It comprises a system of several large dams and tunnels throughout Lesotho and South Africa. In Lesotho, it involves the...
was developed, this was a vital source of water for GautengGautengGauteng is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. It was formed from part of the old Transvaal Province after South Africa's first all-race elections on 27 April 1994...
. Ideal for water sport enthusiasts and anglers. Sterkfontein is particularly popular with windsurfers. - Bushmen Paintings - Around 5 kilometers out of town in one of local caves well preserved Bushmen paintings can still be found.
- Neo Paintings - Around 5 km from town, this Sotho King painted in caves close to the Sterkfontein dam.