Wakkerstroom

Wakkerstroom
Wakkerstroom  Wakkerstroom shown within Mpumalanga
Coordinates: 27°21′S 30°08′E / 27.350°S 30.133°ECoordinates: 27°21′S 30°08′E / 27.350°S 30.133°E
Country	South Africa
Province	Mpumalanga
District	Gert Sibande
Municipality	Pixley ka Seme
Established	1859
Area[1]
• Total	87.68 km^2 (33.85 sq mi)
Population (2011)[1]
• Total	6,852
• Density	78/km^2 (200/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)[1]
• Black African	87.8%
• Coloured	0.3%
• Indian/Asian	1.3%
• White	10.2%
• Other	0.4%
First languages (2011)[1]
• Zulu	86.2%
• English	4.2%
• Afrikaans	3.7%
• S. Ndebele	1.6%
• Other	4.2%
Postal code (street)	2480
PO box	2480
Area code	017

Wakkerstroom, (Awake Stream), is the second oldest town in Mpumalanga province in South Africa.

The town is on the KwaZulu-Natal border, 27 km east of Volksrust and 56 km south-east of Amersfoort. The settlement was laid out on the farm Gryshoek by Dirk Cornelis (Swart Dirk) Uys (1814-1910), proclaimed in 1859, and administered by a village council from 1910. Swart Dirk Uys originally named the town Uysenburg, but the name was changed by the Executive Council of the South African Republic to Marthinus-Wesselstroom,^[2] also known as Wesselstroom. In 1904 the name of the town was changed again to Wakkerstroom, meaning ‘awake stream’ or ‘lively stream’, which is an Afrikaans translation of the Zulu name for the river uThaka (English: awake) that flows near the town.^[3]

Sheep and cattle farming are the primary industries.

The area surrounding the town is mountainous with kloofs, mountain springs, vlei areas, dams, conservation and heritage sites. It is internationally renowned as a "birders paradise".

References

1. "Main Place Wakkerstroom". Census 2011.
2. "South African Military History Society - Journal- A BOER FAMILY". samilitaryhistory.org. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
3. "History". www.wakkerstroom.co.za. Retrieved 2016-01-02.

External links

• Wakkerstroom Home Page