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Conference Venues South Africa brings you information on Smithfield situated in the Free State Province of South Africa including information on Facilities and Recreation, Climate, Founding, History Suburbs, Town Planning and Geography

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Information on Smithfield, Free State, South Africa

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About Smithfield, Free State, South Africa

Smithfield is a small town in the Free State province of South Africa. It was founded in 1848 when the then Cape Colony governor, Sir Harry Smith (1847-1852), required a settlement north of the Orange River. Smithfield is the third oldest village in the Free State.

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The town is tucked into a horseshoe of hills, some 132 km southeast of Bloemfontein along the national road to Port Elizabeth. The Caledon River bounds Smithfield on the east and south. The district is drained by various tributaries of this river, the Vinkel and Wilgeboom Spruits being the largest. As the town lies 13 km west of the river, water has to be obtained from boreholes around the town dam.

Smithfield has a small population of approximately 4,500. It is a prosperous wool-growing district, in addition to cattle farming. Originally an important wool-growing area, in recent times its position astride major tourist routes, has lent impetus to growing tourism.

Ou Grietjie, a cannon used by the Free State in the Basuto wars, has been mounted in front of the magistrate's office. It was named after Margaret (Grietjie), wife of the gunner Robert Finlay.

The Caledon River museum is located in town. The Carmel and Beersheba missionary posts are experiencing some revival, with houses increasingly renovated.

The well-maintained local golf course dates back more than 100 years. Its facilities are open to guests, as are local tennis and bowls clubs. (portions of text adapted from pula house web site at pula-house).

Hills surrounding the town are considered well-suited to hiking, walking, horse-riding and birdwatching in relative isolation. Local secondary roads are suitable for mountain biking.Blesbok and some Zebra are to be found in the open savanna.

Smithfield History

Waterval farm was the original site chosen in 1848 for settlement as a Dutch Reformed (NG) church centre. However, when plots were offered for sale, there were no takers. Farmers were dissatisfied with the site (24 km west of present-day Smithfield). They then opted for Rietpoort, where there was abundant water. The new town was named New Smithfield (the "New" soon fell away), named after Sir Harry Smith - the old Smithfield referred to Smithfield in London. In the fifty years after establishment the Dutch Reformed Church was prominent there and one of the dominees who served there was the famous Rev Andrew Murray.The famous Second Boer War General Christiaan de Wet was born on the nearby farm Leeukop in 1854. The area was the scene in the 1860s of much fighting between the early Free State settlers and Basotho, as it is not far from the border with Basutoland (now Lesotho).

It constituted a village board in 1860 but only became a municipality in 1948. In the 1870s the town was on one of the main routes to the Diamond Fields from the coast via Aliwal North, and trade was brisk in that period. In the period 1907 to 1939, the MP for Smithfield was General Hertzog who represented the constituency for the Oranje Unie, the South African Party, the National Party and the United Party. He was the leader of the National Party from 1914 to 1939 and Prime Minister of SA from 1924 to 1929. Before entering politics he had been appointed a judge on the Orange Free State Bench in 1895 before the age of 30 and then became a successful Boer General with his own commando in the Anglo-Boer War.

Towns and Suburbs of the Free State province of South Africa

Bethlehem , Bloemfontein , Clarens , Ficksburg , Fouriesburg , Gariep Dam , Kroonstad , Ladybrand , Harrismith , Parys , Sasolburg , Senekal , Smithfield , Thaba Nchu , Vredefort , Welkom , Wepener

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