Fochville

Fochville
Fochville
 Fochville shown within Gauteng
Fochville
Fochville (South Africa)
Fochville
Fochville (Africa)
Coordinates: 26°29′S 27°29′E / 26.483°S 27.483°E / -26.483; 27.483Coordinates: 26°29′S 27°29′E / 26.483°S 27.483°E / -26.483; 27.483
Country South Africa
Province Gauteng
District West Rand
Municipality Merafong City
Established 1920
Area[1]
 • Total 11.36 km2 (4.39 sq mi)
Population (2011)[1]
 • Total 9,497
 • Density 840/km2 (2,200/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)[1]
 • Black African 25.7%
 • Coloured 1.2%
 • Indian/Asian 0.4%
 • White 71.7%
 • Other 0.9%
First languages (2011)[1]
 • Afrikaans 71.3%
 • English 6.8%
 • Sotho 6.2%
 • Tswana 6.0%
 • Other 9.7%
Time zone UTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street) 2515
PO box 2515
Area code 018

Fochville is a farming and mining town located in the Gauteng province of South Africa. It is part of the Merafong City Local Municipality, which also includes Kokosi, Carletonville and Khutsong. The area surrounding Fochville contains Sotho or Tswana ruins. Tlokwe Ruins are the remains of Sotho-Tswana settlements on the hills surrounding Fochville that were inhabited until the 1820s. Boer War hero Danie Theron was killed 5 km north of the town. The town itself was established as an agricultural centre in 1920 and was named after the World War I commander-in-chief of the Allied forces in France, Marshal of France Ferdinand Foch.[2]

Education

Fochville has two primary schools and one high school.

Culture

Sports, including cricket, rugby, squash, yoga, and kickboxing are typically played at the Gert van Rensburg Stadium.[3] The town is also home to a bird farm and a trout hatchery.

Attack

In September 2012, the settlements near Fochville were subject to an ethnically motivated attack. Shacks were razed. Four people were killed and another six injured. The attack took place following a dispute over boundaries between two rival factions. The attackers used knobkierries, petrol cans and traditional spears and daggers.[4]

Tourist attractions

In early mining days, Western Deep Levels struck a stream of sulphurous water, which to this day surges out of the borehole.

Renosterfontein is a farm with old Tswana kraals, a traditional African village and the ruins of a house that belonged to the brothers of President Andries Pretorius.

The Tlokwe Ruins are the remains of Sotho-Tswana settlements on the hills surrounding Fochville. They were used until the inhabitants were driven away by Mzilikazi in the 1820s.

Monuments can be found in the area of Fochville. The Voortrekker Plaque, located to the south west, marks the site of an early Voortrekker fortification of 1842. The Theron Memorial is a memorial to Boer scout Danie Theron who was killed in 1900 during an engagement with a British detachment.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Main Place Fochville". Census 2011.
  2. ↑ "Index of /". Fochville.info. Retrieved 2016-03-03.
  3. ↑ "Index of /". Fochville.info. Retrieved 2016-03-03.
  4. ↑ "A night of fire 'n fury". SundayWorld. 2012-09-03. Retrieved 2016-03-03.
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