Street names reflect history 13 – T
Not many street names in Potchefstroom begin with a “T”. One, however, represents one of the most widely-known residents of Potchefstroom, the poet Totius. Gardens and a fertilizer plant also gave their names to these streets. Theron Street (South) Mr CP (Charles)...
FW de Klerk – the golden boy of Potch
He never permanently lived in Potchefstroom, wasn’t even born here, but through most of his life FW de Klerk was intrinsically linked to Potchefstroom, especially with the Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education (PU for CHE). With his passing at the...
Street names reflect history 12 – S
A flag designer, two pioneer merchant brothers, a writer of youth literature and a flamboyant minister are immortalised in these streets named after them. Scheepers Lane (Central) was named after Mr Fred Scheepers, mayor in 1944. He was a staff member at the...
Street names reflect history 11 – R
A prominent businessman with assumed super powers, the man who was in charge of the town’s first power supply, the first English minister and first English teacher, amongst others, gave their names to these streets. Reitz Street (Bult) The street was named after...
Magdalena Retief – memorable tragic Voortrekker woman
Retief Street (Central) was named after, Magdalena Retief, the wife of the Voortrekker leader, Piet Retief. Retief. She resided on the north-eastern corner of Retief and Berg Streets (later Van Riebeeck, now Peter Mokaba). In 1994, shortly after a memorial in the...
Street names reflect history 10 – P
A man who became emotional about a pipe organ, a doctor concerned about the human consumption of patent medicine (including wolf poison) and the owner of one of the first shops of Potchefstroom all gave their names to these street names. Paul Schutte Street...
Street names reflect history 9 – O
A descendant of Swedish immigrants, a doctor – who was also a magistrate – and a blacksmith have been honoured by the town in these street names. Ockerse Lane (Central), also spelled Ocherse and Orcherse was named after Mr WC (Cookie) Ockerse, for many years...
Johan Oosthuizen – Freeman of Potchefstroom
Oosthuizen Street in the Heilige Akker was named after Alderman* Johan Oosthuizen, who resided in the Heilige Akker for many years. The Oosthuizens was one of the first residents in this area and resided in Johannes Dreyer Street. While preparing the article on the...
Street names reflect history 8 – M & N
A dominee with strange advice on how to alleviate loneliness, a music professor who died after a car accident, a doctor who died of the Spanish Flu and another music teacher all lend their names to streets in this category. Maherry Street (South) J Maherry, an...
What happened in the Potchefstroom concentration camp
This week’s news reports about the current spike in the Covid pandemic echo down the ages to 120 years ago. Stories about the measles outbreak in the winter of 1901 in the Potchefstroom concentration camp sound eerily familiar with overcrowded hospitals, exhausted...