Gemoedere wat hoog loop veroorsaak van tyd tot tyd gespanne situasies op die kampus. Vandag se studente was egter nog nooit die slagoffers van geweld, soos wat hulle oumas en oupas in 1940 beleef het nie. Dit was midde-in die Tweede Wêreldoorlog en die Pukke was “in...
First sporting hub of Potchefstroom
Today Potchefstroom is undeniably one of the sporting hubs of the country. Due to the internationally regarded High Performance Institute at the North-West University Potchefstroom Campus, international athletes are flocking to train here, mostly during the summer...
Alexandra Park – the lost green heart of Potchefstroom
“A delightful resort . . . very popular with residents and visitors. There are shaded walks, arbours, a rosary and well-cultivated gardens, an added charm being the large furrow which passes through.” This is how a brochure to promote Potchefstroom described the park...
The tragic stories about the early doctors of Potchefstroom
With the passing of the Dr Alfons Raats at the end of 2021, Potchefstroom lost one of its well-loved physicians. Since the founding of the town many medical men – and women – served Potchefstroom with great distinction. Researching this article about the early doctors...
Street names reflect history 16 – The lost street names of Potchefstroom
Changing street names has always been a contentious issue. After the Anglo-Boer War – and with a new political dispensation – the town council of Potchefstroom had long discussions on the changing of certain street names. The one that lasted was King Edward Street,...
Street names reflect history 15 – W & Z
Do the residents of Zeederberg Street know that their street was named after a now extinct form of travel? Or that the Weeks family, after whom that street was named, suffered a terrible tragedy? Or that Rev Wynne, after whom that street was named revolutionised...
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...
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...
A fresh look at the historic mills of Potchefstroom
Almost all that is left of the thriving mill industry on the Bult during the latter part of the 19th century are mill streams, repurposed as storm water drainage and three street names, Molen Street, Meul Street and Hoffman Street. The first two are self-explanatory...