Standerton

General Jan Smuts won this seat during elections and went on to assist in setting up the League of Nations. The seat of the Lekwa Local Municipality.

• Name — Standerton • Subdivision Type — Country • Subdivision Name — South Africa • Subdivision Type1 — Province • Subdivision Name1 — Mpumalanga • Subdivision Type2 — District • Subdivision Name2 — Gert Sibande • Subdivision Type3 — Municipality • Subdivision Name3 — Lekwa • Subdivision Type4 — Main Place • Established Title — Established • Established Date — 14 December 1878 • Leader Title — Councillor • Area Total Km2 — 36.21 • Elevation M — 1530 • Population Total — 43966 • Population As Of — 2011 • Population Density Km2 — auto • Demographics Type1 — Racial makeup (2011) • Demographics1 Title1 — Black African • Demographics1 Info1 — 66.6% • Demographics1 Title2 — White • Demographics1 Info2 — 23.1% • Demographics1 Title3 — Coloured • Demographics1 Info3 — 6.8% • Demographics1 Title4 — Indian/Asian • Demographics1 Info4 — 3.0% • Demographics1 Title5 — Other • Demographics1 Info5 — 0.5% • Demographics Type2 — First languages (2011) • Demographics2 Title1 — Zulu • Demographics2 Info1 — 48.3% • Demographics2 Title2 — Afrikaans • Demographics2 Info2 — 28.0% • Demographics2 Title3 — Sotho • Demographics2 Info3 — 8.5% • Demographics2 Title4 — English • Demographics2 Info4 — 7.4% • Demographics2 Title5 — Other • Demographics2 Info5 — 7.8% • Timezone1 — SAST • Utc Offset1 — +2 • Postal Code Type — Postal code (street) • Postal Code — 2430 • Postal2 Code Type — PO box • Postal2 Code — 2430 • Area Code Type — Area code • Area Code — 017

Standerton was founded in 1878 on a farm called Grootverlangen and named after its owner Commandant Adriaan Henrik Stander. The South African Republic's Volksraad approved the formation of a town at the drift in 1876 and proclaimed two years later. It was granted municipal status in 1903. The crossing over the Vaal River, now bridged, was known as Stander's Drift and a hill close to the town was called Standerskop were also named after Stander. During the First Boer War (1880–81), a British unit was besieged by the Boer forces who shelled them from the nearby hill, the former holding out until the end of the war in February 1881. In May 1900 during the Second Boer War, the Canadian Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) Regiment clashed with Boer Commandos near Standerton. Canadian marksmanship held off the Boer ambush and prevented an attempted encirclement. • Illustration — Black civilians in the British concentration camp at Standerton, circa 1901, during the Second Boer War.

The township of Sakhile near Standerton was the site of violent, service delivery riots that led to the Lekwa Municipality mayor Juliet Queen Radebe-Khumalo and other senior municipal officials, being recalled by the African National Congress in October 2009. The riots included the burning of tyres and blocking some entries to the town.

The area around the town promotes mixed agriculture with crops such as maize, sunflower seeds, ground nuts and potatoes. Poultry and dairy farming is also conducted in the region.

Standerton Mills Pty Ltd was established in 1947. Mainly manufacturing and supplying yarn and woven industrial fabrics.

Grootdraai Dam is situated in the upper reaches of the Vaal River less than 10 km upstream of Standerton. It has a catchment area of 8,195 km 2, a mean annual precipitation of approximately 750 mm, a mean annual potential evaporation at the dam site of 1,400 mm and a natural inflow of 580 million m 3 /a. The full supply capacity of the reservoir is 364 million m 3. The Grootdraai dam was completed in 1982.

Although Standerton is a rural town surviving mainly on agriculture, it has produced talented people prominent in South African society. • Arnold S de Beer - journalist and academic • Pieter Hendriks - South Africa national rugby team player • Angel Khanyile - member of the National Assembly of South Africa. Shadow Minister of Home Affairs • Jaco Kriel - South Africa national rugby team player • Mark Lawrence - retired international rugby union referee. He refereed his first international test match, in 2000, and was chosen to officiate at both the 2003 Rugby World Cup [2] and 2007 Rugby World Cups. • Frans Lourens Herman Rumpff - Chief Justice of South Africa, 1974-1982 • Rooi Mahamutsa - South African football defender for Premiership club Free State Stars F.C. and South Africa. Mahamutsa also played for Orlando Pirates. • Mfundo Ndhlovu - South Africa national rugby sevens team player • JC Ritchie - professional golfer • Gary Van Aswegen - Rugby union player • Constand Viljoen - South African military commander. co-founded the Afrikaner Volksfront (Afrikaner People's Front) and later founded the Freedom Front (now Freedom Front Plus)