Potchefstroom, North West

Potchefstroom
Town Hall, Potgieter Street
Flag
Motto: City of Expertise Motswe Wa Boitseanape Stad van Deskundigheid
Potchefstroom Show map of North West (South African province) Potchefstroom Show map of South Africa Potchefstroom Show map of Africa  Potchefstroom shown within North West
Coordinates: 26°42′54″S 27°06′12″E / 26.71500°S 27.10333°E / -26.71500; 27.10333Coordinates: 26°42′54″S 27°06′12″E / 26.71500°S 27.10333°E / -26.71500; 27.10333
Country	South Africa
Province	North West
District	Dr Kenneth Kaunda
Municipality	Tlokwe
Established	1838
Government
• Mayor	Kgotso Khumalo (ANC)
Area
• Total	185.4 km2 (71.6 sq mi)
Elevation	1,340 m (4,400 ft)
Population (2016)
• Total	128,353
• Density	690/km2 (1,800/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2016)
• Black African	70.1%
• Coloured	6%
• Indian/Asian	1%
• White	22.4%
• Other	0.5%
First languages (2016)
• Tswana	41.1%
• Afrikaans	27.9%
• Sotho	10.9%
• Xhosa	9.5%
• Other	10.6%
Postal code (street)	2520
PO box	2520
Area code	018
Website	[1]

Potchefstroom is an academic city in the North West Province of South Africa. It hosts the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. It is situated on the banks of the Mooirivier (Afrikaans for "pretty (or beautiful) river"), roughly 120 km (75 mi) west-southwest of Johannesburg and 45 km (28 mi) east-northeast of Klerksdorp.

There are a number of theories on the origin of the name Potchefstroom. Firstly it is said to come from 'Potgieter' + 'Chef' + 'stroom'. This refers to the Voortrekker leader and town father Andries Potgieter, "chef" being an indication of leader of the voortrekkers and "stroom" referring to the Mooi River.

According to the South African writer Geoffrey Jenkins, "Others however, attribute the name as having come from the word 'Potscherf', meaning a shard of a broken pot, due to the cracks that appear in the soil of the Mooi River Valley during drought resembling a broken pot".

M.L Fick thirdly suggests that Potchefstroom developed from the abbreviation of "Potgieterstroom" to "Potgerstroom" which in time became "Potchefstroom". However, this doesn't account for the use of "Potjestroom" which is found as inscription on many documents and photographs.

In 2006 the local African National Congress-controlled municipality decided on a name change for the city, the municipality and a number of important street names, favouring 'Tlokwe' as the new name. In 2007 the local municipality was changed from Potchefstroom Municipality to Tlokwe Municipality.

The town, founded in 1838 by the Voortrekkers, is the second oldest settlement of people of European descent in the then Transvaal. The honour of oldest European settlement belongs to Klerksdorp, situated approximately 40 km (25 mi) to the West. This is sometimes challenged by historians because the first settlement was in the "upper regions of the Schoon Spruit", which might be between Klerksdorp and Potchefstroom. Potchefstroom however was the first to develop into a functional town.