Viljoensdrif
Place in Free State, South Africa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Viljoensdrif is a coal-mining village 8 km south of Vereeniging and part of the Fezile Dabi District Municipality in the Free State province of South Africa.
Viljoensdrif | |
|---|---|
  Viljoensdrif  Viljoensdrif | |
| Coordinates: 26.73333°S 27.916667°E | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Free State |
| District | Fezile Dabi |
| Municipality | Metsimaholo |
| Area | |
• Total | 63.30 km2 (24.44 sq mi) |
| Population (2011)[1] | |
• Total | 751 |
| • Density | 11.9/km2 (30.7/sq mi) |
| Racial makeup (2011) | |
| • Black African | 73.8% |
| • Coloured | 1.5% |
| • Indian/Asian | 0.7% |
| • White | 6.9% |
| • Other | 17.2% |
| First languages (2011) | |
| • Sotho | 28.5% |
| • Zulu | 20.1% |
| • Xhosa | 17.4% |
| • Afrikaans | 10.2% |
| • Other | 23.8% |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
| Area code | 016 |
It takes its name from ford (Afrikaans drif) which was closed to ox-wagons by President Paul Kruger in 1895 to prevent goods reaching the Witwatersrand, thus forcing people to use the Netherlands-South African Railway Company (NZASM)'s Pretoria-Delagoa Bay railroad. Named after the owner of the place, J H Viljoen, who established a ferry in 1857.[2]
