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{{Infobox
| name = Wakkerstroom (Mhlongamvula in Zulu/Swati)
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| other_name = ▼
| image_skyline = ▼
| image_caption = ▼
| coordinates = {{coord|27|21|35|S|30|08|14|E|region:ZA|display=inline,title}}
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| subdivision_name2 = [[Gert Sibande District Municipality|Gert Sibande]]
| subdivision_type3 = Municipality
| subdivision_name3 = [[Pixley ka Seme Local Municipality|Pixley ka Seme]]
| subdivision_type4 = Main Place
| established_title = Established
| leader_title = Councillor
| area_footnotes = <ref name="census2011">{{cite web |url=http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/863007 |title = Main Place Wakkerstroom |work=Census 2011}}</ref>
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| population_footnotes = <ref name="census2011" />
| population_total = 6852
| population_as_of = 2011
| population_density_km2 = auto
<!-- demographics (section 1) -->
| demographics_type1 = Racial makeup (2011)
| demographics1_footnotes = <ref name="census2011" />
| demographics1_title1 = [[Bantu peoples of South Africa|Black African]]
| demographics1_info1 = 87.8%
| demographics1_title2 = [[White South African|White]]
| demographics1_info2 = 10.2%
| demographics1_title3 = [[Indian South African|Indian]]/[[Asian South African|Asian]]
| demographics1_info3 = 1.3%
| demographics1_title4 = [[Coloureds|Coloured]]
| demographics1_info4 = 0.3%
| demographics1_title5 = Other
| demographics1_info5 = 0.4%
<!-- demographics (section 2) -->
| demographics_type2 = [[First language]]s (2011)
| demographics2_footnotes = <ref name="census2011" />
| demographics2_title1 = [[Zulu language|Zulu]]
| demographics2_info1 = 86.2%
| demographics2_title2 = [[South African English|English]]
| demographics2_info2 = 4.2%
| demographics2_title3 = [[Afrikaans]]
| demographics2_info3 = 3.7%
| demographics2_title4 = [[Southern Ndebele language|S. Ndebele]]
| demographics2_info4 = 1.6%
| demographics2_title5 = Other
| demographics2_info5 = 4.2%
<!-- blank fields (section 2) -->
<!-- Other information -->
| timezone1 = [[South African Standard Time|SAST]]
| postal_code_type = [[List of postal codes in South Africa|Postal code]] (street)
| postal2_code_type = [[Post-office box|PO box]]
| area_code_type = [[Telephone numbers in South Africa|Area code]]
| area_code = 017
}}
'''Wakkerstroom''', (''Awake Stream''), is the second oldest town in [[Mpumalanga]] province, [[South Africa]].▼
▲'''Wakkerstroom'''
==History==
{{Moresources|section|date=August 2023}}
The settlement was laid out on the farm Gryshoek by Dirk Cornelis (Swart Dirk) Uys (1814–1910), proclaimed in 1859 by [[Marthinus Wessel Pretorius|President Pretorius]], and administered by a village council from 1910.<ref name="Dict">{{Cite book|title=Dictionary of Southern African Place Names|last=Raper|first=Peter E|last2=Moller|first2=Lucie A|last3=du Plessis|first3=Theodorus L|publisher=Jonathan Ball Publishers|year=2014|isbn=9781868425501}}</ref> Swart Dirk Uys, who surveyed the property using a 50-yard thong made from an [[Common eland|eland]] he shot on arrival, originally named the town Uysenburg, but the name was changed by the Executive Council of the [[South African Republic]] to Marthinus-Wesselstroom,<ref>{{Cite web|title = South African Military History Society - Journal- A BOER FAMILY|url = http://samilitaryhistory.org/vol036iu.html|website = samilitaryhistory.org|access-date = 2 January 2016}}</ref> after the president's first names,<ref name="EB1911">{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Wakkerstroom|volume=28|page=250|short=y}}</ref> and also known as Wesselstroom.
In 1904, the name of the town was changed again to Wakkerstroom, meaning "awake stream" or "lively stream", which is an [[Afrikaans]] translation of the [[isiZulu|Zulu]] name for the river {{Proper name|uThaka}} ([[English language|English]]: ''awake)'' that flows near the town.<ref>{{Cite web|title = History|url = http://www.wakkerstroom.co.za/history/|website = www.wakkerstroom.co.za|access-date = 2 January 2016}}</ref>
The courthouse, St. Mark's Church, and the old bridge over the river have been declared national monuments. [[H. Rider Haggard]]'s novel ''[[She: A History of Adventure]]'' was written while he lived on Hoog Street. The bridge dates to 1893, when it was built under the [[South African Republic]] from [[Germany|German]] steel. South Africa's first black member of the Christ Community Church was baptized by Reverend D. Bryant in 1904.
===First Boer War===
Wakkerstroom was occupied by the [[58th (Rutlandshire) Regiment of Foot]], the [[80th Regiment of Foot (Staffordshire Volunteers)]], and [[1st King's Dragoon Guards]] in 1880–1881 during the [[First Boer War]]. Remains of the Staffordshire and Dragoon encampments can be found on the slopes of the Ossewakop and Voortrekkerkop passes south of town.
===Second Boer War===
During the [[Second Boer War]], the British built twenty-one [[blockhouse]]s between [[Volksrust]] and Wakkerstroom and a hundred between Wakkerstroom and [[Piet Retief, Mpumalanga]]. The blockhouses were built to guard the British supply lines from [[Durban]].
==Economy==
[[Sheep]] and [[cattle]] farming are the primary industries. Proposed coal mining in the area has raised concerns due to the environmental sensitivity of the region.<ref name="yende">{{cite news|last1=Yende|first1=Sizwe Sama|title=Mining in biodiverse sanctuary approved|url=http://www.fin24.com/Companies/Mining/mining-in-biodiverse-sanctuary-approved-20161028|
==Environment==
The Yzermyn project of Uthaka Energy (Pty) Ltd, a coal-mining company, was put on hold in 2021, after a coalition of civil society organisations objected to mining in one of South Africa's critical water source areas.<ref name="yeld1">{{cite news |last1=Yeld |first1=John |title=Court pours cold water on Mpumalanga coal mine operations in critical source area |url= https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-03-25-court-pours-cold-water-on-mpumalanga-coal-mine-operations-in-critical-source-area/ |access-date=26 March 2021 |agency=Daily Maverick |publisher=dailymaverick.co.za |date=25 March 2021}}</ref>
==Sources==
* [[B.P.J. Erasmus|Erasmus, B.P.J.]] (1995). ''Op Pad in Suid-Afrika''. New York: Jonathan Ball. {{ISBN|1-86842-026-4}}
* [[Eric Rosenthal (historian)|Rosenthal, Eric]] (1967). ''Ensiklopedie van Suidelike Afrika''. London: Frederick Warne.
==References==
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[[Category:Populated places established in 1859]]
[[Category:1859 establishments in South Africa]]
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