Colonial settlement
Dawid Johannes Joubert became the first owner of the Hoedspruit farm, acquiring the land in 1844 and settling in the region between the Blyde and present-day Zandspruit rivers. [7] [8] On 5 May 1848, Joubert officially registered the farm at the land office in Ohrigstad, which gave the farm its first official registration and name. [7]
In the 1850s, Ohrigstad became the central town of the area, but only older settlers were permitted to live in and around Ohrigstad itself. Younger settlers under the age of 45 were encouraged to move farther away. Consequently, a group of young men established a settlement between the mountains and the Blyde River on a farm they named Jonkmanspruit (meaning "young man's stream"). Other young men settled on nearby farms such as Welverdiend (meaning "well deserved") and Driehoek (meaning "triangle," due to the farm's shape). These farm names are still in use in the area around the original Hoedspruit farm. [7]
The name "Hoedspruit" reportedly originates from an incident in 1844 involving Dawid Johannes Joubert. After a severe cloudburst caused the local river (now the Zandspruit) to flood, Joubert lost his hat in the water. He subsequently named the river "Hoedspruit," meaning "Hat Stream," to commemorate the event, and the farm later took the same name. [7]
Dawid Johannes Joubert owned another farm in the Ohrigstad area and divided his time between both properties. In 1860, he was killed by a leopard while on his farm in Ohrigstad. [7]
During Joubert's ownership, the Hoedspruit farm he had registered was extensive, stretching from the Blyde River to the Klaserie River and encompassing the present-day town center. [7]
Around this time, a border dispute arose between the Portuguese in Lourenço Marques (now Maputo) and the Transvaal Republic over the international boundary near the Drakensberg mountain range. The Portuguese claimed the Drakensberg as the border between Mozambique and South Africa, while the South Africans argued it was the Lebombo Mountains. To settle the matter, President Paul Kruger of the Transvaal Republic ordered a land survey to determine the official border.
As there were no qualified land surveyors in South Africa at the time, three surveyors—including G.R. von Wielligh, Vos, and Gillfillan—were brought from Europe. [9] [10] While in the Transvaal Republic, President Kruger also instructed them to mark farm boundaries along the Drakensberg mountains before their return to Europe, as the region was attracting potential settlers. The large farms, including the original Hoedspruit farm, were subdivided into smaller registered farms. [7]
Lacking knowledge of local languages and customs, the European surveyors often gave the new farms European place names. As a result, many farms in the area are named after places such as Essex, Madrid, Berlin, Richmond, Chester, Moscow, Dublin, Dundee, and Fife. [7] [8]
