Standerton

 

Standerton’s Grootdraai Dam is a recreational retreat for those who enjoy water sports, yachting, fishing and camping. It also hosts the annual three-day Lekwa Music Festival and Mayoral Cup. Grootdraai Dam, meaning 'big bend' in Afrikaans, is situated along the Vaal River on the outskirts of Standerton. The dam was originally built to supply water to the Sasol 2 and Sasol 3 plants at Secunda and today supplies a number of Eskom's power stations. During the weekends it’s a
recreational retreat for locals, who enjoy water sports, yachting, fishing for carp, bass, mudfish, yellowfish and barbel as well as camping along its banks. Locals also have holiday homes at the boat club and the surrounding cosmos fields and willow trees make for a picturesque setting for a picnic or daytrip.

 

The annual three-day Lekwa Music Festival and Mayoral Cup, which is held at Grootdraai Dam and the local sports stadium, has become a highlight in the town’s calendar and sees around 30 South African DJs and artists take to the stage, as well as corresponding sporting events.

 

Although Standerton is predominantly known as a commercial and agricultural hub that specialises in mining, livestock and crop farming, it has a fascinating history that few know about. The town was named in honour of Adriaan Stander, the owner of the Grootverlangen (meaning ‘Great Longing’) Farm. A Voortrekker memorial – ox wagon tracks and horse hoofprints from the Great Trek imprinted on a concrete slab – that commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Great Trek, lies in front of the Standerton municipal buildings. There's also the Anglo-Boer War memorial of the canons used by South African forces during World War I and II, as well as a monument to the memory of the Anglo-Boer War concentration camp victims.