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The three towns they are situated in are just as unique and diverse as the three campuses of the North-West University. Eish! takes a look at a short history of Mahikeng, Potchefstroom and Vanderbijlpark.
Vanderbijlpark, a major industrial region of South Africa, is home to the NWU’s Vaal Triangle Campus. It is in the south of the Gauteng province and is part of the Emfuleni Local Municipality.
The city is named after Hendrik van der Bijl, an electrical engineer
and industrialist.
The town was proclaimed in 1949 and attained municipal status in 1952 when Iscor’s second steel works was opened. According to Wikipedia the town has a population of more than 95 000.
The origins of the Vaal Triangle Campus were in 1966 after the community and industries of Vanderbijlpark had requested the then Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education to offer courses in cost accounting.
(Sources: Wikipedia and the websites of the Mahikeng and Thlokwe municipalities).
Eish! invites staff to share photos, memories and stories about these places. Tell us why these three places are the greatest to live in and why. Send your contributions to Willie du Plessis at willie.duplessis@nwu.ac.za.
