History of the Vaal

Sammy Marks was to play an important role in the growth of Vereeniging in its early days. He managed to persuade Kruger to route the railway from the Cape into the Transvaal via Vereeniging instead of Potchefstroom. In November 1892, the railway line from Bloemfontein to Johannesburg was completed and the first train from the Cape crossed the new bridge over the Vaal River and steamed into Johannesburg. In the same year, a railway siding was built which was to supply railway services to a large number of industries over the next hundred years.

The Growth of Vereeniging

The coal mines and water from the Vaal River were vital ingredients which enhanced the growth of the town, especially after the 1886 discovery of gold in Johannesburg. Prospectors flocked to this newly established gold mining town and Vereeniging became its main source of coal. After the Boer War, it was a time for consolidating the existing industries. Apart from the coal and clay industries, the only other industry in the early 1900’s was a grain milling industry which supplied the needs for the town.

One significant event which had an impact on the future of the area was the building of the weir by Leslie in 1905. This impoundment dammed back the water for a distance of 8 miles and, for the first time, Vereeniging was assured of a ‘reasonable and continuous’ supply of water. Although this weir was originally built to supply the irrigation needs for the development of the plantations and farmlands of Maccauvlei, it was later used to supply the water requirements of the Victoria Falls Power Station erected in 1911. Vereeniging, which acquired the status of a major municipality in 1912, now had the key elements for industrial expansion – coal, water and electric power – and was poised to become the hub of the industrial centre of South Africa