Phuthaditjhaba

Phuthaditjhaba is a town in the Free State province of South Africa. Phuthaditjhaba is a seSotho name that means meeting place of the tribes. It is located on the banks of the Elands River. It also located in a section of Drakensberg mountains . it is bordered by the province of KwaZulu-Natal to the southeast and the independent country of Lesotho to the southwest.HistoryThe frequent snow on the Drakensberg mountain peaks surrounding the town led the San to call the region Qwa-Qwa (whiter than white). It was known as Witsieshoek to the European settlers, after Oetse, also Witsie and Wetsi, a Makholokoe chief who lived there from 1839 to 1856.The area was inhabited by two clans of the Basotho, the Bakoena and the Batlokoa. The Orange Free State government settled these people there in the 1870s after concluding a peace settlement with their leaders. In 1926 the Orange Free State government placed the Batlokoa under the authority of the Bakoena but gave each group its own regional authority in 1930. In 1969 they were combined into a single territorial authority, which was replaced two years later by a legislative assembly. Qwaqwa was granted self-government in 1974.