Theunissen

Theunissen is a small town that has the only wine estate, the Theunissen Wine Farm, in the Free State province of South Africa. It was founded by Boer War Commandant Helgaardt Theunissen. Theunissen has a small community (mostly farmers and miners) which supports the local businesses.HistoryThe founding of Theunissen and its history goes hand in hand with the development of the railway system in the Orange Free State (OFS). When gold was discovered in the Witwatersrand, railways to the new gold fields were a necessity. During this period there were no railways in the OFS and the Transvaal. The nearest railway lines were Kimberley and Pietermaritzburg. Connecting to the coastal ports from the Witwatersrand was vital. A race started from the Natal and Cape coastal ports to connect with the gold fields. In 1887 the Cape government received a concession from the OFS government to build a railway line through the OFS. This railway line was completed in sections which were opened on the following dates: the line Norvalspont to Bloemfontein on 17 December 1890; the line Bloemfontein to Kroonstad on 20 February 1892 and the last section from Kroonstad to the Vaal River on 7 May 1892.The line reached the Witwatersrand during the same year. Smaldeel station was erected directly to the west of Winburg. Because Winburg, the oldest town in the Free State, was not connected with the main railway line, the residents insisted that the OFS Government had to build a railway line from Winburg to Smaldeel. After careful consideration, the Government decided that a railway line will be built through Winburg to Clocolan. The line from Smaldeel to Winburg was opened on 1 November 1898. The building of the line to Clocolan was in an advanced stage when the Second Anglo-Boer War broke out. The line, to date, has not been completed.