TheKidson Weir is aweir located in the village of Henley on Klip on the Klip river inSouth Africa, and was named after Fenning Kidson, the grandson of an1820 settler.[3]
Kidson Weir -Henley on KlipFlooding at the Kidson Weir - January 2010Flooding at the Kidson Weir - December 2010
Fenning was educated in England, but returned to South Africa as a young man and became a transport rider, a contemporary of SirPercy FitzPatrick. Soon after the outbreak of theAnglo Boer War, news came to Kidson that a commando was on his way to his farm to arrest him. Under the noses of the Boers he escaped, riding sidesaddle, his burly frame crammed into his wife’sriding habit. He finally made his way toNatal, but returned to theTransvaal after the war, settling inHenley on Klip with his wife, Edith. The family home was named Tilham, which is the manor house on the river at the corner of Regatta and Shillingford Roads.[4]
In December 2010, the village of Henley on Klip experienced heavy floods, after which, it was decided to do some work on improving the weir. In January 2012 work has started on the repairs to the pipes on the western side of the weir. In March 2012 plans were being drawn up to build a new bridge across the weir.[5][6]
The wetland ecosystem of the Klip River in Lenasia, Soweto and surrounding areas have been found to have high levels ofpolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) caused by agricultural and industrialrunoff and urban waste.[7] Reports in 2016[8] and in 2025[9] have shown high levels of PAHs in fish, vertebrates, plant life, and in soil sediments that pose a risk to human health.[8]: 99, 78 Zebrafish embryos have suffered severe malformations, delayed hatching and an 80% mortality rate.[9]
Media related toKlip River, Gauteng at Wikimedia Commons
