Deelfontein | |
|---|---|
 Deelfontein | |
  Deelfontein  Deelfontein | |
| Coordinates:30°59′31″S23°47′53″E / 30.992°S 23.798°E /-30.992; 23.798 | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Northern Cape |
| District | Pixley ka Seme |
| Municipality | Emthanjeni |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
Deelfontein is a village in theGreat Karoo,Northern Cape, region ofSouth Africa on the route of thePretoria toCape Town railway. It primarily developed to service the railway due to its good water supply forsteam locomotives, and is currently the location of apassing loop on the single-track line.
In 1900 a British militaryfield hospital, theImperial Yeomanry Hospital, was constructed for casualties from theSecond Boer War. The location was chosen for its communications and dry climate, and its proximity toDe Aar, then the centre of hostilities.Alfred Downing Fripp[1] was Chief Medical Officer.
The hospital was unusual in pioneering the use ofx-ray diagnosis. The surgeon-radiographer in charge,Major John Hall-Edwards, achieved eminence in this field, though he subsequently lost an arm through x-ray damage.
The hospital, with a capacity for some 800 patients, largely comprised tents and prefabricated huts; at the cease of hostilities, materials from the latter were used for housing at Red Location, atownship for Africans outsidePort Elizabeth.[2]
Little remains of the complex except a cemetery with around 130 graves and the remains of the Yeomanry Hotel, built after the war to accommodate soldiers' relatives visiting the site.
In 2005 a train collision occurred in Deelfontein as a result of solder splatter bridging a relay contact and causing awrong-side signal failure.
Municipalities and communities ofPixley ka Seme District Municipality,Northern Cape | ||
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District seat:De Aar | ||
| Emthanjeni | .svg) | |
| Kareeberg | ||
| Renosterberg | ||
| Siyancuma | ||
| Siyathemba | ||
| Thembelihle | ||
| Ubuntu | ||
| Umsobomvu | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
 | ThisNorthern Cape location article is astub. You can help Wikipedia byadding missing information. |
 | ThisSouth African military article is astub. You can help Wikipedia byadding missing information. |
