Witkop Blockhouse
The Witkop Blockhouse is a log house in South Africa in the municipality of Emfuleni , Sedibeng district in the Gauteng province about 20 km south of Johannesburg .
It is a two-story stone building with loopholes and a lookout, which was built on a hill. The entrance is on the first floor. The log house was originally secured with trenches and barbed wire. The view from the log cabin extends to Johannesburg .
The Witkop Blockhouse was built in 1900 during the Second Boer War (1899-1902) between Great Britain and the Boer Republics of Orange Free State and the South African Republic ( Transvaal ) by the British troops under Lord Roberts to secure strategically important positions and to control Boer troop movements. In 1948 it was placed under protection as a national monument.
The Witkop Blockhouse is the only remaining blockhouse on the railway line from Vereeniging to Germiston (near Johannesburg) and one of 50 remaining blockhouses in all of South Africa .
Others
The Witkop Blockhouse is located on the (motorway-like) regional road R59 from Johannesburg to Vereeniging - near the village of Daleside - and is easily accessible via the adjoining petrol station.
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- Sign at the Witkop Blockhouse
Coordinates: 26 ° 27 ′ 57.6 ″ S , 28 ° 4 ′ 11.5 ″ E