5-557: Bon Accord Dam is an earth-fill type dam located on the Apies River , some 15 km north of Pretoria . The dam comprises an earth embankment with a side spillway. The catchment area of the dam is 315 km and comprises primarily the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipal area in Gauteng , South Africa . It was established in 1923 and its main purpose is irrigation. This article about
10-521: A dam or floodgate in South Africa is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Apies River The Apies River is a river that flows through the city of Pretoria , South Africa . Its source is located just south of the city (south of Erasmus Park) and it flows northward until it drains into the Pienaars River . The word "Apies" is Afrikaans for small monkeys and is a reference to
15-521: Is now known as Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality. The river is - to a large extent - canalised with little resemblance of the natural river reach of the past. The river reach between Wonderboom Poort and the Bon Accord Dam is, however, not canalised. The Mamelodi township draws its name from the name of the river, with the full name being "Mamelodi ya Tshwane", meaning "Whistler of the Apies River",
20-513: The historical abundance of vervet monkeys on the Apies River banks. Nguni-speaking people, who became known as the Ndebele, are thought to have been the first people to recognise the suitability of the Apies River valley as a place to put down roots. The Ndebele encountered indigenous nomadic Khoisan people, which they called abaTshwa (the People who are Ignored), occupying the area. The Ndebele named
25-507: The river 'Tshwane' which means 'Place of the abaTshwa'. It is also argued that they named the river after one of their chiefs "Tshwane" who is reputedly buried under the Wonderboom . It is also proposed that 'Tshwane' is a corruption of 'tshwene' which is the Sotho and Tswana word for monkey. However, the river is still recognized under its colonial name "Apies". The greater municipality of Pretoria
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