Makwassie is a small farming town situated at the intersection of the R502 and R505 Regional Routes in the North West Province of South Africa.
The word makwassie is a corruption of the San word for an aromatic wild spearmint.
Makwasi is a centre for maize, groundnuts, sorghum and milk production. The town is located 14 km south of Wolmaransstad and 78 km north-west of Wesselsbron.
Makwassie falls under the Maquassi Hills Local Municipality in the Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality of North West Province.
History
The town was established in 1822 as a mission station by Samuel Broadbent and Thomas Hodgson of the Wesleyan Missionary Society.
It was laid out in 1907 and proclaimed in 1910. At first spelt Maquassi, it was standardized as Makwassie in 1937.
The first white child in Transvaal was born in Makwassie, and the first printing undertaken.
The town of Makwassie claims four distinctions in Transvaal history:
- The first Christian mission station north of the Vaal River – built by Wesleyans Samuel Broadbent and Thomas Hogson in 1822.
- The first White person born – July 1823
- The first printed matter – a Tswana spelling book and religious tracts
- The oldest town hall – built in 1910
