| Bronkhorst Spruit | |
| Name Etymology: | Likely named after "bronkors" or "bronkhorst" the Afrikaans word for watercress (Nasturtium officinale)[1] |
| Pushpin Map: | South Africa |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | South Africa |
| Subdivision Type2: | State |
| Subdivision Name2: | Gauteng and Mpumalanga |
| Source1: | Witwatersrand |
| Source1 Location: | East of Springs, Gauteng |
| Source1 Elevation: | 1630m (5,350feet) |
| Mouth: | Wilge River (Olifants) |
| Mouth Location: | East of Bronkhorstspruit |
| Mouth Coordinates: | -25.8083°N 28.8528°W |
| Mouth Elevation: | 1370m (4,500feet) |
| Tributaries Left: | Delmas River |
The Bronkhorst Spruit, meaning watercress stream or creek, is a river in the Mpumalanga and Gauteng provinces of South Africa. In the 19th century it as was known as the Kalkoenkransrivier or Rhenosterpoortrivier. It is a tributary of the Wilge River in the Olifants River basin,[2] and it lends its name to the town of Bronkhorstspruit, situated mainly on its right bank.
Its sources are located in the highveld grasslands[3] of western Mpumalanga, about 30 km to the ESE of Springs, Gauteng. It flows generally northwards and its main tributary, the Delmas River, joins its left bank. Further downstream it flows into the Bronkhorstspruit Dam, situated in eastern Gauteng. Then before it bends northeastwards it passes by the Bronkhorstspruit urban area. It finally has a confluence with the Wilge River some 10 km east of the town,[4] at Premiermyn Dam, Gauteng.
See main article: Action at Bronkhorstspruit. When a group of Voortrekkers arrived at it in 1858, they called it the Kalkoenkransrivier, suggesting a breeding site of bald ibis, and on Merensky's map of 1875 it (including the current lower Wilge) is the Rhenosterpoortrivier.[5] In 1880 this river was the scene of the action at Bronkhorstspruit, a battle between a Boer commando under the command of Frans Joubert and British troops under Lieutenant-Colonel Anstruther. It was one of the first serious clashes in the early days of the First Boer War.[6]
