handed over the territory to the Boer republic of Orange Free State, formalised with the signing of the Orange River Convention. A succession of wars followed from 1858 to 1868 between the Basotho kingdom and the Boer republic of Orange Free State. Both sides adopted scorched-earth tactics. In particular, the Basotho destroyed farmhouses and burned large swathes of pasturage and cropland in the area between Smithfield and Reddersburg. The Boer commandos, for their part, attacked and destroyed the French Evangelical Mission station at Beersheba, near Smithfield, which the Boers considered to be sympathetic towards the Basotho. Establishment Waterval farm was the original site chosen in 1848 for settlement as a Dutch Reformed (NG) church centre. However, when plots were offered for sale, there were no takers. Farmers were dissatisfied with the site (24 km west of present-day Smithfield). They then opted for Rietpoort, where there was abundant water. The new town was named New Smithfield (the "New" soon fell away), apparently named after Sir Harry Smith, former governor of the Cape Colony. In the fifty years after the town was established, the Dutch Reformed Church remained a central point of the town. one of the dominees who served there was Rev Andrew Murray.The Second Boer War General Christiaan de Wet was born on the nearby farm Leeukop in 1854. Smithfield had a village board in 1860 but only became a municipality in 1948. In the 1870s the town was on one of the main routes to the Diamond Fields from the coast via Aliwal North, and trade was brisk in that period. In the period 1907 to 1939, the MP for Smithfield was General Hertzog who represented the constituency for the Oranje Unie, the South African Party, the National Party and the United Party. He was the leader of the National Party from 1914 to 1939 and Prime Minister of SA from 1924 to 1929. On 19 August 1963, Prime Minister HF Verwoerd addressed a conference in Smithfield, where he announced plans to withdraw from the British Commonwealth and to unilaterally declare a Republic. He added that "South Africa is destined to be the country that will provide Whites all over the world with a new source of inspiration." His announcement from Smithfield made international news headlines. Geographic setting The town is tucked into a horseshoe of hills, some 132 km southeast of Bloemfontein along the N6 national road to