- right Walker Spruit Country South Africa | Mouth Pienaars River Province Gauteng | |
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- location Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa | ||
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.
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Map of Apies Rivier, South Africa
The river is known as the Apiesrivier in Afrikaans (in which "Apies" means "small monkeys").
Nguni-speaking settlers, 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. They named the river after one of the chiefs "Tshwane", but is still recognized under its colonial name "Apies". The greater Pretoria is now known as the City of Tshwane. 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", a nickname given to Paul Kruger