ABSTRACT
The Prime Minister of South Africa, Mr. John Balthazar Vorster, pressed a button on November 18, 1966, at Oranjekrag on the Free State side of the river and set off 1,500 lbs. of explosives to mark the official start of work on the Hendrik Verwoerd dam. He was well qualified, he quipped, to trigger off explosions, having had five years' experience of those caused by his government's internal enemies. The dam was being built as an act of faith in the future of South Africa and a sign of determination to defend its internal borders against attacks from outside. In addition to the strategic and political aims, he referred to the project's social and economic benefits. It would add greatly to the country's food supplies and attract settlers to a vast and sparsely populated region.
