Brugman Park is situated at the upper end of Badenhorst Street and the western side of Uys Street. The only remains of the original park are the entrance gate on Badenhorst Street.
The park was named after Dr Christoffel Brugman (1873-1958). He was a qualified medical doctor having trained in Edinburgh, and he practiced in the Wakkerstroom district from 1879 to 1945.
He was especially fond of sport, particularly golf, and therefore had one of the most natural golf courses in the Union of South Africa laid out in Wakkerstroom. The golf course was used by residents of Wakkerstroom and farmers between 1930 and the 1960s’, and apparently it was the first golf course with grass greens between Johannesburg and Pietermaritzburg.
Later the golf course was changed into a public park and was named after him. This was in the 1960’s. The park no longer exists but is an open area of veldt which is used for cattle grazing.
Dr Brugman spent the last nine years of his life in Wakkerstroom Private Hospital and he died in 1958. Both Dr Brugman and his wife are buried in the Wakkerstroom Cemetery.
