Early name for the present Venterstad district, Eastern Cape. It was laid out in 1875 and attained Municipal status in 1895. Named after the owner of the land on which it was established, Johannes J.T. Venter. It is one of the smaller towns that currently forms part of the Gariep Local Municipality, with its seat in Burgersdorp. The town and its surrounding areas are served by a 24-hour Primary healthcare clinic, (Venterstad Clinic), previously municipality-owned, but since 2010 run by the sub district office for Health, of the Eastern cape Province. It also supports a mobile clinic and a satellite clinic at Oviston. Gariep Dam, bordering the Free State and Eastern Cape and is 45 km away. Its primary purpose being irrigation, domestic and industrial use as well as for power generation! The Gariep dam was orignaly named the Hendrick Verwoed Dam after the first prime minister of the Republic of South Africa in 1971. However at the end of apartheid, the Verwoed name was officially changed to Gariep Dam on the 4 October 1996. Gariep is Khoekhoe for 'river' and was the original name of the Orange river.
Gariep Dam Image source
New Dictionary of South African Place Names by Peter E. Raper.
http://karoospace.co.za/venterstad/