Middelburg | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 25°46′05″S29°27′17″E / 25.76806°S 29.45472°E | |
Country | South Africa |
Province | Mpumalanga |
District | Nkangala |
Municipality | Steve Tshwete |
Established | 1864 |
• Councillor | (ANC) |
Area | |
• Total | 117.40 km2 (45.33 sq mi) |
Elevation | 1,490 m (4,890 ft) |
Population (2011) [1] | |
• Total | 87,348 |
• Density | 740/km2 (1,900/sq mi) |
Racial makeup (2011) | |
• Black African | 41.6% |
• Coloured | 5.6% |
• Indian/Asian | 3.8% |
• White | 48.5% |
• Other | 0.5% |
First languages (2011) | |
• Afrikaans | 50.3% |
• Zulu | 12.4% |
• English | 11.1% |
• Northern Sotho | 7.6% |
• Other | 18.6% |
Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
Postal code (street) | 1050 |
PO box | 1055 |
Middelburg is a large farming and industrial town in the South African province of Mpumalanga.
It was initially established as a halfway station between Lydenburg and Pretoria by the Republic of Lydenburg in 1860. [2] : 30 That republic would merge with the South African Republic (ZAR) soon afterwards. [2] : 30 The proposed town was established on two farms, Klipfontein and Keerom but when the Dutch Reformed Church established a church next door on the farm Sterkfontein, the town would be moved there. [2] : 30 It was established as Nasareth, in 1864 by the Voortrekkers on the banks of the Klein Olifants River. [2] : 30 It was changed in 1872 to Middelburg to mark its location between the Transvaal capital Pretoria, and the gold mining town of Lydenburg. [3] [2] : 30 The Dutch Reformed church was built in 1890. [2] : 30 The British built a large concentration camp in Middelburg during the Second Boer War. [2] : 30 The Memorial Museum was built at the site next to the 1,381 graves of women and children who died in the concentration camp. [2] : 30
Hundreds of expatriates and their families, mostly from the United Kingdom and parts of Europe, moved into the town in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s to avoid the slump of the post-World War II industrial and manufacturing sectors in those countries. These families were attracted by the need for industrial expertise in the plant, and were often rewarded with company-sponsored housing and discounted education.
The children of those immigrant families have either moved to the larger nearby cities of Witbank, Pretoria and Johannesburg, seeking employment, or have remained to form part of the growing alternative economic activities in the area.
Today, the town faces many issues typical to smaller towns in South Africa. These include challenges such as the incorporation, upliftment, and appropriate addressing of former inequalities of service provision and infrastructure in the large nearby townships and suburbs, that were created for the black and Indian populations, under apartheid laws. The cultural make up of the town is quite diverse, ranging from mainly Afrikaans-speaking families, expatriates from the United Kingdom and Europe, as well as the indigenous African populations. Another challenge is addressing the general trend of the hastening migration of residents away from small towns to larger cities in search of greater economic opportunities.
With a 2016 population of 278,000 and a growth rate of 4.9%, the municipal statistical department has estimated that the population will be 500,000 by 2030. The town has one of the largest police forces in the region, a government (public) hospital and clinic, as well as a private hospital, shopping mall and several public schools.
Middelburg has a deep Christian origin, for the oldest Dutch Reformed church is the one mentioned above which is better known as "Die Witkerk."
Churches in the town are:
Various bazaars and markets are held by all churches in support of the community. Examples would be The Expo Art and craft market, which is held annually in the spring by Die Lighuis Gemeente. Corpus Christi also have a world class market which is widely known in the area as the Kersmark. The church community is closely involved in community upliftment and development.
Columbus Stainless, a large stainless steel plant, constructed in 1965, and Thos Begbie & Co, a company established in 1887 by Scotsman Thomas Begbie, are both situated here. For many years, the industrial activities of the steel plant and its peripheral activities, such as coal and transport, provided much of the employment and largely drove the economy of the town, although other sectors, such as agriculture, have gradually grown to be important.
The town is situated conveniently close to one of the main routes to the Kruger National Park, and has a small but growing tourism industry. Some landmarks and notable features in or around the town include the Middelburg Dam, site of the annual Middelburg Mile swimming event , the Botshabelo mission station museum and associated Ndebele tourist village, several hiking trails, and the Dutch Reformed church in the town centre. Within the town itself, several popular night spots and family restaurants entertain the locals and visiting tourists. Middelburg Mall was recently built, just off the N4 on the Bethal-Middelburg road and has a wide range of shops and restaurants.
A well maintained country club provides facilities for tennis, bowls, a golf course, swimming pools, as well as a bar, hotel and dining and function rooms. Furthermore, you will find Kees Taljaard Park, which is primarily a rugby stadium, but also has hockey fields. A lot of the local festivals are hosted in this stadium as well.
This city has a railway station for the loading and unloading of passengers and cargo on the Pretoria–Maputo railway. [4] [5]
The Province of the Transvaal, commonly referred to as the Transvaal, was a province of South Africa from 1910 until 1994, when a new constitution subdivided it following the end of apartheid. The name "Transvaal" refers to the province's geographical location to the north of the Vaal River. Its capital was Pretoria, which was also the country's executive capital.
Mpumalanga is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Nguni languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It shares borders with the South African provinces of Limpopo to the north, Gauteng to the west, the Free State to the southwest, and KwaZulu-Natal to the south. The capital is Mbombela.
Lydenburg, also known as Mashishing, is a town in Thaba Chweu Local Municipality, on the Mpumalanga highveld, South Africa. It is situated on the Sterkspruit/Dorps River tributary of the Lepelle River at the summit of the Long Tom Pass. It has a long, rich history, ranging from AD 500 to the present. The name is derived from the Dutch Lijdenburg, or "Town of Suffering", and is named for the experiences of the white settlers. In Northern Sotho, Mashishing means "long green grass." Lydenburg has become the centre of the South African fly-fishing industry and is an agricultural, tourism and mining hub.
Carolina is an urban-rural area situated on the Johannesburg to Eswatini route in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. The town lies in the grass and wetlands region of Mpumalanga at 1700 meters above sea level. It is a mixed farming and small-scale coal- and precious-stone-mining community.
Ermelo is the educational, industrial and commercial town of the 7,750 km2 Gert Sibande District Municipality in Mpumalanga province, Republic of South Africa. It is both a mixed agriculture and mining region. It is located 210 km east of Johannesburg.
Bethal is a farming town in Mpumalanga, South Africa. The farms in the region produce maize, sunflower seeds, sorghum, rye and potatoes. The town lies 155 km (96 mi) east of Johannesburg on the N17 national route.
KwaMhlanga is a town in the Nkangala district municipality of the Mpumalanga province in South Africa. It is the spiritual home of the Ndebele tribe that settled here in the early 18th century. Kwamhlanga now consists of Kwamhlanga, Mandela, Phola, Sun City, Lithuli, Jordan, Mountain View, eMpumelelweni Village, Kingspark Village and Tweefontein.
The R104 is a regional route in South Africa that is the designation for some of the old sections of roads that were previously the N4, prior to upgrading. It connects Rustenburg in the North West province with Witbank in Mpumalanga province via Mooinooi, Hartbeespoort, Pretoria and Bronkhorstspruit. There is also a 50km section in Mpumalanga province connecting Middelburg and Wonderfontein.
Hans Merensky was a South African geologist, prospector, scientist, conservationist and philanthropist. He discovered the rich deposit of alluvial diamonds at Alexander Bay in Namaqualand, vast platinum and chrome reefs at Lydenburg, Rustenburg and Potgietersrus, which led to some of the largest platinum mines in the world, phosphates and copper at Phalaborwa in the Transvaal lowveld, gold in the Free State and the world's biggest chrome deposit at Jagdlust near Pietersburg.
The Dutch Reformed Church in Africa is a Reformed Christian denomination based in South Africa. It also has congregations in Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Along with the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa (NGK) and the Reformed Churches in South Africa, the NHKA is one of the three Dutch Reformed sister churches of South Africa. The NHKA retains the old Nomenclature Nederduitsch, the word originally referring to the Dutch language. The word refers to the Low Saxon language today. The Dutch language remained the official language of the church until 1933 when the church started functioning almost exclusively in Afrikaans.
The N11 is a national route in South Africa which runs from the Botswana border at Groblersbrug, through Mokopane, Middelburg, Ermelo and Newcastle to end at the N3 just after Ladysmith.
Botshabelo in the district of Middelburg, in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, originated as a mission station established by Alexander Merensky of the Berlin Missionary Society (BMS), in February 1865 in what was then the Transvaal Republic (ZAR). Merensky had fled with a small number of parishioners following the attacks on his previous mission station, Ga-Ratau, by the soldiers of Sekhukhune, the king of the baPedi. Within a year of having established the mission station, the population had grown to 420 persons.
Esther Mahlangu is a South African artist. She is known for her bold large-scale contemporary paintings that reference her Ndebele heritage. She is one of South Africa's best known artists.
The Afrikaanse Protestantse Kerk, also known as AP Kerk, is a South African conservative Reformed Church federation with about 35,000 adherents. The federation consists of 210-240 congregations, mostly in South Africa, although the APK also includes 7 congregations in Namibia and one in London, England.
Conrad Johannes Wethmar is a systematic theologian, reformed theologian and emeritus professor at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. He is guest editor of Verbum et Ecclesia.
The Langlaagte Reformed Church was the 28th congregation of the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa (NGK) on the Transvaal and the second in Johannesburg after the Johannesburg Reformed Church (NGK) (1887). The congregation is well known as the spiritual home of the Langlaagte orphanage, later named the Abraham Kriel Children’s Home after Rev. Abraham Kriel, who founded it as pastor of Langlaagte.
The Turffontein Reformed Church was a congregation of the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa (NGK) in southern Johannesburg, Transvaal. It was founded in 1906 and for years had a large membership, at times exceeding 3,000.
Prince Senzangakhona James Mahlangu was a South African politician and Ndebele prince of the Ndzundza royal family. He served as the last Chief Minister of the KwaNdebele bantustan between May 1990 and April 1994 and founded the bantustan's Intando Yesizwe party in 1990.
The Dordrecht Reformed Church is the 70th oldest congregation in the Dutch Reformed Church and the 16th oldest congregation in the Synod of Eastern Cape, although it is the 71st and 17th, respectively, to have been founded, because it moved up a place due to the merger of the NG congregation Middelburg with the Middelburg-Uitsig Reformed Church in 2010. The center of the congregation is the town of Dordrecht, Eastern Cape.
The Dutch Reformed Church in Robertson is a large rural congregation in Robertson, South Africa, in the province of the Western Cape and the NG Church's Synod of the Western and Southern Cape. It was founded in 1853 as the 52nd congregation in the entire Church, but is currently (2015) the 51st oldest congregation after the incorporation of the NG congregation Middelburg, Cape with its daughter congregation, Middelburg-Uitsig, in 2010.