Swartruggens

Swartruggens
Ou Stasie in Swartruggens
Swartruggens Show map of North West (South African province) Swartruggens Show map of South Africa
Coordinates: 25°39′S26°42′E / 25.650°S 26.700°E / -25.650; 26.700
Country	South Africa
Province	North West
District	Bojanala Platinum
Municipality	Kgetlengrivier
Established	1875
Area [1]
• Total	10.74 km2 (4.15 sq mi)
Population  (2011) [1]
• Total	1,969
• Density	183.3/km2 (474.8/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011) [1]
•  White	52.3%
•  Black African	39.5%
•  Indian/Asian	5.5%
•  Coloured	1.8%
• Other	0.8%
First languages (2011) [1]
•  Afrikaans	57.4%
•  Tswana	21.9%
•  English	14.1%
•  Zulu	1.7%
• Other	4.9%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)	2835
PO box	2835
Area code	014

Swartruggens is a small farming town in North West Province, South Africa that was established in 1875.

Location

The town is located on the Elands River, 69 km east of the town of Zeerust, 56 km west of the city of Rustenburg and 34 km north-west of Koster. It is on the N4 road. ^[2]

It takes its name 'Swartruggens' from a series of hills, formerly known as Zwartruggens, Dutch for 'black ridges'. ^[3]

History

The town of Swartruggens was founded in 1875 on the farm Brakfontein.

After the Siege of Mafeking, during the Second Boer War, one of the supply depots was established by Robert Baden-Powell in Swartruggens, as he moved to Pretoria. ^[4]

A cemetery for British war dead from the Second Anglo-Boer War is located in the town. ^[5]

References

1. "Main Place Swartruggens". Census 2011.
2. Swartruggens - North West Province South Africa Archived 2012-04-01 at the Wayback Machine
3. "Dictionary of Southern African Place Names (Public Domain)". Human Sciences Research Council. p. 424.
4. "North West History – Battle of Elands River". Archived from the original on 21 February 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
5. Wulfsohn, Lionel (1 January 1992). Rustenburg at War: The Story of Rustenburg and Its Citizens in the First and Second Anglo-Boer Wars. L.M. Wulfsohn. p. 255. ISBN   9780620167697.

External links

• The Siege of the Elandsriver Staging Post 4 - 16 August 1900