Barberton, Mpumalanga

Barberton
Barberton

 Barberton shown within South Africa

Coordinates: 25°47′10″S 31°3′11″E / 25.78611°S 31.05306°ECoordinates: 25°47′10″S 31°3′11″E / 25.78611°S 31.05306°E
Country South Africa
Province Mpumalanga
District Ehlanzeni
Municipality Umjindi
Established 1884[1]
Area[2]
 • Total 37.74 km2 (14.57 sq mi)
Population (2011)[2]
 • Total 11,997
 • Density 320/km2 (820/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)[2]
 • Black African 44.2%
 • Coloured 8.5%
 • Indian/Asian 4.9%
 • White 41.9%
 • Other 0.4%
First languages (2011)[2]
 • Afrikaans 47.9%
 • English 22.7%
 • Swazi 20.8%
 • Zulu 2.2%
 • Other 6.4%
Postal code (street) 1300
PO box 1300
Area code 013
Website

Barberton is a town in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa, which has its origin in the 1880s gold rush in the region. It is situated in the De Kaap Valley and is fringed by the Makhonjwa Mountains. It is 43 kilometres (27 mi) south of Nelspruit and 360 kilometres (220 mi) to the east of Johannesburg.

History

Prehistoric

The Barberton Mountain Range, 2001 image from NASA’s Landsat 7 satellite

The mountains around Barberton are amongst the oldest in the world, dating back 3.5 billion years, and these mountains include some of the oldest exposed rocks on the planet. These volcanic rocks, which scientists call the Barberton Greenstone Belt, have given direct evidence of the conditions of life on the surface of the very early earth.

In the satellite image, the bare rocks of mountain peaks appear as a pale gray-green, accentuated by the sharp relief of sunlit slopes and their shadows. Deeper shades of green indicate vegetation, including some vegetation on the lower slopes. In the mountain valleys, bright green areas suggest well-watered grassy areas and crops. Deeper green areas are probably forests. The series of bright green circles north of the town of Barberton result from center-pivot irrigation systems. The area north and west of Barberton appears slightly pale and fuzzy compared to the rest of this image, probably the result of low-lying haze.[3]

The first form of life on earth, a bacterial micro fossil Archaeospheroides barbertonis was discovered here and has been identified as being 3.2 billion years old.

Gold

19 June 1984, Participants in the Barberton Centenary Trek make their way through the Kaap Valley en route to Barberton for the centenary celebration.

In 1881 gold in the Barberton area was discovered by Tom McLachlan who found alluvial gold at Jamestown. However due to the location (the hot lowveld region was rife with malaria) no-one wanted to go there until Auguste Roberts ("French Bob") discovered gold in Concession Creek in 20 June 1883. This discovery resulted in a gold rush to the area.

On 21 June 1884, Graham Barber wrote a letter to the State Secretary to inform him that he and his two cousins Fred and Harry discovered payable gold on state land where the Umvoti Creek entered the De Kaap valley. The State Secretary then asked the Magistrate in Lydenburg to investigate the matter and for David Wilson, the Gold Commissioner, to submit a report. Wilson investigated on 24 July 1884 and declared the township of Barberton.

The town was named after Graham Hoare Barber (1835-1888) who discovered a rich gold-bearing reef there in 1884. Barberton became a municipality in 1904.[4]

At first it was just a simple mining camp but grew when Edwin Bray, a prospector discovered gold in the hills above Barberton in 1885 and with 14 partners started the Sheba Reef Gold Mining Company.

Large amounts of money flowed into Barberton and the first Stock Exchange to operate in the then Transvaal opened its doors. More buildings were erected, billiard saloons and music halls established. The Criterion and Royal Standard hotels were opened.

Barberton flourished for only a brief period and soon the inhabitants began to move away to the newly discovered gold fields on the Reef.

Among the owners of mines in the Barberton area are Pan African Resources.[5]

Songimvelo Nature Reserve

This reserve is situated in the Barberton Mountain lands and is the Mpumalanga Parks Board's largest reserve, extending over 500 square kilometers.

Trivia

The Barberton Daisy.

Schools

High Schools

Primary Schools

Personalities

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Chronological order of town establishment in South Africa based on Floyd (1960:20-26)". pp. xlv–lii.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Main Place Barberton". Census 2011.
  3. ↑ Barberton Mountains at NASA's Earth Observatory
  4. ↑ Raper, P. E. (1989). Dictionary of Southern African Place Names. Jonathan Ball Publishers. p. 69. ISBN 978-0-947464-04-2 – via Internet Archive.
  5. ↑ Offshore financing dries up for SA's junior miners, International: Mineweb, 2012, retrieved 28 September 2012

External links