Koster is a small farming
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
situated on the watershed between the
Orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
and
Limpopo River
The Limpopo River rises in South Africa and flows generally eastward through Mozambique to the Indian Ocean. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a group of Tsonga settlers led by Hosi Rivombo who settled in the mountain ...
s in
North West Province
North West is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Mahikeng. The province is located to the west of the major population centre of Gauteng and south of Botswana.
History
North West was incorporated after the end of Apartheid in 1994, an ...
of
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
.
History
The town was proclaimed in 1913 and named after Bastiaan Koster, the original farm owner. Koster means "church sexton".
Geography
Town 58 km south-west of
Rustenburg
Rustenburg (; , Afrikaans and Dutch: ''City of Rest'') is a city at the foot of the Magaliesberg mountain range. Rustenburg is the most populous city in North West province, South Africa (549,575 in 2011 and 626,522 in the 2016 census). In 20 ...
and 72 km west-north-west of
Magaliesburg
Magaliesburg is a small town situated below the Witwatersrand mountain range in Gauteng, South Africa. The Magaliesberg mountain range is north and visible from town, hence the name "Magaliesburg". The mountains themselves are named after Kgosi ...
. It was founded on the farm Kleinfontein in 1913, and has been administered by a village council since January 1931. Said to have been named either after Dr Herman Jacob Coster (1866–1899), State Attorney of the South African Republic, after its surveyor, or after Bastiaan Hendricus Koster, owner of the farm Kleinfontein. The latter explanation seems most plausible.
The
Elands River, the
Koster River and the
Mooi River have their sources near the town.
Koster - Visit South Africa
Arms
References
Heine-Lize Becker
Populated places in the Kgetlengrivier Local Municipality
Populated places established in 1913
1913 establishments in South Africa
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