Zoutpansberg was the north-eastern division of the Transvaal,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

, encompassing an area of 25,654 square miles. The chief towns at the time were

Pietersburg Polokwane (, meaning "Sanctuary" in Northern SothoPolokwane - The Heart of the Limpopo Provinc ...

and

Leydsdorp Leydsdorp is a former gold rush town situated in the Limpopo province of South Africa. This ghost town is south-west of Gravelotte and south-east of Tzaneen. It developed from a gold-mining camp and was proclaimed in 1890, but was virtually ab ...

. It was divided into two districts (west and east) prior to the first general election of the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Tran ...

in 1910. Since 2005 the area is divided into the Capricorn, Vhembe and Mopani

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

municipalities of

Limpopo Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature is ...

province.

Voortrekkers

This was the district to which Louis Tregardt and Hans van Rensburg, the forerunners of the

Great Trek The Great Trek ( af, Die Groot Trek; nl, De Grote Trek) was a Northward migration of Dutch-speaking settlers who travelled by wagon trains from the Cape Colony into the interior of modern South Africa from 1836 onwards, seeking to live beyon ...

, journeyed in 1835. In 1845 Hendrik Potgieter, a prominent leader of the Voortrekkers, moved there. The Zoutpansberg Boers formed a semi-independent community, and in 1857

Stephanus Schoeman Stephanus Schoeman (14 March 1810 – 19 June 1890) was President of the South African Republic from 6 December 1860 until 17 April 1862. His red hair, fiery temperament and vehement disputes with other Boer leaders earned him t ...

, their commandant-general, sided against Marthinus Pretorius and

Paul Kruger Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger (; 10 October 1825 – 14 July 1904) was a South African politician. He was one of the dominant political and military figures in 19th-century South Africa, and President of the South African Republic (o ...

when they invaded the

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( nl, Oranje Vrijstaat; af, Oranje-Vrystaat;) was an independent Boer sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeat ...

South African Republic

It was not until 1864 that Zoutpansberg was definitively incorporated in the

South African Republic The South African Republic ( nl, Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, abbreviated ZAR; af, Suid-Afrikaanse Republiek), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer Republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when i ...

as a result of the Transvaal Civil War. The white settlers in Zoutpansberg had for many years a reputation for lawlessness, and were later regarded as typical "back velt Boers".

Native population

Zoutpansberg contained a larger native population than any other region of the Transvaal. It was estimated at 201,539 in 1903.Wheelwright, C. A. (2 January 1904) Native Affairs, Transvaal Administration Reports for 1903. B.18. Annexure "A": Native Commissioners' Annual Reports, Northern Division

Minerals

Tregardt and his companions had been shown

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

workings by the natives, and it was in this district in 1867–70, and in the neighbouring region of

Lydenburg Lydenburg, officially 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. ...

, that gold mines were first worked by Europeans south of the

. It is a highly mineralized area; next to gold,

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish ...

, found near the

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 mount ...

(where the Messina mine is located) is also extracted here.

References

{{SouthAfricaBoerRep Geography of Limpopo

Voortrekkers

South African Republic

Native population

Minerals

See also

References