Nuwe Smitsdorp is a settlement in the

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 of

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 countri ...

. Originally it was established by gold diggers on 21 November 1887 as Smitsdorp, after General

Nicolaas Smit Nicolaas Jacobus Smit (5 May 1837 – 4 April 1896) was a Boer general and politician. During the First Boer War, he led Boer forces to victory during the Battle of Majuba Hill. He was elected Vice State President of the South African Repu ...

. However, because there was little water, it was moved two kilometers away and renamed ''Nuwe Smitsdorp'' (New Smitsdorp). As gold deposits in the area turned out to be very small, the gold rush soon petered out, especially after large deposits of gold were found on the

Witwatersrand The Witwatersrand () (locally the Rand or, less commonly, the Reef) is a , north-facing scarp in South Africa. It consists of a hard, erosion-resistant quartzite metamorphic rock, over which several north-flowing rivers form waterfalls, which ...

in 1885.

References

{{coord, 24.123, S, 29.328, E, display=title Populated places in the Polokwane Local Municipality Populated places established in 1887 1887 establishments in the South African Republic