Middelburg () is a town in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...

province of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, in the

Great Karoo The Karoo ( ; from the Afrikaans borrowing of the South Khoekhoe Khoemana (also known as !Orakobab or Korana) word is a semidesert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its extent i ...

. It lies in the Upper Karoo, 1,279 m above sea level, with a population of 19,000.travel-informed.co.za
It falls under the Inxuba Yethemba Local Municipality, in the

Chris Hani District Municipality The Chris Hani District Municipality () is a landlocked district municipality situated in the centre of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa and is made up of eight local municipalities. Most of the communities are in rural areas. The land ...

History

In 1837 the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

proclaimed the district of Colesberg, and established the Town of Middelburg in 1852, so named since it is midway between

Graaff-Reinet Graaff-Reinet (; Xhosa: eRhafu) is a town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is the oldest town in the province and the fourth oldest town in South Africa, after Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Simon's Town, Paarl and Swellendam. The to ...

and Colesberg. It is also approximately halfway between

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipal ...

and

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...

. The town and surrounding areas are rich in history from the Anglo Boer War. The adjacent Grootfontein College of Agriculture was established as a military camp and training centre for British troops. About 7,000 troops from the Third Manchester Regiment were stationed at Grootfontein - some of them were married, so about 3,000 women and children also lived at Grootfontein. In 1910 the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa (; , ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day South Africa, Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the British Cape Colony, Cape, Colony of Natal, Natal, Tra ...

took control of the farm after which the Grootfontein School of Agriculture was established in 1911. Today the college offers a two-year Certificate in Agriculture and a three-year Diploma in Agriculture, both

accredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

by the Higher Education Quality Committee. The

Cape Province The Province of the Cape of Good Hope (), commonly referred to as the Cape Province () and colloquially as The Cape (), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequently the Republic of South Africa. It encompassed the old Cape Co ...

branch of the National Party was constituted at a congress held in Middelburg on 15 September 1914, two months after the National Party's founding in Smithfield, Orange Free State Province. Over 300 delegates attended the meeting that would also choose Dr D.F. Malan, later

Prime Minister of South Africa The prime minister of South Africa ( was the head of government in South Africa between 1910 and 1984. History of the office The position of Prime Minister was established in 1910, when the Union of South Africa was formed. He was appointed ...

, as the provincial party's first chairman. The R56, the shortest route between the

Northern Cape The Northern Cape ( ; ; ) is the largest and most sparsely populated Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley, South Africa, Kimberley. It includes ...

and

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

begins at Middelburg. The town's hospital is Wilhelm Stahl Provincial Hospital.

Persons born in Middelburg

Jozua François Naudé, Pastor in the Dutch Reformed Church, was born in Middelburg EC in 1873. Middelburg is also the birthplace of playwright

Athol Fugard Harold Athol Lanigan Fugard (; 11 June 19328 March 2025) was a South African playwright, novelist, actor and director. Widely regarded as South Africa's greatest playwright and acclaimed as "the greatest active playwright in the English-speaki ...

. Other well known South Africans who were born or lived in Middelburg include

Eddie Stuart Edward Albert Stuart (12 May 1931 – 4 November 2014) was a South African professional footballer who played as a defender. He played 322 times in England for Wolverhampton Wanderers between 1951 and 1962, winning three league titles and the ...

(Footballer), Steven Sykes (Rugby player), Keanu Vers (Rugby Player), Arthur Lennox Ochse (Cricketer), John James Clements (recipient of the Victoria Cross), Eric Rosenthal (historian and author), Cecily Norden (Horse industry), John Phillip Harison Acocks (botanist), Colin Turpin, Reader in Law at Clare College, Cambridge .

Climate

References

External links

Middelburg, Eastern Cape
middelburgec.co.za
Grootfontein College of Agriculture
gadi.agric.za

{{DEFAULTSORT:Middelburg, Eastern Cape Populated places established in 1852 Populated places in the Inxuba Yethemba Local Municipality Karoo 1852 establishments in the Cape Colony