Middelburg () is a town in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

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 ...

, in the

Great Karoo The Karoo ( ; from the Afrikaans borrowing of the South Khoekhoe !Orakobab or Khoemana word ''ǃ’Aukarob'' "Hardveld") is a semi- desert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its ex ...

. 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 Chris Hani is a landlocked district situated in the centre of the Eastern Cape and is made up of eight local municipalities. Most of the communities live in rural areas. The landscape ranges from moist uplands and grassland hills to the arid Ka ...

History

In 1837 the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), 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, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when i ...

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

proclaimed the district of

Colesberg Colesberg is a town with 17,354 inhabitants in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, located on the main N1 road from Cape Town to Johannesburg. In a sheep-farming area spread over half-a-million hectares, greater Colesberg breeds many ...

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

Graaff-Reinet Graaff-Reinet is a town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is the oldest town in the province. It is also the sixth-oldest town in South Africa, after Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Simon's Town, Paarl and Swellendam. The town was the c ...

and

. (It is also approximately halfway between

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often 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 Municipality, Sou ...

and

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State (province), Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legisla ...

, as well as between

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

and

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

.) The town and surrounding areas are rich in history from the

Anglo Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

. The adjacent Grootfontein College of Agriculture was established as a military camp and training centre for

British troops The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkhas ...

. 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 ( 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, Trans ...

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 ( af, Provinsie Kaap die Goeie Hoop), commonly referred to as the Cape Province ( af, Kaapprovinsie) and colloquially as The Cape ( af, Die Kaap), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequen ...

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 Daniël François Malan (; 22 May 1874 – 7 February 1959) was a South African politician who served as the fourth prime minister of South Africa from 1948 to 1954. The National Party implemented the system of apartheid, which enforc ...

, later

Prime Minister of South Africa The prime minister of South Africa ( af, Eerste Minister van Suid-Afrika) 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 Sout ...

, 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 province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of the Kgalagadi T ...

and

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

begins at Middelburg. The town's hospital is

Wilhelm Stahl Provincial Hospital Wilhelm Stahl Provincial Hospital is a provincial government-funded hospital for the Inxuba Yethemba Local Municipality area in Middelburg, Eastern Cape in South Africa. The hospital departments include emergency department, out patients departm ...

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 Athol Fugard, Hon. , (born 11 June 1932), is a South African playwright, novelist, actor, and director widely regarded as South Africa's greatest playwright. He is best known for his political and penetrating plays opposing the system of apart ...

. 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 F ...

(Footballer), Steven Sykes (Rugby player), Keanu Vers (Rugby Player),

Arthur Lennox Ochse Arthur Lennox Ochse (11 October 1899 in Graaff-Reinet, Cape Colony – 5 May 1949 in Middelburg, Cape Province) was a South African cricketer who played in three Tests in 1927–28 and 1929. Cricket career Ochse was a lower-order right-handed ...

(Cricketer),

John James Clements John James Clements, VC (19 June 1872 – 18 June 1937) was a South African recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth for ...

(recipient of the Victoria Cross), Eric Rosenthal (historian and author),

Cecily Norden Cecily Bourchier Norden (née Bowker) (23 December 1918 – 27 August 2011) was an author, senior horse judge, champion rider and exhibitor and stud breeder. She is known for her contribution to the riding horse industry in South Africa. Bio ...

(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