Magaliesberg

The Magaliesberg Mountain Range is a Mountain range near Pretoria in north-west Gauteng Province, South Africa.

Geography

The range forms a natural barrier between the lower lying Bushveld to the north and the cooler Highveld to the south.

Another important geological feature of the area is the Witwatersrand Gold reef, which was formed over hundreds of thousands of years. The reef's most northern tip was discovered only a few kilometers from the present day town of Magaliesburg, at Blaauwbank, in 1874.

The discovery at Blaauwbank was the first strike of the Witwatersrand system. Indeed, the first mining company near the current Johannesburg (the Nil Desperandum Co-operative Quartz Company) was formed here. Historically this can be seen as a very important event, as this mine attracted the first miners to the Witwatersrand area and this, together with the subsequent discovery of other rich and profitable veins of gold, eventually led to the creation of the largest urban conglomeration in Sub-Saharan Africa.

At present, the only "operational" gold mining activity in the area occurs at the Blaauwbank Gold Mine and Museum, situated close to Magaliesburg.

History

The later inhabitants of the mountain range called them the Kashan mountains, but the name was later changed to Magaliesberg after the Tswana chief Magali who ruled his tribe at the same time the Voortrekkers were entering this area. In the nineteenth century, explorers such as David Livingstone and William Cornwallis Harris explored the area and made contact with some of the tribes living there.

In 1822 Shaka sent his most trusted commander, Mzilikazi, to conquer the Sotho tribes of the region. After accomplishing this task, Mzilikazi decided to break away from Shaka and found his own nation, the Matabele. As he feared an attack from Shaka if he returned home he settled in the Magaliesberg regions.

After some Voortrekkers had been attacked and killed by Mzilikazi's impis they counter-attacked and, under the leadership of Hendrik Potgieter and Gerrit Maritz, drove the Matabeles north across the Limpopo River. The Boers subsequently settled in the valleys of the Magaliesberg Range and turned the region into some of the most productive farmland in South Africa.

The area saw some heavy fighting during the Second Anglo-Boer War. The Boers, being extremely familiar with the mountains, used secret pathways across the mountains to launch guerrilla attacks on the British soldiers.

In response, the British forces built blockhouses on top of the mountains in order to restrict the movement of the Boer forces; ruins of these structures can still be seen to this day on the top of the mountain.

Control of the Magaliesburg Mountain Range was of great importance to both the Boer and the British forces, especially the two routes between Pretoria and Rustenburg, which crossed it at Silkaatsnek and Kommandonek, respectively. As a result many battles, such as the battles of Buffelspoort, Nooitgedacht and Olifantsnek were fought in the area.

After the end of the war, the farms in the area were quickly built up again and they were in full production a year or two later. Crops such as Tobacco and Citrus were particularly successful.

In 1923 the Hartbeespoort Dam, situated in one of the valleys of the range, was completed. It subsequently became a very popular holiday and weekend destination for the inhabitants of Johannesburg as well as Pretoria and the town of Hartbeespoort was created as a result.

At present the Magaliesberg area is still largely agricultural, although tourism is an increasing economic activity in the area.