Modimolle, also known as Nylstroom, is a town located near the southern edge of the

Waterberg Massif The Waterberg ( nso, Thaba Meetse) is a mountainous massif of approximately in north Limpopo Province, South Africa. The average height of the mountain range is 600 m with a few peaks rising up to 2000 m above sea level. Vaalwater town is lo ...

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 ...

province, South Africa. It is a medium-sized town that focuses primarily on agriculture and farming (

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. The genus ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

, grapes and

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

) as well as wildlife and tourism. Nylstroom is also located approximately north of Pretoria, South Africa's

capital city A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses the go ...

. The

Waterberg Biosphere The Waterberg ( nso, Thaba Meetse) is a mountainous massif of approximately in north Limpopo Province, South Africa. The average height of the mountain range is 600 m with a few peaks rising up to 2000 m above sea level. Vaalwater town is lo ...

spreading north, a UNESCO designated

Biosphere Reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

, contains approximately . Waterberg is the first region in the northern part of South Africa to be named as a

by UNESCO. The extensive rock formation was shaped by hundreds of millions of years of riverine erosion to yield diverse bluff and

butte __NOTOC__ In geomorphology, a butte () is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from a French word meani ...

landform A landform is a natural or anthropogenic land feature on the solid surface of the Earth or other planetary body. Landforms together make up a given terrain, and their arrangement in the landscape is known as topography. Landforms include hills, m ...

.C.Michael Hogan, Mark L. Cooke and Helen Murray, ''The Waterberg Biosphere'', Lumina Technologies, May 22, 2006. The ecosystem can be characterised as a

dry deciduous forest The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is a habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive ...

Bushveld The Bushveld (from af, bosveld, af, bos 'bush' and af, veld) is a sub-tropical woodland ecoregion of Southern Africa. It encompasses most of Limpopo Province and a small part of the North West Province of South Africa, the Central and Nort ...

History

In the 1860s, a group of Voortrekkers known as the ''Jerusalem Trekkers'' set off for the Holy Land. After discovering a wide river flowing northwards, they consulted the maps at the back of their Bibles and decided that it was the ''Nylrivier'' (

Nile river The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest rive ...

). They called the stream

Nyl River The Nyl River ( af, Nylrivier) is a watercourse in Limpopo Province, South Africa. It flows at the head of the Mogalakwena River, being its southernmost tributary or uppermost section. It is located near Mookgophong (Naboomspruit) in the northe ...

and settled the town and called it ''Nylstroom'' in 1866. After discovering what they believed to be a ruined pyramid, they were convinced that they had found the Nile. It was in fact, a natural hillock, known to the locals as ''Modimolle''. In March 1866, the district of ''Waterberg'' was created out of some of the districts of ''Rustenburg'' and ''Zoutpansberg'' with a landdrost established in Nylstroom. A Dutch Reformed Church was built in 1889 and is the oldest church in sub-saharan Africa north of Pretoria. It was also used as a hospital during the Second Boer War. The river is the

, a tributary of the

Mogalakwena River The Mogalakwena River ( af, Magalakwenarivier) is one of the main watercourses in Limpopo Province, South Africa. It is also a major tributary of the Limpopo River. Course left, SPOT Satellite photograph of the northern Waterberg showing at ri ...

. The first South African railway line reached Modimolle in 1898, connecting the town to Pretoria. During the Second Boer War, the

British government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

operated a

concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simp ...

in Modimolle, where

Boer Boers ( ; af, Boere ()) are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled this area ...

women and children where interned as part of the Lord Kitchener's scorched earth policy. 544 of those interned at the camp died of various causes before it was closed upon the conclusion of the war in 1902. ''Strijdom Huis'' (Strijdom House) was the primary residence of the 6th Prime Minister of South Africa,

JG Strijdom Johannes Gerhardus Strijdom (also spelled Strydom in accordance with Afrikaans spelling; 14 July 1893 – 24 August 1958), also known as Hans Strijdom and nicknamed the Lion of the North or the Lion of Waterberg, was the fifth prime minister of ...

, and is situated in Modimolle.

Name change

The South African government officially changed the name of the town to ''Modimolle'' in 2002. The name comes from the Sotho-Tswana phrase, ''Modimo o lle'', meaning "the forefather's spirit has eaten", or "God has eaten". Other numerous name changes include the renaming of both a municipal building and the town hall after Oliver Tambo, the library being renamed the ''

Ruth First Heloise Ruth First (4 May 1925 – 17 August 1982) was a South African anti-apartheid activist and scholar. She was assassinated in Mozambique, where she was working in exile, by a parcel bomb built by South African police. Family and edu ...

Memorial Library'', as well as the renaming of several streets.

Notable people

Christiaan Beyers Christiaan Frederik Beyers (23 September 1869 – 8 December 1914) was a Boer general during the Second Boer War. Biography As a young man, he went to the Transvaal, where he took a prominent part on the Boer side in the South African War, winn ...

- Boer general, and Commandant-General of the Union Defence Force * Carel Boshoff - Professor of theology and Afrikaner

white nationalist White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara. ''Hate Crimes''. Greenwo ...

Lucas Malan Lucas Cornelis Malan (19 July 1946 – 15 April 2010) was a South African academic and writer of poetry, prose, plays, text books, literary reviews and other articles, principally in Afrikaans. Biography Early life and academia Lucas Malan was ...

- Afrikaans academic and poet *

Eugène Marais Eugène Nielen Marais (; 9 January 1871 – 29 March 1936) was a South African lawyer, naturalist, poet and writer. He has been hailed as an intellectual genius and an Afrikaner hero. His early years, before and during the Boer War Marais w ...

- Poet, journalist, lawyer, naturalist and author *

Gerard Moerdijk Gerard Leendert Pieter Moerdijk (Zwaershoek farm near Nylstroom, Transvaal, 4 March 1890 – Nylstroom, 29 March 1958), also known as Gerard Moerdyk, was a South African architect best known for designing the Voortrekker Monument in Pret ...

- Architect *

Johannes Gerhardus Strijdom Johannes Gerhardus Strijdom (also spelled Strydom in accordance with Afrikaans spelling; 14 July 1893 – 24 August 1958), also known as Hans Strijdom and nicknamed the Lion of the North or the Lion of Waterberg, was the fifth prime minister of ...

- 5th Prime Minister of South Africa

References

External links

Modimolle Municipality Website
{{Waterberg District Municipality Populated places in the Modimolle–Mookgophong Local Municipality Second Boer War concentration camps Populated places established in 1866 Populated places founded by Afrikaners 1866 establishments in Africa