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Pilgrim’s Rest ( af, Pelgrimsrus) is a small museum town in the
Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. ...
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 coun ...
which is protected as a provincial heritage site. It was the second of the Transvaal gold fields, attracting a rush of prospectors in 1873, soon after the MacMac diggings started some away.
Alluvial Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. ...
panning eventually gave way to deeper ore mining. In the 1970s the town, not greatly changed, became a tourist destination.


History

The
alluvial Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. ...
gold was discovered by prospector Alec Patterson. He panned Pilgrim's Creek, as it became known, when the nearby MacMac diggings became too crowded. He kept his find a secret, but a gold rush resulted when fellow prospector William Trafford registered his claim with the Gold Commissioner at MacMac. After it was officially declared a
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
field in September 1873, the town suddenly grew to 1,500 inhabitants searching for alluvial gold.


Mining companies

In the 1880s the alluvial gold dwindled and prospectors were attracted to Barberton's newly discovered gold deposits. Towards the end of the 19th century claims were bought up and underground mining started by the company known as TGME. The better-funded mining companies started mining the deeper gold-bearing ore. By 1895 several small mining companies amalgamated to form the Transvaal Gold Mining Estates (T.G.M.E.). This company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and became the first listed gold mining company in South Africa. As the volumes of gold ore increased, the engineers constructed small, local hydro-electric plants to generate electricity for the electric tramway and the ore crushers at the reduction works, built in 1897. In 1911 the 2,000 kW Belvedere power station (at ) was completed on the
Blyde River The Motlatse River ("Permanent River"), Blyde River ( af, Blyderivier "Glad River"), or Umdhlazi River is a river in the Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces of South Africa. It has a northwards course in steep-sided valleys and ravines of the Mpumala ...
, some 30 km to the east. It supplied hydro-electric power to Pilgrim's Rest and adjacent communities up to 1992. Pilgrim's Rest was southern Africa's second town with street electricity, the first being Kimberley, also a mining town.


Boer war

Pilgrim’s Rest was the location of an emergency
mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaAE ...
during the
Second 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 So ...
. This mint struck the famous and extremely rare Veld Pond.


Graveyard

At the graveyard, every grave was laid facing in the same direction, except for the traditional ''Robber’s Grave'' which is laid at right angles to the rest, not facing the rising sun, and emblazoned simply with a cross and the large type words of "Robbers Grave". One legend attributes it to a robber who was shot when he was caught stealing a tent from another miner, while other legends would have it that he instead stole a
wheelbarrow A wheelbarrow is a small hand-propelled vehicle, usually with just one wheel, designed to be pushed and guided by a single person using two handles at the rear, or by a sail to push the ancient wheelbarrow by wind. The term "wheelbarrow" is ma ...
, or that the thief died after being lynched. The most detailed account attributes the grave to a fortune hunter, one Walter Scott, who committed
suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...
. Scott would have shot his friend Roy Spencer, son of a well-to-do English banker, after they returned drunk from a party. Scott suspected Spencer of stealing his purse of gold. Scott pursued Spencer and shot him near the church, the site of the present graveyard, whereafter Spencer was secretly buried. The sobered-up Scott found his purse in his tent, and committed suicide when he realised what he had done. Scott was then buried in an unmarked grave next to that of his friend, Spencer.


Recent times and tourism

Mining was closed down in 1971 and the village was sold to the government as a national museum. Transvaal Gold Mining Estates Limited started mining again in 1998. It is currently owned by Theta Gold Mines Limited, an Australian listed company. On May 15, 2004, the old TGME reduction works was added to the
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
World Heritage A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
tentative List in the Cultural category but was removed in 2016. The town's original
architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...
remains largely unchanged since the heyday of the mining era, because the town was declared a National Monument. It became a provincial heritage site in 1986. The village is a cultural heritage site and living museum with a variety of village museums, tours, accommodation, restaurants and shops.


Gallery

File:Post Office in South Africa (35874344).jpeg, Post Office File:Old Bank of Pilgrim's Rest.jpg, The Old Bank File:Pilgrim's Rest, Mpumalanga, South Africa (20490178606).jpg, Central Garage File:Pilgrim's Rest Methodist Church.jpg, Methodist Church


In popular culture

*Pilgrim's Rest was featured in the "Kingdom of the Vanished" episode of the
Science Channel Science Channel (often simply branded as Science; abbreviated to SCI) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel features programming focusing on science related to wilderness survival, engineering, man ...
's TV program ''Mysteries of the Abandoned'', originally cablecast on October 24, 2019.


See also

* Coins of the South African pound * ''
Jock of the Bushveld ''Jock of the Bushveld'' is a true story by South African author Sir James Percy FitzPatrick.The Bystander">''The Bystander'', Volume 16 2 October 1907, page 38 The 1907 book tells of FitzPatrick's travels with his dog, Jock, a Staffordshire Bu ...
''


References

Notes Further reading * Mabin, A. S. & Pirie, G. H. (1985) "The township question at Pilgrims Rest, 1894–1922". ''South African Historical Journal'', 17, 64–83. * Pirie, G. H. (1986) "Public administration in Pilgrims Rest, 1915–1969". ''Contree'', 20, 27–32.


External links


Pilgrim's Rest Reduction Works Industrial Heritage Site - UNESCO World Heritage Centre

Pilgrims Rest Website
{{Ehlanzeni District Municipality, state=collapsed Populated places in the Thaba Chweu Local Municipality Mining communities in South Africa History of mining in South Africa