Indwe is a small town in

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 ...

near

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Western Netherlands, lo ...

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 ...

. The town is situated between Dordrecht and Elliot on the R56 road. It was founded in 1896 as a centre for coal-mining activities which started in 1867, and attained municipal status in 1898. It takes its name from the Indwe River, named after the blue crane (

Anthropoides paradiseus The blue crane (''Grus paradisea''), also known as the Stanley crane and the paradise crane, is the national bird of South Africa. The species is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN. Description The blue crane is a tall, ground-dwelling bird, ...

Xhosa Xhosa may refer to: * Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa * Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people See als ...

: iNdwe), which occurred there in great numbers. Indwe is a small town surrounded by a number of farms with a large number of merino sheep and cattle ranchers in the region.

History

Indwe was the fourth town after

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

and

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...

to have

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

. The “Indwe Railway Collieries and Land Company” was formed in Kimberley in late 1894. De Beers played a big part in it. The railway line was completed in March 1896. By 1899 the mine produced well over 100 000 tons of coal a year. By 1917 the coal mine closed down since in the intervening years better quality coal had been discovered in the

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name ''Transvaal''. * South African Republic (1856–1902; ...

. Indwe Railway station was one of the busiest stations in South Africa, offering people from the rural Transkei a port of entry to Johannesburg and Cape Town up until 1994. Indwe compromises five townships, namely Mavuya, Manyano, Mzamomhle, Phumlani and Sonwabile township. Mavuya is the biggest township in Indwe, and one of the oldest townships in South Africa. Mavuya township is considered to be older than Langa (Cape Town) and Alexandra (Johannesburg).

Economy

Many people in Indwe are self employed. People work in mines and sell the coal. Brick making in Indwe is popular and it is the main source of income where people make bricks and sell them in communities. Indwe resort is a popular spot in summer where people have fun and popular DJs are invited. and there are many events that are hosted in the resort. Some people work for the municipality to clean the roads, and there are five schools, one of which is Siyakhula Primary School, which is popular in sports. Populated places in the Emalahleni Local Municipality, Eastern Cape Populated places established in 1896 {{EasternCape-geo-stub