Postmasburg is a town in the

Northern Cape The Northern Cape ( ; ; ) is the largest and most sparsely populated Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley, South Africa, Kimberley. It includes ...

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 ...

Location

The Town is located approximately 170 km east of

Upington Upington () is a town founded in 1873 and located in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, on the banks of the Orange River. The town was originally called Olijvenhoutsdrift ('Olive wood drift'), due to the abundance of olive wood trees i ...

. It is north of

Griquatown Griekwastad is a country town in South Africa. It is sometimes still called Griquatown (the meaning of the town's name in Afrikaans), a name which is now considered historical. On maps from the 1840s is the town also called "Karrikamma". or calle ...

and west-south-west of Daniëlskuil.

History

Originally a station of the

London Missionary Society The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed tradition, Reformed in outlook, with ...

called Sibiling, it became a

Griqua Griqua may refer to: * Griqua people, of South Africa * Griqua language or Xiri language, their endangered Khoi language * Griquas (rugby) Griquas (), known as the Suzuki Griquas for sponsorship reasons, are a South African professional rugby ...

village with the name Blinkklip. It was proclaimed a town on 6 June 1892 and named after the Reverend Dirk Postma (1818–1890), founder of the

Reformed Churches in South Africa The Reformed Churches in South Africa () is a Christian denomination in South Africa that was formed in 1859 in Rustenburg. Members of the church are sometimes referred to as ''Doppers''. History of the Gereformeerde Kerke in South Africa I ...

. The town achieved municipal status in 1936.

Army

The South African Army's Combat Training Centre is located nearby, at

Lohatla Lohatla is a training area of the South African National Defence Force. It is located in the Northern Cape Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa and is home to the SA Army Combat Training Centre, which is part of the South African ...

Sport

The town is home to Hungry Lions, a soccer team playing in the

National First Division The South African Championship, officially known as the Motsepe Foundation Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest league of South African football after the South African Premiership. Both the South African Championship and ...

Economy

Postmasburg is home to Kolomela Mine which is owned by Anglo American. The Iron Ore mine officially opened in June 2012 provides job opportunities for the local communities. Postmasburg is also home to the Nchwaning, Wessels, Gloria and Mamatwan mines within the Postmasburg Manganese Field.

References