Zeerust is a commercial

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

situated in the Ngaka Modiri Molema district of North West Province,

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 ...

. It lies in the Marico valley, approximately 240 kilometres northwest of

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 ...

. It lies on the N4, the main road link between South Africa and

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

. There are large

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

ranches in the area, as well as

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

, maize,

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

and

citrus fruit ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as Orange (fruit), oranges, Mandarin orange, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, ...

farms. There are also fluorite and

chromite Chromite is a crystalline mineral composed primarily of iron(II) oxide and chromium(III) oxide compounds. It can be represented by the chemical formula of Iron, FeChromium, Cr2Oxygen, O4. It is an oxide mineral belonging to the spinel group. The ...

mines in the vicinity. Tourism is also a developing industry.

History

The original name of the farm on which the town was established was Sefatlhane/Sebatlani (meaning ''dusty place'') belonging to Casper Hendrik Coetzee who bought it in 1858. The farm was later renamed Hazenjacht, and after that Hazia/Hazeah. Casper Coetzee contracted Walter Seymore to build a church and a fort on this farm, but Casper died before this was completed. In 1866, the farm then came into the hands of Diederik Jacobus Coetzee, who saw the potential of developing a town on the farm. He measured out some erven with the idea of starting a town, using "Ox riems" to measure out the plots instead of the accepted surveyors chains. On 20 March 1867, the first erven of the newly established Coetzee-Rust were sold per public auction in

Potchefstroom Potchefstroom ( ; ), colloquially known as Potch, is an college town, academic city in the North West (South African province), North West Province of South Africa. It hosts the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. Potchefstro ...

, before official recognition of the request to start a town was granted. The village gained official recognition in 1868, and later gained a ''landdrost'' (magistrate) in November 1871. The name Coetzee's Rust was later abbreviated to Zeerust. Municipal status was obtained on 18 March 1936. Zeerust however wasn't the first town in this area. That honour belongs to Jacobsdal, a small village about 10 km south of Zeerust situated on the farm Vergenoegd, near the Lucerne station. The popularity of Zeerust as trading centre, caused the demise of Jacobsdal, and now it does not exist as a town anymore.

Natural features

Two rivers flow through Zeerust, the Klein-Marico and the Karee spruit. Irrigation farming just outside the town relies on these water bodies.

Development

Olienhout Park

In Zeerust there is also a small suburb named Olienhout Park, which is located before another suburb named Sandvlakte, with a population of about 250 residents, a few shops, a bar,

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

church, and a school. There is a township nearby named Ikageleng with about 1000 people.

Shopping

A mall exists named Autumn Leaf, and a few complexes are in the towns CBD

Mining

The Zeerust Chromium Mine was first developed in 1942. Today this mine is a surface and underground operation, consisting of four distinct surface and underground workings extending 750 hectares. The ore mined is composed of chromite and magnetite.

Access to Madikwe Game Reserve

Madikwe Game Reserve can be accessed through Zeerust about 90 kilometres north of the town.

Access to Botswana

Botswana can be accessed through Zeerust at the Tlokweng Border Control Post, a further 106 km northwest and through Skilpadshek border located 52 kilometres (32 mi) north-west.

References and external links

* Pieter de Jager (2001). ''Die Korannafonteiners''. Verlag: Privately published, Ottosdal, 2001.
General information about Zeerust
tourismnorthwest.co.za. Accessed 6 August 2023.

Notes

{{Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality Populated places in the Ramotshere Moiloa Local Municipality Populated places established in 1867