Middelburg, Mpumalanga

Middelburg
The Dutch Reformed Church
Middelburg Show map of Mpumalanga Middelburg Show map of South Africa Middelburg Show map of Africa  Middelburg shown within Mpumalanga
Coordinates: 25°46′6.30″S 29°28′42″E / 25.7684167°S 29.47833°E / -25.7684167; 29.47833Coordinates: 25°46′6.30″S 29°28′42″E / 25.7684167°S 29.47833°E / -25.7684167; 29.47833
Country	South Africa
Province	Mpumalanga
District	Nkangala
Municipality	Steve Tshwete
Established	1864
• Councillor	(ANC)
Area
• Total	117.40 km2 (45.33 sq mi)
Elevation	1,490 m (4,890 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	87,348
• Density	740/km2 (1,900/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
• Black African	41.6%
• Coloured	5.6%
• Indian/Asian	3.8%
• White	48.5%
• Other	0.5%
First languages (2011)
• Afrikaans	50.3%
• Zulu	12.4%
• English	11.1%
• Northern Sotho	7.6%
• Other	18.6%
Postal code (street)	1050
PO box	1055

Middelburg is a large farming and industrial town in the South African province of Mpumalanga.

Middelburg was established as Nasareth, (root from dry land), in 1864 by the Voortrekkers on the banks of the Klein Olifants River. The name was changed in 1872 to Middelburg to mark its location between the Transvaal capital Pretoria, and the gold mining town of Lydenburg. A Dutch Reformed Church was built in 1890 and became a focal point in the area. The British built a large concentration camp in Middelburg during the Second Boer War. The Memorial Museum was built at the site next to the 1,381 graves of women and children that died in the concentration camp.

Columbus Stainless, a large stainless steel plant, constructed in 1965, and Thos Begbie & Co, a company established in 1887 by Scotsman Thomas Begbie, are both situated here. For many years, the industrial activities of the steel plant and its peripheral activities, such as coal and transport, provided much of the employment and largely drove the economy of the town, although other sectors, such as agriculture, have gradually grown to be important.

Hundreds of expatriates and their families, mostly from the United Kingdom and parts of Europe, moved into the town in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s to avoid the slump of the post-World War II industrial and manufacturing sectors in those countries. These families were attracted by the need for industrial expertise in the plant, and were often rewarded with company sponsored housing and discounted education.

The children of those immigrant families have either moved to the larger nearby cities of Witbank, Pretoria, and Johannesburg, seeking employment, or have remained to form part of the growing alternative economic activities in the area.