Machadodorp
Encyclopedia
Machadodorp is a small town situated near the edge of the escarpment
in the Mpumalanga
province, South Africa
. The Elands River runs through the town. There is a natural radioactive spring here that is reputed to have powerful healing qualities.
who had surveyed the land for the proposed Pretoria
-Delagoa Bay railway line.
The settlement became a capital for a few months from 5 June 1900, but was only declared a municipal town in 1904. This quirk in history happened during the Second Boer War
when the Transvaal
Volksraad
made the town their temporary seat, using railway carriages as their offices and mint after they had to evacuate Pretoria
in the face of a British invasion.
A quick-thinking station master rescued a consignment of dying trout by dumping the fish in the Elands River, which formed the start of the town's subsequent role in Mpumalanga's trout tourism industry. With the demise of passenger trains in South Africa, the once-postcard-pretty station closed in 2001 and it is now a derelict ruin.
In the 21st century, Machadodorp's residents either work for the industries feeding a chrome smelter, or the logging industries based on the pine plantations surrounding the town. A large contigent of contract workers employed at the Nkomati mine about an hour's drive out of town also reside in Machadodorp, contributing a large part of the town's economy.
The Komati Gorge
, notable for its considerable biodiversity
and bluff habitat
s, forms a backdrop to the town.
and Waterval Boven
) had its name officially changed. In Machadodorp's case the name has been officially changed to eNtokozweni, however it is unknown when (or maybe even if) the name change will catch on.
Escarpment
An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that occurs from erosion or faulting and separates two relatively level areas of differing elevations.-Description and variants:...
in the Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga , is a province of South Africa. The name means east or literally "the place where the sun rises" in Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, north of KwaZulu-Natal and bordering Swaziland and Mozambique. It constitutes 6.5% of South Africa's land area...
province, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. The Elands River runs through the town. There is a natural radioactive spring here that is reputed to have powerful healing qualities.
History
The town grew around a station originally named Geluk, after the sheep farm it was built on, but in 1894 the name was changed to honour Major Joachim Machado, an engineerEngineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
who had surveyed the land for the proposed Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
-Delagoa Bay railway line.
The settlement became a capital for a few months from 5 June 1900, but was only declared a municipal town in 1904. This quirk in history happened during the Second Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
when the Transvaal
South African Republic
The South African Republic , often informally known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer-ruled country in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century. Not to be confused with the present-day Republic of South Africa, it occupied the area later known as the South African...
Volksraad
Volksraad
The Volksraad was the parliament of the former South African Republic , which existed from 1857 to 1902 in part of what is now the South Africa. The body ceased to exist after the British victory in the Second Anglo-Boer War. The Volksraad sat in session in Ou Raadsaal in Church Square, Pretoria...
made the town their temporary seat, using railway carriages as their offices and mint after they had to evacuate Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
in the face of a British invasion.
A quick-thinking station master rescued a consignment of dying trout by dumping the fish in the Elands River, which formed the start of the town's subsequent role in Mpumalanga's trout tourism industry. With the demise of passenger trains in South Africa, the once-postcard-pretty station closed in 2001 and it is now a derelict ruin.
In the 21st century, Machadodorp's residents either work for the industries feeding a chrome smelter, or the logging industries based on the pine plantations surrounding the town. A large contigent of contract workers employed at the Nkomati mine about an hour's drive out of town also reside in Machadodorp, contributing a large part of the town's economy.
The Komati Gorge
Komati Gorge
Komati Gorge is a river valley in the Mpumalanga Province in central South Africa, which features vertical sandstone cliffs that provide habitat for a wide diversity of wildlife. Komati Gorge is located near the communities of Carolina and Machadodorp...
, notable for its considerable biodiversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
and bluff habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
s, forms a backdrop to the town.
Name change
In early 2010 the town (along with NelspruitNelspruit
Nelspruit is a city of more than 500,000 people situated in northeastern South Africa. It is the capital of the Mpumalanga province . Located on the Crocodile River, Nelspruit lies about west of the Mozambique border and east of Johannesburg. The towns of Nelspruit are Kanyamazane and Pienaar...
and Waterval Boven
Waterval Boven
Waterval Boven is a small town situated on the edge of the Escarpment on the banks of the Elands River above the 75m Elands Falls on the railway line from Pretoria to Maputo in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Hence the name which means "above the waterfall" in Dutch...
) had its name officially changed. In Machadodorp's case the name has been officially changed to eNtokozweni, however it is unknown when (or maybe even if) the name change will catch on.
baKoni Ruins
The hills around Machadodorp are terraced with thousands of stone walls which form part of a vast complex described by tour guides as South Africa's "real" lost city . Conflicting theories exist as to the origins and ages of these ruins:- Archaeologists have officially described the ruins as cattle kraals of the baKoni clan, which were written about in the 16th century. The ongoing 500 Year Initiative to rewrite South Africa's history has, however, delivered new insights that have led a group of leading archaeologists to appeal for funds to study the ruins which, they now say, may stretch as far as southern Ethiopia.
- Self-described renegade scientist and esoteric author Michael Tellinger sells the most radical opposing theory, stating that the "millions" of stone circles and walls constituted a massive power grid covering southern Africa, which an ancient civilisation would have used to resonate and conduct the sound frequency of earth into another form of energy that was presumably harnessed to mine gold.
- Anthropologist, Hindu-expert and linguist, Dr Cyril Hromnick, postulates that Dravidian traders, originally from the Gomti river in India, mined and inter-married with the Kung during the first millennium AD and that their descendants were responsible for building the terraces and stone circle dwellings that meander along Mpumalanga's escarpment as "astrological clocks," as well as for creating the Quena - or Hottentot - race.