Middelburg

A Concise History

Founding of Middelburg

On the 6th of February 1837 the Cape Government proclaimed the district of Colesberg—with the field-cornettes of Middelveld, Upper Sea Cow River, Lower Sea Cow River, Nieu-Hantam and Agter-Suurberg. The distance between Graaff-Reinet and Colesberg was 130 miles (200 km) and therefore it was decided to found a town in-between. The Dutch Reformed Church of Colesberg gave permission on the 6th of April 1852 for a new congregation to be seceded. Three farms, namely Kleinfontein, Grootfontein and Driefontein, were considered for the town. A commission consisting of Willem Smit and Henning Coetzee bought Driefontein, on the Little Brak River, from Jan Coetzee for £3,000 and on the 19th of May 1852 the congregation and town of Middelburg was formed. The Seat of Magistracy for Middelburg was announced in the Government Gazette of the 19th of June 1852. The first erven were sold on the 12th & 13th of August 1852.

Historical Buildings and Monuments

Haystead & Ford Building

Located in Market Street, this is one of the oldest buildings in Middelburg and is a declared National Monument.

Market Square

Encircled by Murray, Market, van Reenen and Loop Streets, this is the original town square of Middelburg. Today it is part of the Mayor’s Garden.

Gereformeerde Kerk

Ds Dirk Postma founded this congregation at Grootfontein in 1860 and the present building is the oldest surviving church of this denomination in South Africa. It was declared a National Monument in 1979. The inscription reads:

Hierdie kerkgebou wat in 1862 voltooi is na die stigting van die plaaslike gemeente deur Ds Dirk Postma op datum 1 Desember 1860, is die oudste bestaande Gereformeerde kerkgebou is S.A.

Burger Monument

A graceful obelisk that was eretected in 1929 to honour the memory of 19 burghers who died during the Anglo-Boer War.

Warden House

This was the house of the warden of the first gaol in Middelburg. Today it houses the local tourism bureau.

Chair Monument

This monument at Ouberg Kopje, just outside of town on the road to Richmond, marks the spot where two Boer Commandants, Lötter and Wolfaardt, were executed by the British in 1901 during the Anglo-Boer War.

Old Waterpump

Queen Victoria gave this pump as a gift to Middelburg in 1887. It is located in the Mayor’s Garden.

Memorial at kwaNonzame

Erected in memory of the “Middelburg Three”.

Steam Roller

This was bought in 1938 to construct and prepare streets.

Wall of Remembrance

A monument to those who have died during the Anglo-Boer War, World War One & Two, and the Border War.

Karel Theron Primary School

This school, of which the building dates to 1908, was once the largest in the Cape Province. It is named after the first principle. The building was declared a National Monument in 1992.

Schoombeesklip

This stone is the oldest landmark of the occupation by Europeans in this region. The inscription was made in 1780 by Andries Godlieb Schoombee, who fled from Denmark after the supposed death of his brother who fell from a window of their double-storey house during a quarrel. It reads:

ANNO·1780·APREL

IK·BEN·DIE·DIE·PLAAS·HEFT·AANGELYGT

A·G·S·B·UYT·DENEMARK

SPRENGHANE·ALS·S/A/NT

The Poor School (Middelburg Museum)

On the corner of Bennie and vd Walt Street is the building that once housed a special school for the children of the poor. The school was opened in 1898 and this, the main building, built in 1906. Today it houses the Middelburg Museum.

Graveyards and Cemetaries

Driefontein

Located behind Ouberg Kopje and is where the first inhabitants of the farm that was to become Middelburg are buried.

References