Malelane

Malelane makes for an especially good base for day trips int

Malelane is a small town in Mpumalanga near to the Kruger National Park in South Africa. The farms in the region produce sugarcane, subtropical fruit and winter vegetables. Malelane was proclaimed in 1949 and the name was corrupted from the swazi expression "eMlalani" which means place of the palms. Malelane makes for an especially good base for day trips into the Kruger Park

Malelane, situated on the banks of the Crocodile River, lies in an area known as the Onderberg, which includes the towns of Louw’s Creek, Kaapmuiden, Hectorsspuit and Komatipoort. This area is partially surrounded by high mountains and is known for it’s variety of indigenous plants and trees. Malelane is a paradise for bird lovers and offers the tourist a wide variety of interesting and relaxing pastimes.

GENERAL INFORMATION

How to get there

Next to N4, 60 km east of Nelspruit

Altitude: 1050 m above sea level

Average Rainfall: 300 mm to 1500 mm per annum

Average Temperatures

Summer 48°c (Max); Winter 5°c (Min)

Banks: 5

Rivers

Crocodile

HISTORICAL VIEW

History and Development

After the death of his wife, Rosa Louisa, on 19 May 1923, from blackwater fever, ‘Mkonto’ Elphick sold the farm Malelane to Alan Andrews of Barberton in 1928. Andrews, in town sold the farm to Allan Francis Dowdle in 1940. dowdle, a bachelor, was a businessman from Johannesburg. He was not interested in farming the land, but divided it into 50 acre plots and in 1943 advertised the plots at 1000 pounds each, with water rights. There were two shops near the station at Malelane, as well as a shop owned by Minty and Sons. Ismail Ebrahim Minty (1886 – 1949) of Nelspruit had opened a branch of his Nelspruit store under the trade name Misty & Sons in 1936. The post office was housed in the station building and in the surrounding area there were a few English speaking and Portuguese farmers. The farm Srathmore was farmed by TF Elphick, and south of the road was the magnesite mine, controlled by John Kettle and a small store run by Max Fall. South of Malelane, James Henry Martins farmed cattle on the farm Minnehaha. He was one of the earliest farmers to buy land in the twenties. Because he feared malaria so much he built a stone house on the mountain; employing a builder from Wales and a cabinet maker from England to do the work. The stone was produce from a quarry on the farm and the wooden doors and window frames were made from local timber. He was known by the Swazi as ‘Mkulumazonke’, which means ‘he who can speak of everything’. He had business interests in Cape Town and Johannesburg. On the eastern side of Malelane JS and Manuel de Paiva farmed M’Hlati. They had obtained the farm from Tomaselli, a Johannesburg market agent, who had bought the farm from Rupert ‘Mhlati’Atmore who went insolvent during the 1930’s. Portions of the farm Malelane were farmed by Manuel Sebastian, Francesco Sebastian, J George de Guoveia and M Rodriques. Cornelius Johannes Weyers (1910 – 1971) was the first buyer followed by Barry de Villiers (1912 – 1993), who bought two plots of ground. Thereafter other families followed including, Dr Will Radley, who also bought two plots, Hector Brummer and his brother in law Fred Heuser, Dr Koos Burger (1897 – 1971) and then his brother in law, Gustav van Veijeren (1905 – 1981). Water for irrigation would be brought from the Spago dam on the farm Spago, to supply the plot owners. Dowdle fully expected to supply water as specified in the deeds of sale. A canal was constructed from the dam by Dowdle but owing to financial problems was never completed. Meanwhile the plot owners were angered as they were still without water and Dowdle continued to sell plots with water rights. Barry de Villiers took him to task about this. Dowdle replied that if he had water in his suitcase he would give it to him, but he still continued to sell the plots with the right to a water supply. Barry had two options, either to pump water himself as his plots were close to the Crocodile River, or to develop an irrigation scheme which would benefit the community as a whole. Alan Andrews had an old steam boiler next to the Crocodile River and later a diesel engine. Curt Rosenberg, one of the plot owners, and Paiva, who farmed on M’Hlati, developed their own irrigation schemes. Dowdle was persuaded to pay for the steam boiler next to the river and Barry supplied the equipment. The canal was made just south of the national road up to the station. Barry was the first plot owner next to the canal and those on the upper part of the canal were supplied by means of an intermediate pump. This eventually led to the establishment of the Malelane Irrigation Board in 1955. On another portion of the farm Malelane, Dowdle planned a town in the form of a wagon wheel which was surveyed in 1944. The plan was approved in 1945 and he then applied for the establishment of the town. However, there was no financial gain in this venture as he was declared insolvent in 1946 and his assets sold at a public auction and bought by a business consortium. Dowdle left Malelane and lived with family in Sabie. He died in Johannesburg in 1947. Rob Ferreira and his brother Martin founded the Malelane Development Company (Pty) Ltd to pursue the application for the establishment of the town. The town was officially established on 6 July 1949 and named Malelane. The first and only ‘street’ – Stasieweg (Station Road) – in the town was also the entry road form the national road to the station. While the National Roads team was busy with the construction and tarring of the road between Nelspruit and Komtipoort, Rob Ferreira, Members of the Provincial Council for the area, arranged for the tarring of all roads to the stations of Kaapmuiden, Malelane, Hectorspruit and Komatipoort. In this way ‘Stasieweg’ was tarred – with the compliments of the State. One of the ‘establishment stipulations’ was that water be provided to the houses along ‘Stasieweg’, as well as to at least three further points at suitable places for the convenience of the residents of the town. Water was obtained from a borehole and pumped to a reservoir. In order to obtain this service stands had to be bought along. ‘Stasieweg’: all other stands were sold without this amenity. Home-owners had to see to their own sewerage and refuse removal. Nico Horn, who became a director of the Malelane Development Company (Pty) Ltd and who was in control of the development of the town, established the first electricity scheme in the Malelane Garage for the town. A 75 kW generator supplied electricity daily from 07:00 to 23:00 to homes, a butchery and garage. This scheme continued until Eskom began to supply power to Malelane in 1962. As there was no community hall in existence for church services, and other activities, Dr Will Radley arranged for a meeting of interested parties to be held in the show room of the Malelane Garage. Cornelius Weyers donated the first 30 pounds towards the building of the hall. Rob Ferreira, as representative of Malelane Development Company (Pty) Ltd, donated the stand for the building, through the negotiation and support of Mrs Lala de Villiers. Dr Radley proposed that a building commission, for the building of the hall, be chosen. This commission consisted of Barry de Villiers, Fred Heuser, Piet Meyer and Dr Will Radley. Dr Radley was the architect and builder and designed a hall of 80 feet x 30 feet (approximately 25 m x 9 m). The front gable was a replica of the Voortrekker (Pioneer) Church of the Covenant at Pietermaritzburg. This hall belonged to the Malelane Hall Committee and as Dr Radley and Nico Horn were the only remaining members of the original committee, they signed the necessary document granting the stand and hall to the Malelane Cane Gowners’ Society free to charge. Until the 1940’s there was no control over malaria and houses had to be sprayed with insecticide during the summer months to eradicate mosquitoes. A clinic was founded at Malelane and was originally under the control of the Shongwe hospital, but later, owing to administrative problems, they could no longer assist. The clinic then functioned independently but eventually fell into disuse. Owing to the large labour force involved in the farming activities around Malelane, a clinic was a necessity. Under the auspices of the Community Development Association, assisted by John Roberts and the Malelane Farmers Association, a suitable portion of land was obtained from Malelane Estates, free of charge, for the establishment of a clinic. During the first ten years of the town’s existence the Post Office was built (1952) and the school (1955). Until 1960 the only development which took place was the establishment of a few shops around the Rotunda Circle, a café, Catholic Church, police station, which was transferred from Kaalrug and a few houses. The NG Church and manse were erected in 1961, with Rev Lodewyk de Clercq as the first Minister. With the inception of the Health Committee for Peri-urban areas (later the Transvaal Council for Peri-urban Areas) an Area Committee for Malelane was formed by the Administrator on 16 August 1957 with MC Ferreira, GR van Veijeren, BM de Villiers and NJ Horn as members. The sugar industry, which was established in 1965, had a great impact on the economy of the Onderberg, and in particular on Malelane. Up to this time it was still a village with a total of 320 people and a primary school for 105 scholars. According to an aerial photograph, taken in 1964, there were only 23 buildings or structures in and around the town, including a hotel, two banks, two filling stations, two shops and four churches. The erection of the sugar mill, between 1965 and 1967, meant that TSB had to provide housing their workers. There were no houses in Malelane to buy or to rent and TSB had to undertake the building of 70 homes in the town. Facilities for sport and recreation had to be made available. The factory’s personnel were housed close to the mill in it’s own little town known as Mhlathi Kop. During the 1980’s Malelane developed rapidly as the sugar mill expanded it’s activities. In 1985 a new rest camp ‘Berg en Dal’ was opened in the Kruger National Park, as well as the Malelane Lodge, in 1988, on the banks of the Crocodile River, both of which brought an influx of tourists to the area. As Malelane grew, Dr Willem Bekker, Manging Director of TSB, and Chairman of the Area Committee, began to negotiate for the establishment of the municipality for the town. This was granted and from 1 July 1990 Malelane gained municipal status. During the first council meeting held during the same month, five council members were elected by the first town clerk, Deon Geldenhuys. The last Administrator of the Transvaal, Danie Hough, attended the induction of the first Town Council on 27 July 1990. the opening of a modern airport, 6 km east of Malelane, by TSB at the beginning of 1991, was a further development in the area. It is 1100 m in length and 18 m wide, is tarred and can be upgraded to a regional airport for the Lowveld. Malelane is ideally situated between the casinos and Swaziland, Maputo in the east and the Kruger National Park in the north. Now that the Komati Sugar Mill has been established south of Komatipoort, and the Drie Koppies Dam under construction in the Mlumati River, Malelane will fulfill an ever increasing role in the activities of the Underberg.

NATURE

Kruger National Park

Lowhills Game Reserve

Mahushe Shongwe Game Reserve

The 700 m reserve is located on the Lebombo Flats, 30 km from Malelane. The Mzinto River flows through the reserve. Apart from the game, 164 birds species have been recorded. Accommodation facilities consist of an exclusive tented camp. Each tent has two beds and it’s own bathroom. Kitchen facilities are centralized. Attractions include the Nyala Trail, bird watching and a swimming pool.

Mthethomusha Game Reserve

Dominated by large granite outcrops, this 9000 ha reserve, adjoining the Kruger National Park, is home to a large variety of game species, including elephant, rhino, buffalo, leopard and giraffe, and over 200 bird species have been recorded. Accommodation facilities consist of an exclusive, luxury bush camp, the Bongani Mountain Lodge, with full catering. The reserve has conference facilities for up to 60 people, a swimming pool and picnic sites for day visitors.

ACTIVITIES

Bird watching

Game Viewing

Hiking

Nyala Trail

In the Mahushe Shongwe Game Reserve

Accommodation in and around Malelane