Piet Retief, Mpumalanga
| Piet Retief, Mpumalanga | |
|---|---|
| Country |  South Africa |
| Province | Mpumalanga |
| Time zone | SAST (UTC+2) |
| Postal code | 2380 |
Piet Retief is a town situated in a timber growing region in Mpumalanga province, South Africa. Its is the seat of the Mkhondo Local Municipality. It is located not far from the Swaziland border. The town was founded by the Voortrekkers in 1883 and named it after the Voortrekker leader, Piet Retief, who was killed by the Zulus under their King Dingane's orders after he tried to settle on their land.
In 1886 the inhabitants of the town declared the Klein Vrystaat (Little Free State), which contained a population of only 72. This Republic existed until 1891, when it was incorporated into the South African Republic.
The town became a municipality in 1932. Its main tourist attraction is the Dutch Reformed Church that was designed by the architect Gerard Moerdijk and built in 1921.
The area has an annual rainfall of 1000 mm. Its main economic activities are timber, paper and wattle bark production as well as mica, kaolin and iron mining.
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[edit] Name change
On 2 February 2010, Arts and Culture minister, Lulu Xingwana, approved for Piet Retief to be renamed to eMkhondo[1]. Like almost every name change in South Africa, it is very controversial. Most whites do not know what the new name means and have argued that Piet Retief was not an offensive name, such as Verwoerdburg. Also, like most name changes, this one will be contested and the Freedom Front Plus have warned against the name change.
[edit] People
- Jack Diamond, architect, born in Piet Retief
- Sandra Laing, woman who was born to white parents but reclassified as coloured during the apartheid era in South Africa, born in Piet Retief
- Jabulani Mbatha, lifetime Chief, died in Mkhondo in 1945
