Pilgrim's Rest, Mpumalanga

Pilgrim's Rest Pelgrimsrus
Pilgrim's Rest Location in Mpumalanga
Pilgrim's Rest  Pilgrim's Rest shown within South Africa
Coordinates: 24°54′28″S 30°45′24″E
Country	South Africa
Province	Mpumalanga
District	Ehlanzeni
Municipality	Thaba Chweu
Area
• Total	25.39 km2 (9.80 sq mi)
Population (2001)
• Total	409
• Density	Bad rounding here16/km2 (Bad rounding here42/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2001)
• Black African	100.0%
First languages (2001)
• Northern Sotho	43.3%
• Swazi	24.9%
• Tsonga	19.8%
• Sotho	5.9%
• Other	6.1%
Time zone	SAST (UTC+2)

Pilgrim’s Rest (Afrikaans: Pelgrimsrus) is a small town in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa which is protected as a provincial heritage site.

History

After it was officially declared a gold field in September 1873, the town suddenly grew to 1,500 inhabitants searching for alluvial gold. Towards the end of the 19th century claims were bought up and underground mining started by the company known as TGME. Mining was closed down in 1971 and the village sold to the government as a national museum. Transvaal Gold Minings Estates, currently part of the listed Simmers and Jack, started gold mining again in 1998. The town’s original architecture remains largely unchanged since then, because the town was declared a National Monument now a provincial heritage site in 1986.

Pilgrim’s Rest was the location of an emergency mint during the Second Boer War. This mint struck the famous and extremely rare Veld Pond.

Also at the graveyard, every single grave was laid facing in the same direction, except for the famous Robber’s Grave which is laid perpendicular to the rest, emblazoned simply with a cross and the large type words of Robbers Grave. It is said that his grave was laid out that way so that could not see the rising sun.

One report states that it is the grave of a robber who was shot stealing a tent from one of the miners. A tent represented a "home" so was the most valuable of any individuals belongings, stealing this tent was a most grievous crime and the punishment was meted out in the extreme. Another report states that the robber instead stole a wheel barrow.

Potential World Heritage Status

This site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on May 15, 2004 in the Cultural category.

• 

  The Robbers Grave

See also

• Coins of the South African pound
• Mabin, A.S. & Pirie, G.H. The township question at Pilgrims Rest, 1894–1922. South African Historical Journal, 17 (1985), 64–83.
• Pirie, G.H. Public administration in Pilgrims Rest, 1915–1969. Contree, 20 (1986), 27–32.

External links

• Media related to Pilgrim's Rest at Wikimedia Commons
• Pilgrim's Rest Reduction Works Industrial Heritage Site - UNESCO World Heritage Centre
• Pilgrims Rest Website