eMvelo, formerly known as Amsterdam, is a small town situated at the intersection of the R33 and R65 Provincial Routes in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa.
The town is part of the Mkhondo Local Municipality in the Gert Sibande District of Mpumalanga province.
Amsterdam (officially renamed eMvelo) is located some 77 km east of Ermelo and encompasses a large Swazi population as a result of its proximity to the Eswatini border which is relatively close to the area.
The town has large plantations of gum, pine and wattle trees as well as a peaceful community with rich culture and heritage.
History
Part of a Scottish settlement established by Alexander McCorkindale in 1868, it was proclaimed a town in June 1881.
At first called Roburnia, in honour of Scottish Poet Robert Burns, the name was changed on 5 July 1882 to Amsterdam, after the Dutch city where the State Secretary, Eduard Bok, was born, and out of gratitude for Dutch sympathy during the First Anglo-Boer War (1880–1881). In 2019 the name of the town was changed again to eMvelo, a Swazi word meaning “In Nature”.
