Rustenburg is a city situated long the N4 National Route at the foot of the Magaliesberg mountain range in the North West Province of South Africa.
The city lies about 130 km from Pretoria and 140 km by road from Johannesburg on a major highway, the N4.
Rustenburg is the most populous city in North West Province of South Africa.
Being in close proximity to Phokeng, the capital of the Royal Bafokeng Nation, where the Royal Bafokeng Stadium is located made it a perfect choice for one of the official host cities of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
History
Rustenburg, meaning “place of rest”, this pretty little town’s streets are lined with the ubiquitous jacaranda tree. It started out as a small farming community producing citrus and Virginia tobacco and still manages to retain its small-town atmosphere.
The town has humble beginnings, starting off as little more than a church and farming community centre. It has now earned the nickname “Platinum City” due to its extensive mining – two of the world’s largest platinum mines lie just outside Rustenburg. The biggest platinum mine in the world is located about 3km from the town centre and owned and managed by the Anglo American corporation. According to legend, the farmer that owned the land sold the mineral rights to Anglo American for R10,000.
Rustenburg is prominent in Afrikaner history. The town was established in 1851 as an administrative centre for a fertile farming area producing citrus fruit, tobacco, peanuts, sunflower seeds, maize, wheat and cattle. Rustenburg was the home of Paul Kruger, president of the South African Republic, who bought a 5 square kilometre farm to the north-west of the town in 1863.
Among the first residents of Rustenburg were settlers of Indian origin. One of the first families of Indian origin was the Bhyat family, whose contribution to the city’s history was marked by the renaming of a major street name to Fatima Bhayat Street in honour of Fatima Bhyat who arrived in Rustenburg with her husband in 1877.
When the Boer and the British came to blows in the Second Boer War in 1899, the territory around Rustenburg became a battlefield. The two sides clashed famously at nearby Mafikeng, where the British garrison found itself under siege for months. These battle sites can be explored from Rustenburg.
With the arrival and successful farming practices of the Boers in the nineteenth century, Rustenburg became a primarily agricultural region with vast citrus estates due to the favourable climate and abundant water supply.
