History

Many peoples have traversed the area over the centuries. Stone Age and Iron Age artefacts and structures, and San rock paintings are the only traces left by these earlier people. Oral traditions refer to the “ancient ones” and several books about the area mention very old gold mining activities that took place long before the Europeans pitched up. A strong argument is developing that Dravidians, a merchant caste from India were responsible for these activities.

More recent history tells of mighty African empires carved out by strong leaders who subdued and incorporated lesser clans. The Swazi people are the majority group in Barberton. They came to the area in the early eighteenth century and became a nation under King Sobhuza in what is now the Kingdom of Swaziland. King Mswati II, who continued unification of the Swazi clans, was an adventurer at heart. He raided lands far and wide to the north of Swaziland, where he held various clans in subjection or simply drove them out of the area. After his death in 1865 a succession of less expansive royal leaders followed and currently, Mswati III is king of Swaziland.

Barberton’s gold was discovered as a result of prospectors becoming dissatisfied at having to share their diggings with others at Kaapsehoop. They left these slim pickings to try their luck on the south eastern ridges of the De Kaap Valley. The Barber brothers and their cousin were among them. They chanced upon a rich reef in what is known today as Rimer’s Creek and immediately staked their claim. On 24 July 1884, the Gold Commissioner named the place Barberton and appointed a Digger’s Committee to bring order to the diggings. People from all over the world were drawn to the rich gold finds and Barberton soon became a boom town with two stock exchanges, three newspapers, ten hotels, clubs and many saloons. The portico of the old stock exchange in Pilgrim Street is all that is left after a fire destroyed the building.

With the outbreak of the South African War in 1899, the town came under British military rule. Five block-houses were erected and the only one still in existence can be seen on the corner of Lee and Judge Streets. A concentration camp was established where the golf course is today. During the Second World War a military camp was situated to the east of the town to provide a military presence on the eastern frontier. This was in case Portugal and its Mozambique colony at the time were to fall into German hands. The military shooting range is still in use today, possibly the most scenic shooting range in South Africa. The regiments that were trained here built replicas of their regimental badges out of stone, cement and plaster in the Garden of Remembrance. The local MOTH organisation preserves these stone memorials at the foot of a small hill at the eastern gateway to the town.

For more than 60 years, most traffic to the Lowveld came through Barberton, until the road between Nelspruit and Johannesburg was improved. After this development Nelspruit became a flourishing commercial hub, a trend that had its roots in the existence of the railway between Delagoa Bay and Pretoria, a gift from in the days of President Paul Kruger.