- Mpumalanga
- Greylingstad
Greylingstad, Mpumalanga
- Inligting
- Gallery (11)
- Winkels & Dienste (5)
Not Quite A Ghost Town
Greylingstad lies about an hour and a half southeast of Johannesburg, between Balfour and Standerton on the R23. This route was once the main road between Johannesburg and Durban.
This very small farming town is more of a “day out” kind of visit rather than an overnight stop. Greylingstad is not quite a Ghost Town. However, many of the buildings are either empty, burnt out or stripped-out shells with the town a mere shadow now of its former self.
The Scottish Rifles laid out the initials "SR", a series of whitewashed stones arranged in the letters “SR”, on the hill overlooking the town. If you climb the steep kopjie you will enter a unique portal into the past - the ruins of a British Army fortified campsite that was built and occupied between July 1900 and June 1902.
Other places which may be of interest while visiting the town would be the burnt-out Railway Station buildings or the old three-storey grain mill. Spend some time with the locals and they will share their memories of the “Honeymoon Hotel”, the old Drive-In or the old Telephone Exchange which is fondly recalled as “Nommer Asseblief” party line!
Things to do and see
- Dutch Reformed Church
- Climb the Koppie
- Old Railway Station & Grain Mill
- General Dealer Store
Climate
Greylingstad receives approximately 691 mm of rain annually with most of its annual rainfall occurring during summer.
Summer months, November to March will have average temperatures of between 13˚C and 27˚C.
Winter months, May to August will have average temperatures of between 0˚C and 22˚C.
Transport
There are daily flights into Lanseria Airport, approximately 141 Km’s away, and into O R Tambo International Airport approximately 110 Km’s away along the N3. Car hire facilities are available at the Airport.
History
Greylingstad was established by the Dutch Reformed Church in 1909 and it was named after P. J. Greyling, one of the pioneers of the district. The town has a fairly rich history with many stories to tell, starting with the Anglo-Boer War where the Scottish Rifles built a number of small forts overlooking the town and the farms beyond the hills.
In the 1950’s and 1960’s the town had a flourishing farming Community and A major change came about in 1962 when ESKOM erected an 88kV substation and the town, which had about 300 residents at the time, was connected to the main electricity grid. Mrs Susan Botha, chairperson of the local council, was the key driver to get electricity supplied to the town and negotiated the supply with ESKOM.
However, when the main road between Johannesburg and Durban was upgraded in the 60's, a bypass was built around Greylingstad and this effectively starved the small businesses in town.
The department of Arts and Culture published the name change of Greylingstad to Nthorwane in their government notice No. 238 of Gazette No. 36299 on the 28th March 2013.
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