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North West Province's Hidden Gem: Rustenburg

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North West Province's Hidden Gem: Rustenburg

The Magaliesberg mountain range dominates the landscape of the present-day Northwest Province. Rustenburg, the largest city in this province, is significant to many South African groups, and its history is intricate and diverse. Rustenburg's known history spans from the 15th century to the post-Apartheid era, and due to the region's incredibly lucrative mining industry, it has become the fastest-growing city in South Africa.

After the establishment of Pretoria as the Boer capital, Rustenburg's political significance regarding political developments diminished, while its role as the center of church activity grew. After Dirk van der Hoff's installation and the establishment of the Dutch Reformed Church, a second minister from the Netherlands, Dirk Postma, arrived. In November 1858, after receiving approval from the Gereformeerde Kerk Synod in Leiden, he arrived in Rustenburg, South Africa. The relationship with the Cape Synod and the singing of hymns represented Postma's first encounter with conflict. In addition, he began to engage in missionary work by contacting Chief Magato; he was asked to explain this move at the second Synod in Pretoria in 1859. When he walked out over the issue of hymn singing, he was joined by a number of dissenters, and Paul Kruger later asked him to establish a Free Reform Church. Thus began the schism between the Transvaal's two historic churches, the Hervormde Kerk under Van der Hoff and the Christelike Gereformeerde Kerk under Postma. The new church began with 610 members.

In South Africa, the relationship between church and state has always been complex. In later years, the churches provided moral and biblical support for apartheid. But even earlier churches were faced with the question of their relationship to the country's black population. The fact that the church in Rustenburg was built using the labor of "Inboekselings," who were black children captured and used as slaves by the Boers, reveals much about the nature of the relationship.
The church played a crucial role in maintaining the unity of the Boer communities. It defined the congregation and prescribed white-black relationships. The Doppers constructed a new church in 1889.

The Gereformeerde Kerk van SuidAfrika held a Centenary Celebration over the weekend of March 27–30, 1959. Churchmen from across the country, as well as representatives from the United States, Europe, and other nations, attended the gathering. At the conference, Prime Minister HF Verwoerd delivered a speech.

Diverse churches participated in the 1990 Rustenburg Churches Deliberation, which sought to determine the future of the churches and their relationship to apartheid. A total of 230 delegates representing 81 churches were present. After this event, "affiliation between the different church groups increased significantly." As the size of congregations grew, more churches were constructed. In May 1941, the NGK and the Hervormde Kerk erected churches in Rustenburg North, in April 1944 in Rustenburg East, and in November 1946 in Rustenburg West.

In 1911 and 1918, the Gereformeerde Church established a new congregation at Crocodile River and Matlabas, respectively. Further churches were put up in Drieriviersbom in 1938, Elandskraalin in 1948, and Rustenburg North in 1949.

Despite their presence in the region since 1884, the Catholics did not build a church until 1936 and a convent until 1950.

Article Courtesy of www.sahistory.org.za/place/rustenburg

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