Pilgrim’s Rest – Cry the iconic mining town

Pilgrim’s Rest is known for its majestic historic buildings that date back to the 1800s and breathtaking mountains, landscapes and mining sites, however, this beloved town is sadly slowly becoming a ghost town.

This once booming tourism town, which saw an influx of international tourists booking space at the historic Royal Hotel and buying locally crafted beads and charms from the locals, has now been declared a war zone and home to some of the continent’s most dangerous illegal miners.

Established in the early 1870s following the second-ever discovery of gold in the area, Pilgrim’s Rest has over the years played a major role in the tourism sector, positioning itself as one of Mpumalanga’s iconic destinations.

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This town is situated on the eastern escarpment of the province in Thaba Chweu Local Municipality.

It is a small town with a very colourful history. Pilgrim’s Rest was officially declared a national monument in 1986 and would serve as a living memory of the early gold rush days in South Africa during the late 1800s and early 1900s.

What makes this tourist town so unique is the fact that it has always maintained its historic look and feel with the buildings along the main road. There are 89 historical buildings or sites along the Pilgrim’s Rest main road, including hotels and restaurants.

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One of the town’s main attractions is the Alanglade House Museum, built in 1915 by the Transvaal Gold Mining Estates as the official residence for its mine managers.

Recently, however, a group of heavily armed foreign nationals, Mozambicans, Malawians, Zimbabweans and Lesothans in particular, hijacked and took over the town, and as a result, drove off the tourists.

This group of foreign nationals are currently conducting an illegal mining operation in the old mining sites.

“Since the zama zamas arrived here and started digging for gold, crime has also seriously gone up. Locals are living in fear here and sadly, they don’t have anywhere to turn to,” said Goodman Mashego, a local.

These illegal activities have not only chased off tourists and possible investors, but also brought fear to this small community as the illegal miners are said to have taken over properties belonging to the government and some homes belonging to the locals.

Several residents who spoke to this publication voiced their concerns about their safety due to the illegal mining activities in the area.

They told this publication that the illegal miners were wreaking havoc in the community and were prepared to go to war just to keep digging for gold.

“Since the zama zamas arrived here and started digging for gold, crime has also seriously gone up. Locals are living in fear here and sadly, they don’t have anywhere to turn to,” said Goodman Mashego, a local.

Another resident, Lucky Maphanga, earlier told the SABC that the community had tried to engage with the illegal miners, but that they became even angrier and threatened some of them. “We have the main river, which is Motlatsi, and the Creek River, and they come and dig in these rivers. When the tourists come, they see all these people flocking in. The safety of the tourists and community is in jeopardy. The main problem is when we tried to talk to them, they intimidated us. We went further to talk to the police, but we are not getting assistance,” said Maphanga.

The MEC for community safety, security and liaison, Jackie Macie, visited the area and promised to bring peace and stability. Working with law enforcement agencies, Macie said they are prepared to get the minister of police to obtain an order to send in the military and deploy more police officials.

Before his surprise suspension, the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency’s CEO, Mduduzi Vilakazi, was in the process of helping revitalise the town to its former glory. Vilakazi, who is regarded by many in the tourism sector as a champion of township and rural tourism, was in the process of engaging key and strategic role players to make Pilgrim’s Rest the destination of choice again.

“Tourism brings economic revival, which is important to a community suffering high unemployment due to the lack of other industries in the area. So, it is vital that we come to this space and see what we can do as an entity, working, of course, with our provincial governmental departments and other key players in the private sector,” Vilakazi had said at the time. He believed tourism in the area had great potential to flourish.

In 2005, Pilgrim’s Rest hosted the World Gold Panning Championships, a first for South Africa and Africa.

It remains to be seen though whether this town will ever get back any of its former glory, but for now, it remains a war zone and a den for zama zamas.