WHERE DID THE NAME COME FROM

Agatha: Agatha Joubert was the wife of the Mining Commissioner at the time of the gold rush in the Murchison Range. "Old Agatha" was on the Thabina River near Dickinson's Hotel and "New Agatha" is up on the plateau where The Coach House stands today.
Debegeni: The place of the Big Pot - an obvious reference to the huge potholes created by the scouring of the river bed by countless centuries of water and boulder action.
DuivelsKloof: Two possibilities exist: a) The sticky wet mud of the area gave the early transport riders a devil of a bad time; b) the early settlers regarded the rainmaking magic of Queen Modjadji as being devilish. Or, a combination of both!
Ebenezer Dam: The dam is named after the farm on which it was originally built. Farm names came from a multitude of sources and were usually named by the surveyor who marked out the property boundaries.
Eiland: The Eiland Resort is situated on the southern bank of the Great Letaba river in an area where, strangely enough, there are several islands in the river. At the time it seemed a good idea to name the resort after them! Island (English) = Eiland (Afrikaans).
George's Valley: Named after George Denys, a relative of Doel Zeederberg, who was captured by the British on 8 April 1902 during the Beer War. He later returned as a road builder and his obvious care in the alignment and landscaping of the R528 - known today as George's Valley Road - sets this route apart from many others designed by more professional people.
Gravelotte: Named by Fritz Reuter, an erstwhile Prussian dragoon and mission station founder, after the Battle of Gravelotte in which he had fought in 1870 during the France Prussian War.
Haenertsburg: Named after C.F Haenert who discovered gold in the surrounding hills in 1880. Haenert was born in the Thuringian Forest in Germany and came to South Africa in 1857. He settled near the historic town of Schoemansdal and was the first ever coffee grower in the Transvaal. When Chief Makhado of the Venda became unfriendly towards these early settlers Haenert headed for Pietersburg and began prospecting for gold.
Hens Merensky: Throughout the district the name Hans Merensky crops up. Carrying the name is a Trust, a waterfall, a dam, a nature reserve, a school and a country club! Hans Merensky was internationally considered as one of the finest analytical geologists of all times and amongst his finds and mining developments were diamonds at Alexander Bay, platinum at Lydenburg, Rustenburg and Potgietersrus, gold in the Orange Free State, chrome near Pietersburg and the rich abundance of minerals at Phalaborwa. In addition he was a dedicated conservationist, farmer and a great humanitarian. Westfalia Estate near Duivelskloof is part of the Merensky Trust and forms only a small portion of the enormous legacy left by this remarkable man to South Africa.
Letaba: From the African word meaning "Lehlaba" meaning sandy river.
Letsitele: From the Letsitele river, the name of which is derived from a Northern Sotho word meaning "Valley of the Dead".
Leydsdorp: Named after Dr. W Leyds, Secretary of State of the old Transvaal Republic.
Murchison Range: This mineral-rich range of hills in the Tzaneen/Gravelotte area was named by Edward Button and James Sutherland during the gold rush of 1870 in honour of the British geologist, Sir Roderick Murchison.
Ofcolaco: This African sounding name is an acronym of the Officers' Colonial Land Company -- formed by a group of redundant British Regular and Indian army officers who pooled their resources and settled in this area.
Phalaborwa: Two possible explanations. 1) About 150 years ago, early iron smelters came from the Bosbokrand area, many kilometres to the south, and found not only an abundance of iron ore but a much more agreeable living environment in the area. They accordingly called it "Phalaborwa" which meant "better in the south". 2) Occurring along most rivers in the Lowveld is a scrambling member of the wild fig family called Ficus capreifolia (Sand- paper fig - Skurwevy) which the Shangaans call Phalavurha. Translated this means "bow smoother" as the rough leaves are much like sand paper.
Sapekoe: The Chinese word for tea is "pekoe". Thus, SA Pekoe is South African Tea!
Selati: As in the Selati Line, the Selati Gold Fields and the Selati Club. Named after Shalati, the female Chief of the Tebula people.
Siegfried Annecke: In the early 1930s malaria was an extremely serious problem in the district and it was reported that the annual number of patients needing treatment for malaria averaged over 4,000 at that time. A major campaign was waged against this disease and Dr Siegfried Annecke was in the forefront of this battle. Largely through his efforts the incidence of malaria decreased steadily and by 1966 no cases at all were reported in the district. Unfortunately, the health officials at the time ignored Dr Annecke's warning that the war was not yet over and the anti malaria effort was substantially reduced. Malaria returned and in 1972 over 2,000 cases were reported. The disillusioned Dr Annecke took his own life as he felt that his work had been to no avail. The research Institute in Tzaneen, which today is involved in both malaria and bilharzia research, carries the name of Siegfried Annecke.
Soekmekaar: Soekmekaar was established in 1924 as the rail junction of the Messina Komatipoort and Pietersburg Railway lines. Soekmekaar derives its name from the incident when two surveyors, Devenish and Rissik, surveying the area lost each other in the mist and spent days seeking each other. Translated into Afrikaans: Seek-Soek,.Each other-Mekaar!
The Downs: A highland area south of Tzaneen with access from the R36 through Ofcolaco. Named by local miner Ebenezer Gurr Reid in 1905 as the area reminded him of his home in the Surrey Downs in England. Acquired and settled by Orrie Baragwanath and Frank Lewis at the beginning of this century after they had returned from discovering the Copper Belt. It was declared a Nature Reserve in 1984, and is now generally known as the Lekgalameetse Nature Reserve. Contains Pioneer Graves and the Grave of Ramulutsi.