A wagon staging post was established nearby a large outcrop of whitish stones after which Witbank (“White Ridge”) was named. Coal was noticed in the beds of the streams by the first Europeans who travelled through the region. Coal was used for camp fires and wagons transported as much coal as possible to the stoves of nearby farmhouses. In 1894 a railway from Pretoria to Maputo was built which gave birth to a full-scale coal industry. Today there are 22 collieries in the area within a radius of 40 km. Witbank was established in 1890, proclaimed a town in 1903 and became a municipality in 1914. Witbank has the largest municipal dam in the southern hemisphere – the Witbank Dam has a catchment area of 3 540 square kilometers.


Attractions and Things To Do in Witbank

Skiing

Windsurfing