The history of our town (introduction)

As indicated previously, a brief series about the history of Bela-Bela will start this month. 

Bela-Bela, formerly known as Warmbaths/Warmbad, is situated in the Bushveld of Limpopo Province. Wikipedia describes the Bushveld as “a sub-tropical woodland ecoregion of Southern Africa” The elevation of this region varies from 750 m to 1400 m.

Incidentally, there appears to be uncertainty about the spelling of the name of our town. Some people refer to it as “Bela Bela” while others prefer “Bela-Bela”. Language expert Alet Erasmus (U46), who proofreads our monthly newsletter, Kwêvoël, says that the preferred spelling is “Bela-Bela”.

A significant mountain range in the region is the Waterberg that stretches from Mokopane in the east to Thabazimbi in the west. 

The name of the range is derived from the sandstone formations that retain groundwater sufficient to make a suitable environment for man and beast. 

As most of the region tends to be dry, the Bushveld is mostly cattle and game farming country.