Holly Country, known as the Coalbrook Mining Village until 1996,[2] is a town in Fezile Dabi District Municipality in the Free State province of South Africa.
Holly Country | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 26°55′55″S 27°55′01″E / 26.932°S 27.917°E | |
Country | South Africa |
Province | Free State |
District | Fezile Dabi |
Municipality | Metsimaholo |
Area | |
• Total | 1.39 km2 (0.54 sq mi) |
Population (2011)[1] | |
• Total | 586 |
• Density | 420/km2 (1,100/sq mi) |
Racial makeup (2011) | |
• Black African | 21.5% |
• Indian/Asian | 2.2% |
• White | 75.8% |
• Other | 0.5% |
First languages (2011) | |
• Afrikaans | 64.5% |
• English | 10.5% |
• Sotho | 6.6% |
• Northern Sotho | 3.4% |
• Other | 15.0% |
Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
Postal code (street) | 1946 |
History
editThe settlement, located some 5 km from Sasolburg, is a former colliery, and was originally named Coalbrook, probably named after Coalbrookdale in England. It was the scene of the Coalbrook mining disaster on 21 January 1960; 435 workers were buried alive when the mine collapsed.[3]
Richard Hse, a Taiwanese businessman, bought out the old mine village in October 1996, renamed it and turned the place into a hub of factories including clothing, shoes, stoves, wood and paper factories and a sportsfield.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Main Place Holly Country". Census 2011.
- ^ a b "Monument pays tribute to miners". News24 South Africa. 4 November 2000. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
- ^ "Dictionary of Southern African Place Names (Public Domain)". Human Science Research Council. p. 118.