Ermelo

History

Some of the earliest inhabitants of the area were the Leghoya people. Not much is known about them, but ruins of their settlements dating back to c.1400 can be found in the area. During the mid-1800s, the area was an outspan area for resting teams of draw animals transporting goods across the region mainly due to the small lakes dotting the area. The town was formed on the farm Nooitgedacht purchased from P.J. Fourie in 1879 and proclaimed on 12 February 1880. Cachet had met and been influenced by Hermanus Willem Witteveen from Ermelo in the Netherlands as a young man, and named the settlement in honour of Witteveen. In 1901, the town was reduced to a single standing home by the British during the Second Boer War. The town would be rebuilt in 1903.

Most-observed species

• Cape Wagtail

  Motacilla capensis Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  574
• Ring-necked Dove

  Streptopelia capicola (Sundevall, 1857) · Aves
  400
• Southern Fiscal

  Lanius collaris Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  373
• Hadada Ibis

  Bostrychia hagedash (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  365
• Southern Red Bishop

  Euplectes orix (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  352
• Southern Masked-Weaver

  Ploceus velatus Vieillot, 1819 · Aves
  349
• Long-tailed Widowbird

  Euplectes progne (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  345
• African Stonechat

  Saxicola torquatus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  342

Most recent

• M 3.7 — 2019-07-01
  36 km W of Mhlambanyatsi, Eswatini
• M 4.6 — 2018-11-25
  6 km WNW of eMbalenhle, South Africa
• M 4.3 — 2018-07-19
  5 km ENE of Carolina, South Africa
• M 3.6 — 2008-05-30
  18 km NNE of Kriel, South Africa
• M 4.7 — 2002-07-12
  14 km NNW of eMbalenhle, South Africa