History
As the highest peak in what was then known as the Transvaal (now Mpumalanga), Mount Anderson is a spectacle of imposing grandeur to visitors to the property. In the 1920s Prime Minister Jan Smuts wrote that the escarpment around Mount Anderson contained some of the most magnificent scenery of the entire African continent. Although encircled by a modern road system, Mount Anderson still remains isolated and inaccessible. Much of the history of the region took place on and in close proximity to Mount Anderson.
Apart from the immense beauty of Mount Anderson and it’s immense hydrological significance being, quite literally, the wellspring of the water supply in Mpumalanga, the property also has interesting and complex geological features. In the 1870s, the region was part of the first South African gold rush, and in the 1920s and 1930s, Mount Anderson had a brief gold rush of its own when the Mount Anderson Gold Field supported prosperous little mines such as Golden Hill, Jackpot, Little Joker, Formosa and Finsbury. The abandoned workings can still be seen and provide a glimpse of the fascinating human drama that digging for riches in this craggy landscape entailed.
The name of Mount Anderson commemorates two Irish brothers who were surveyors in the Transvaal (now known as Mpumalanga) – William Alfred Blackburn Anderson and Harry Mitchell Anderson. In 1883 William surveyed the boundaries of the farm Hartebeesvlakte 163JT, which borders on Mount Anderson, and gave his name to the peak – Mount Anderson (which is actually on the property’s mountaintop). At 2,284m, Mount Anderson was for many years thought to be the highest point in the Transvaal, but a survey done a few decades ago showed that De Berg (2,331m), in the Steenkampsberg to the west, was slightly higher. Mount Anderson comprises three old Transvaal settler properties – Kranskloof 554KT, Kliprots 158JT and 158KT, and Goedverwacht 152JT.