Mooi River (town)

Mooi River
—  Town  —
Mooi River
Coordinates: 29°12′S 29°59′E / 29.2°S 29.983°E / -29.2; 29.983Coordinates: 29°12′S 29°59′E / 29.2°S 29.983°E / -29.2; 29.983
Country	South Africa
Province	KwaZulu-Natal
District Municipality	Umgungundlovu
Local Municipality	Mpofana
Time zone	SAST (UTC+2)

Mooi River (Afrikaans: Mooirivier) is a small town situated at 1,389m above sea level and 160 km from the coast in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The first European settlement in the area was at Mooi River Drift in 1852. This was formally named Weston in 1866 after the first Governor of Natal, Martin West. In 1879, an Irishman named Alexander Lawrence purchased the farm "Grantleigh" upstream from Weston, on the banks of the Mooi River. "Mooirivier" is Afrikaans for "beautiful river". In 1884, the railway line from Durban, on the coast, to Johannesburg, in the interior, reached the area and was built across Alexander Lawrence's land. He subsequently laid out and establish the village of Lawrenceville on his farm "Grantleigh" and so is known as "The Father of Mooi River". In 1921, the village was renamed Mooi River when it was declared a town. It lies on the principal road N3 and rail routes between Johannesburg and Durban.^[1] Although the railway-station is no longer used for passengers, goods are still carried. There is a toll plaza located at Mooi River.

There are five schools found in Mooi River with others far from the town . The first is Treverton Preparatory School and College, a private school of about 600 students. In the hills of the small game park within Treverton there lie some trenches used in the Boer wars. From these the Boers observed English movements at Weston - their remount depot. The second school is obviously Weston, a public agricultural school with a very good reputation. There is great rugby rivalry between these two schools. Next is Mooi River Primary on the outskirts of the town - a popular location for local club rugby matches. Bruntville Primary and Emnyezaneni Secondary school, are both in the township of Bruntville just over the N3.

Models Candice and Landi Swanepoel (of no relation) were born in Mooi River.

Notes

1. ^ "Mooi River" (in englisch). SA Routes, Bookings and Info Systems. http://www.routes.co.za/kn/mooiriver/index.html. Retrieved 2010-03-26.