Groot Marico

Groot Marico
Groot Marico Groot Marico Groot Marico  Groot Marico shown within North West
Coordinates: 25°35′17″S 26°24′04″E / 25.588°S 26.401°ECoordinates: 25°35′17″S 26°24′04″E / 25.588°S 26.401°E
Country	South Africa
Province	North West
District	Ngaka Modiri Molema
Municipality	Ramotshere Moiloa
Area[1]
• Total	36.17 km^2 (13.97 sq mi)
Population (2011)[1]
• Total	3,384
• Density	94/km^2 (240/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)[1]
• Black African	86.8%
• Coloured	1.2%
• Indian/Asian	2.0%
• White	8.9%
• Other	1.1%
First languages (2011)[1]
• Tswana	81.5%
• Afrikaans	10.8%
• English	3.8%
• Other	3.9%
Postal code (street)	2850
Website	www.marico.co.za

Groot Marico is a hamlet in the North West Province of South Africa. The economy relies heavily on agriculture, mining and tourism. Groot Marico is named after the Marico River.^[2]

Description

The topography comprises dry bushveld with a climate that is ideal for cattle, maize, citrus fruit and tobacco. Open pit quarries in the area extract marble, slate and andalusite, with prospects of large-scale nickel mining on the banks of the Groot Marico river as well as the majority of the farms surrounding the hamlet having sparked a successful regional petition against such development. In 2016 a new diamond prospecting application was initiated,^[3] bringing a new round of local community objections and petitioning.

The town was formed by the Voortrekkers in the 1850s and was only proclaimed in 1948.

The word "Marico" was made famous in South Africa by Herman Charles Bosman's writings of this area and later re-enactments of these tales by actor Patrick Mynhardt. Bosman described the area thus:

“

There is no other place I know that is so heavy with atmosphere, so strangely and darkly impregnated with that stuff of life that bears the authentic stamp of South Africa

”

At least part of Bosman's musings may have been inspired by sips of the mampoer for which Groot Marico is infamous.

In 2010, the farms surrounding Groot Marico were among the last in South Africa to still be connected through party lines to a manual telephone exchange, which require callers to ask an operator to connect them to other telephone lines by pushing jacks into slots.

Groot Marico is the smallest town in South Africa that host an annual arts festival as well as a mountain bike race.

References

1. "Main Place Groot Marico". Census 2011.
2. Marico - Africa at its best
3. "De Beers wil diamante myn in Groot Marico". Netwerk24. Retrieved 2016-01-14.