Уайт-Ривер: История и современность сельскохозяйственного региона Южной Африки

In 1905, after the South African War, Lord Alfred Milner (British administrator of the Transvaal) demarcated land along the Emanzimhlope river for settlement by British settlers, mainly demobilised British Anglo Boer War soldiers. Milner tasked soldier Tom Lawrence to allocate land to the settlers, alienating the Africans who were already present in the area from the land. Lawrence became the first manager of the new settlement and the longest street in town is still named after him. Initially, the colonial administration provided settlers with farming equipment and a weekly salary until they began to make an income from their tobacco, citrus, maize and other vegetable crops. Farmers were heavily subsidized until 1907 and the building of a 25 kilometer long irrigation canal improved prospects for some. However, the scheme largely failed and many settlers gave up farming when their contracts ended. In 1911, the Union government sold the farms at White River for a significant loss to a syndicate that planted scale citrus farms on the land. After WWI, the settlement scheme expanded as the land was sold at discounted rates to demobilised white soldiers. In 1976, people were removed from White River to Ngodini. The town includes a residential, commercial, and industrial areas while agricultural holdings are on the outskirts of the town. The town features a library, municipal buildings, car dealerships, filling stations, lodges and hotels, churches, a mosque, a police station, and retail centers.

White River is in the Mbombela A Municipal Zone, falling under Ward 30 and is governed by the Democratic Alliance (DA), South Africa's official opposition party.

The White River area is one of the most fertile in the province and farming continues to be a central part of the local economy. After a 26 km canal to channel water from the river was built, new farmers planted fruit trees and established new cultivation methods. Today, agriculture involves largely the production of tropical fruits, macadamia nuts, vegetables, flowers and timber. The farms tend to be relatively small and the agriculture is intensive. Farms are irrigated by nearby dams such as Longmere, Witklip and Klipkoppie.

White River is located in the low altitude subtropical Lowveld climatic zone. Savannah and woodland scattered with granite outcrops form the indigenous habitat. Compared to other parts of South Africa, the climate is mild with good rainfall. Nevertheless, like the rest of South Africa, White River and its surrounding farms are being adversely impacted by climate change. The area is especially prone to frost, veld fires and droughts that pose food production threats and economic risks to farmers. + Climate Data Climate Data for Mbombela Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Average high °C (°F) 27.5 (81.5) 27.4 (81.3) 26.5 (79.7) 25.2 (77.4) 23.4 (74.1) 21.7 (71.1) 21.1 (70.0) 23.1 (73.6) 24.7 (76.5) 26.1 (79.0) 26.3 (79.3) 27.0 (80.6) Average low °C (°F) 17.0 (62.6) 16.9 (62.4) 15.8 (60.4) 13.6 (56.5) 9.6 (49.3) 7.1 (44.8) 6.6 (43.9) 8.6 (47.5) 11.0 (51.8) 13.7 (56.7) 15.2 (59.4) 16.4 (61.5) Average precipitation mm (inches) 171 (6.7) 156 (6.1) 124 (4.9) 57 (2.2) 24 (0.9) 13 (0.5) 15 (0.6) 14 (0.5) 37 (1.5) 77 (3.0) 130 (5.12) 150 (5.9)

In 2003, 6 000 hectares of land on the outskirts of White River and surrounding areas were redistributed to the Matsafeni trust when the state purchased the land from Hall & Sons for R63 million under the South African national land reform program. As of 2016, Mbombela, the municipality that White River falls under, had a housing backlog of 34 000 units, impacting low income families especially hard. Larger local papers, such as the Lowvelder and Mpumalanga News also cover news in White River.