Editing Rustenburg (section)

===Establishment===
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Rustenburg was established in 1851 as an administrative centre for an Afrikaner farming area that produced [[citrus]] fruit, tobacco, peanuts, [[sunflower seed]]s, maize, wheat and cattle.  On 10 February 1859, the [[Reformed Churches in South Africa]] was founded under a [[Melia azedarach|Syringa tree]], now commemorated with a memorial. Rustenburg was the home of [[Paul Kruger]], president of the [[South African Republic]], who bought a 5 square kilometer farm to the north-west of the town in 1863. The homestead on his farm, [[Boekenhoutfontein]], is now the Paul Kruger Country Museum. When the Boer and the British came to blows in the [[Second Boer War]] (1899), the territory around Rustenburg became a battlefield. The two sides clashed at nearby [[Mafikeng]], where the British garrison found itself under siege for months.

Among the early residents of Rustenburg were settlers of Indian origin. One of the first families of Indian origin was the Bhyat family, whose contribution to the city's history was marked by the renaming of a major street name to ''Fatima Bhayat Street'' in honour of [[Fatima Bhyat]] who arrived in Rustenburg with her husband in 1877.

[[Platinum]] mining in Rustenburg began in 1929, shortly after the discovery of the Platinum Reef by [[Hans Merensky]], later named the [[Merensky Reef]]. The mine is located about 3&nbsp;km from the town centre and owned and managed by the [[Anglo American plc]]. According to legend, the farmer that owned the land sold the mineral rights to Anglo American for R10 000.