town was named after Graham Hoare Barber (1835-1888) who discovered a rich gold-bearing reef there in 1884. Barberton became a municipality in 1904. At first it was just a simple mining camp but grew when Edwin Bray, a prospector discovered gold in the hills above Barberton in 1885 and with 14 partners started the Sheba Reef Gold Mining Company. Large amounts of money flowed into Barberton and the first Stock Exchange to operate in the then Transvaal opened its doors. More buildings were erected, billiard saloons and music halls established. The Criterion and Royal Standard hotels were opened. In 1896, Barberton was connected by rail to the Netherlands-South African Railway Company (NZASM)'s Oosterlijn (Pretoria to Lourenço Marques) through a specifically constructed side line running from Kaapmuiden to Barberton. Gold mining in Barberton flourished for only a brief period and soon the inhabitants began to move away to the newly discovered gold fields on the Reef. Among the owners of mines in the Barberton area are Pan African Resources. On 5 February 2016, 87 miners were rescued after a cave-in at the main entrance of Makonjwaan Gold Mine, operated by Australian-based Vantage Goldfields. Three people were still missing. Songimvelo Game Reserve This reserve is situated in the Barberton Mountain lands and is the Mpumalanga Parks Board's largest reserve, extending over 500 square kilometres. Other facts A popular flowering plant, the Barberton daisy (Gerbera jamesonii) was discovered here in 1889 by Robert Jameson. An area south-west of town was the site of one of the more than forty concentration camps built by the British during the Second Boer War to house Boer women and children. Sheba mine is today one of the oldest and richest working gold mines in the world, having been in production for more than a century. It is estimated that production will continue for several decades to come. Pat Pattle, regarded by many as possibly the top-scoring Allied fighter ace of World War II, worked at the Sheba mine briefly. Barberton was home to Sir Percy FitzPatrick, author of Jock of the Bushveld. Barberton (or, at least, a depiction of Barberton) is featured in Bryce Courtenay's novel The Power of One, as the main character's hometown. A character in the Sherlock Holmes adventure "The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax" made his fortune in Barberton. Schools High schools Barberton High School Emjindini High School Chief Funwako High School Kwamhola