a town of the Transvaal, 149 m. by rail, via Krugersdorp, N.N.W. of Pretoria and 33 m. N.E. of Mafeking. Pop. (1904) 1 945. It was founded in 1868 and is the chief town of the Marico district, one of the most fertile regions of South Africa. In the neighbourhood are lead, zinc and silver mines, and some 20 m. S. are the Malmani goldfields. The Marico Valley was occupied early in the 19th century by Matabele, who had come from Zululand. They were driven out by Boer trekkers in 1837. To Boer cultivation the valley of the Marico river owes its fertility. Wheat and oats are largely cultivated and almost all sub-tropical fruits flourish. Following the relief of Mafeking, 17th of May 1900, Zeerust was occupied by the British under General R. S. S. Baden-Powell. Railway connexion with Pretoria was established in 1907.