Information provided by Hans Bornman from his unpublished book, Lowveld Tour Guide:
Railway station and town, 48 km west of Komatipoort and 61 km east of Nelspruit, at 25 29S, 31 31E. Construction of the Eastern line reached Malalane on 28 December 1891. In the days of the old South African Republic (ZAR) the station was known as Malalane, but in 1899 was changed, for unknown reasons, to Malalane. It is named after the Malalane regiment of Mswati II (1845-1865) who guarded the Crocodile River crossing against the Bapedi. The first owner was Capt G J (Mkonto) Elphick (1862-1929) who obtained the farm in 1902, in terms of a Milner Grant, for £5 and built his homestead, which he named ‘The Hall’, on the Buffalo Creek. He and his wife, Rosa Louisa, are buried in the Regional Cemetery at Malalane. The town was founded by Allen Francis Dowdle in 1944, proclaimed on 6 July 1949 and obtained municipal status on 1 July 1990. The Malalane entrance gate, game rangers post and camp in the Kruger National Park, situated north of the Crocodile River and 6 km north-east of the town of Malalane, was named after the Malalane area as the town was only established later.