East London is a city on the southeastern coast of South Africa, in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, Eastern Cape Province. The city lies on the Indian Ocean coast, largely between the Buffalo River and the Nahoon River, and hosts the country's only river port. As of 2011, East London had a population of over 267,000 with over 755,000 in the surrounding metropolitan area.
The Eastern Cape is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha. Due to its climate and nineteenth century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also known for being home to many anti-apartheid activists, including Nelson Mandela.
Stellenbosch is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, situated about 50 kilometres east of Cape Town, along the banks of the Eerste River at the foot of the Stellenbosch Mountain. The town became known as the City of Oaks or Eikestad in Afrikaans and Dutch due to the large number of oak trees that were planted by its founder, Simon van der Stel, to grace the streets and homesteads.
Dordrecht is a town situated in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Dordrecht was founded in 1856 by Baron Smiddolff, a minister of the Dutch Reformed Church. The town was named for the city of the same name in the South-Western Netherlands and had a population of about 8,741 people in 2001.
Knysna is a town with 76,150 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is one of the destinations on the loosely defined Garden Route tourist route. It is situated 60 kilometres east of the city of George on the N2 highway, and 33 kilometres west of the Plettenberg Bay on the same road.
Bethlehem is a city in the eastern Free State province of South Africa that is situated on the Liebenbergs River along a fertile valley just north of the Rooiberg Mountains on the N5 road. It is the fastest growing city in the Free State province, with its target of being the third largest city after Bloemfontein and Welkom.
The following lists events that happened during 1985 in South Africa.
Strand is a seaside resort town in the Western Cape, South Africa. It forms part of the Eastern Suburbs of the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality, situated on the north-eastern edge of False Bay and near the foot of the Helderberg Mountains. Its geographical position is between Somerset West and Gordon's Bay, and is about 50 km southeast of Cape Town City Bowl. Strand has a population of approximately 50,000. Strand's main attraction is the beach; 5 km of white sandy beach off False Bay.
Walter Sisulu University (WSU) is a university of technology and science located in Mthatha, East London, Butterworth and Komani (Queenstown) in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, which came into existence on 1 July 2005 as a result of a merger between Border Technikon, Eastern Cape Technikon and the University of Transkei. The university is named after Walter Sisulu, a prominent figure in the struggle against apartheid.
Maletswai is a town in central South Africa on the banks of the Orange River, Eastern Cape Province. It is a medium-sized commercial centre in the northernmost part of the Eastern Cape. The Dutch Reformed Church was built in 1855.
Manzini is a large city in Eswatini (Swaziland), which is also the city of Eswatini's Manzini Region. The city is the country's second largest urban center behind the capital Mbabane, with a population of 110,000 (2008). It is known as "The Hub" of Eswatini and lies on the MR3 road. Eswatini's primary industrial site at Matsapha lies near the town's western border.
Cathcart is a town in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, named after Sir George Cathcart, governor of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope 1852–1853. The town is situated on the N6, 48 kilometres (30 mi) north of Stutterheim en route to Komani. It is the Biltong capital of South Africa.
Tarkastad is a Karoo semi-urban settlement situated on the banks of Tarka River in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Tarkastad is on a plain to the north of the Winterberg mountain range on the R61 between Cradock and Komani and only three hours from Gqeberha. The name Tarkastad is believed to come from the Khoi-Khoi word Traka or the Celtic word Tarka and the Afrikaans word Stad. The fact that the town is overlooked by Martha and Mary; two peaks which look like two women resting after a hard day's work, also lends to the name.
Todd Tozama Matshikiza OMSS was a South African jazz pianist, composer and journalist. As a journalist, he was a contributor to the innovative South African magazine Drum, in which he wrote in a unique style that came to be known as "Matshikese". He is also known for his book "Chocolates for my Wife", an autobiographical account of his experiences in South Africa and England. As a musician, Matshikiza is celebrated for composing the score of the jazz musical King Kong, as well as numerous choral works in South African traditional style, notably "Hamba Kahle". His legacy was celebrated as a Google Doodle on 25 September 2023.
Whittlesea is a semi-rural town situated on the R67 road in the Hewu district, 37 km south of Komani, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The town is made up of the townships Ekuphumleni, Bhede, Ndlambe, Extension 4, Extension 5 and Sada. The town falls under the Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality which is under the Chris Hani District Municipality. Surrounding Whittlesea are 36 villages which make up the Hewu district.
Ezibeleni is a township in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It was established in the 1960s and officially recognised in 1974, when black South Africans were not allowed to live, but only to work, in the white-dominated Queenstown. In order to pursue the policy of separate development, the apartheid-era government of the time dictated that, due to its location on the map and the predominant Xhosa ethnicity of its people, Ezibeleni would belong to Transkei, one of ten fragmented batustans, or homelands, scattered across South Africa.
The Komani River, is a river part of the Great Kei River system in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is a short river originating north of Queenstown and joining up with the Klaas Smits River, just south of the same town.
Sada is a semi-rural settlement, situated 3 km away from Whittlesea, 30 km north of Seymour and 40 km south of Queenstown, Eastern Cape Province. The word Sada means "finally" or "at last" in isiXhosa because the first settlers struggled to find a place before they settled in the area in 1964.
Enoch Mgijima Municipality is a local municipality within the Chris Hani District Municipality, in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It was established after the August 2016 local elections by merging the Tsolwana, Inkwanca, and Lukhanji local municipalities.
On 17 November 1985, 2000 residents from Mlungisi township in Queenstown, Eastern Cape, gathered in Nonzwakazi Methodist Church to hear back from the Local Residents Association, who, in early November, had met with the Department of Education and Training, the Queenstown municipality, the Eastern Cape Development Board, and the Queenstown Chamber of Commerce to discuss the end of the consumer boycott. The meeting was short-lived as members of the Queenstown branch of the South African Police stormed into the meeting and opened fire on the residents. In the ensuing conflict between police and residents, 14 people were shot dead and 22 were injured. This incident is known as the 1985 Queenstown Massacre.
