Somerset East Somerset-Oos | |
---|---|
KwaNojoli | |
Coordinates: 32°43′S25°35′E / 32.717°S 25.583°E | |
Country | South Africa |
Province | Eastern Cape |
District | Sarah Baartman |
Municipality | Blue Crane Route |
Established | 1825[1] |
Government | |
• Councillors | Archer Heynse [2] (DA) Lorraine Smith-Johnson (DA) Ayanda Dyantyi (ANC) |
Area | |
• Total | 72.8 km2 (28.1 sq mi) |
Elevation | 750 m (2,460 ft) |
Population (2011) [3] | |
• Total | 18,825 |
• Density | 260/km2 (670/sq mi) |
Racial makeup (2011) | |
• Black African | 48% |
• Coloured | 32% |
• Indian/Asian | 0.4% |
• White | 20% |
• Other | 0.5% |
First languages (2011) | |
• Xhosa | 51.8% |
• Afrikaans | 42.9% |
• English | 3.7% |
• Other | 1.6% |
Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
Postal code (street) | 5850 |
PO box | 5850 |
Somerset East (Afrikaans : Somerset-Oos) [4] (renamed KwaNojoli in 2023) [5] is a town in the Blue Crane Route Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was founded by Lord Charles Somerset in 1825.
The Blue Crane Route follows the national road R63 from Pearston, via Somerset East, to Cookhouse. Somerset East, at the foot of the Boschberg Mountains, is a small town that's known for its natural environment and for its provincial heritage sites and buildings.
The forested, mountainous backdrop frames the town (which is within sight of 16 waterfalls after good rains). The wooded Boschberg Nature Reserve is in the area, and has a number of hiking trails. Due to the densely forested mountain, it is advisable to only attempt these with a local familiar with the area. As the route's name suggest, Somerset East is a bird-watching destination - other outdoor adventures include trout fishing on several local dams; both rainbow and brown trout fishing is available through the Bankberg Trout Fisher's Club, malaria free safari and hunting operations. There is also a 9-hole golf course.
Notable buildings in the town include the Old Wesleyan Chapel, which now houses the Somerset East Museum, and the officers' mess, which now houses the largest permanent exhibition of paintings by the South African artist Walter Battiss.
Historical annual events include the Biltong Festival, which was started in 1991, the Bruintjieshoogte Marathon, Bruintjieshoogte Cycle Tour (run between Pearston & Somerset East) and the Spring Rose & Flower show. Somerset East now hosts an annual Walter Battiss Art Festival, as well as the Somerset East Agricultural show. Somerset East is known for producing roses.[ citation needed ]
The first settler in this area was Willem Prinsloo. He settled under the Boschberg, close to where the Museum is today. Prinsloo was the unofficial field cornet of the district where at least 20 other families had settled by 1774. They sent a petition to Cape Town asking for the establishment of a Drostdy and a church in the area, which led to the establishment of Graaff-Reinet.
At some stage, Prinsloo gave up parts of his farm and a farmer named Jakobus Cornelius Ismael Safanya Otto moved into the corner now known as Bestershoek. He was followed by the Trichardt and Bester families.
Lord Charles Somerset, taking up the ideas promulgated by Cradock and Caledon that there should be a settlement on the Eastern Frontier, initiated a plan for an experimental farm in the area. American botanist, dr. Mackrill, was given orders to find a suitable farm, and was told to look at three places, the Gamtoos Valley, the Swartkops Valley and Boschberg. He chose the latter.
The farm was established in 1815, for the purpose of improving stockbreeding in the Cape Colony and providing produce for the soldiers at the Frontier. It was named "Somerset Farm".
In 1825 the project was cancelled, a new Drostdy was declared, and the town of Somerset was established. The "East" suffix was only added on 30 years later in order to differentiate it from Somerset West, a town in the Western Cape.
Gill College is one of the oldest colleges in the Eastern Cape, founded in 1869, after a donation from Dr. William Gill.
Aeroville School is a secondary school for grades 8 to 12, on the edge of Somerset East. It is twinned with Golden Hillock School in Birmingham, UK.
Johnson Nqonqoza is a secondary school for grades 8 to 12,
Somerset East has a medium-sized government-funded hospital, the Andries Vosloo Hospital.
Somerset East established a municipality in 1884. By 1931, the town council had assumed a coat of arms. [6]
The shield was divided horizontally. The upper half depicted a bushbuck on a golden background. The lower half was divided vertically, depicting a swallow on a red background and a sunflower on a black background. The swallow was taken from the arms of Gill College and the sunflower from the badge of a local school. [7]
The crest was a phoenix issuing from a golden crown, the supporters were a goat and a ram, and the motto was Foy pour devoir.
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Paarl is a town with 285,574 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the largest town in the Cape Winelands. Due to the growth of the Mbekweni township, it is now a de facto urban unit with Wellington. It is situated about 60 kilometres (37 mi) northeast of Cape Town in the Western Cape Province and is known for its scenic environment and viticulture and fruit-growing heritage.
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.
Kokstad is a town in the Harry Gwala District Municipality of KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. Kokstad is named after the Griqua chief Adam Kok III who settled here in 1863. Kokstad is the capital town of the East Griqualand region, as it is also the biggest town in this region. It was built around Mount Currie, a local mountain range, by the town’s founder Adam Kok III, for whom the town is named. Stad is the Dutch and Afrikaans word for "city".
Uitenhage, officially renamed Kariega, is a South African town in the Eastern Cape Province. It is well known for the Volkswagen factory located there, which is the biggest car factory on the African continent. Along with the city of Port Elizabeth and the small town of Despatch, it forms the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality.
Graaff-Reinet is a town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is the oldest town in the province and the fifth oldest town in South Africa, after Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Simon's Town, Paarl and Swellendam. The town was the centre of a short-lived republic in the late 18th century. The town was a starting point for Great Trek groups led by Gerrit Maritz and Piet Retief and furnished large numbers of the Voortrekkers in 1835–1842.
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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.
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Somerset West is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa. Organisationally and administratively it is included in the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality Eastern Suburbs zone . The vehicle registration code for Somerset West is CFM and the post code is 7130 for street addresses, and 7129 for post office boxes.
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Cradock, officially Nxuba, is a town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, in the upper valley of the Great Fish River, 250 kilometres (160 mi) by road northeast of Port Elizabeth. The town is the administrative seat of the Inxuba Yethemba Local Municipality in the Chris Hani District of the Eastern Cape.
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Cookhouse is a small village located in Eastern Cape province, South Africa, some 170 kilometres (110 mi) north of Port Elizabeth and 24 kilometres (15 mi) east of Somerset East, on the west bank of the Great Fish River.
Gill College is a South African high school in Somerset East, Sarah Baartman District Municipality. It was founded in 1869 as a university.
Pearston is a small town in the eastern Karoo, in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It lies between Graaff-Reinet and Somerset East at the foot of the Coetzeesberge, about 160 kilometres (100 mi) north of Port Elizabeth. It falls within the Blue Crane Route Local Municipality and has a population of approximately 4,500 people.
The Somerset-East Reformed Church is the fourth oldest congregation of the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa (NGK) in the Synod of the Eastern Cape and the 15th oldest in the entire South African denomination.
John Kepe was a South African stock thief and murderer from Somerset East. After evading capture for 12 years, Kepe was apprehended and executed.