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Province: Eastern Cape
Region: Frontier country
Town: Grahamstown
GRAHAMSTOWN
This is the first town in South Africa to be established by the British.
During the Fourth Frontier War, the commander of the British forces
in the Eastern Cape was searching for a suitable area in which a military
post could be erected along the turbulent eastern Frontier of the then
Cape Colony. He chose this site for its strategic position and the fact
that it had the most reliable supply of fresh water in the area. In
1812 he founded the garrison and named it after himself.
In 1819 the Xhosa forces under Makana, (also known as Nxele), launched
an attack on the garrison in what many historians consider to be the
single most important battle in South Africa’s history, as had
Makana prevailed then there was a strong likelihood that the British
Empire would have abandoned the Eastern Frontier and concentrated their
efforts around the Western Cape. The subsequent history of South and
Southern Africa would have been very different The area where the battle
was fought is known today as Egazini, which means “The place of
blood”. Makana became the first political prisoner to be incarcerated
on Robben Island. He drowned attempting to escape his imprisonment.
As a result of the battle, Whitehall decided to secure the area by settling
thousands of people from the British Isles in the area. The intention
was to use them as a buffer between the Cape and the Xhosa who were
rather upset at being forced out of their territory to the west of the
Great Fish River. This was the first mass settlement of people of British
Origin on the African Continent. The 1820 settlers later flocked to
Grahamstown as a result of the droughts, pestilence and continuing conflict
with the Xhosa where they took up their old trades. As a result, Grahamstown
became the second largest centre in South Africa.
As the British extended their conquests further east, so the military
garrison left Grahamstown and moved to King William’s Town. Grahamstown
became an educational and trading centre.
Grahamstown retains much of its historic townscape, and is famous for
its plethora of churches and educational institutions. Of the former,
the Cathedral of St Michael and St George it dominates the town and
is considered by historical architects to be one of the finest examples
of Victorian Gothic architecture in South Africa. Other famous churches
include the Commemoration church, St Patrick’s Roman Catholic
Church, the Trinity Presbyterian Church and the Baptist Mother Church.
Grahamstown is the home of many famous educational institutions including
Rhodes University, and several well known schools such as St Andrew’s
College, The Diocesan School for Girls, Kingswood College, Graeme College
and the Victoria Girls High School.
Grahamstown is also a major cultural centre. The town is the host of
the National Festival of the Arts which takes place at the beginning
of July each year. The town is also the home to several museums that
form part of the Albany Museum complex as well as several Research institutions
including the National English Literary Museum and the South African
Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, formerly the JLB Smith Institute
of Ichthyology.
Grahamstown is the main urban centre of the Makana Municipality, (2001
population 74534), an area of great contrasts and one of the wild life
destinations of South Africa.
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