Colesberg
Encyclopedia
Colesberg is a town with 17,354 inhabitants in the Northern Cape
province of South Africa, located on the main road
from Cape Town
to Johannesburg
.
In a sheep-farming area spread over half-a-million hectares, greater Colesberg breeds many of the country’s top merinos. It is also renowned for producing high-quality racehorses and many stud farms, including one owned by legendary golfer, Gary Player, are nearby.
, it was named after Sir Galbraith Lowry Cole, then Governor of the Cape Colony
. The site of the town lay on one of the well-travelled routes used by traders, hunters and explorers to gain access to the interior. Towerberg or Coleskop is a prominent hill near the town and a landmark
easily seen from a distance by travellers.
Colesberg saw a large number of battles and skirmishes during the second Anglo-Boer War, and the Colesberg Garden of Remembrance is located just outside the town.
A number of 1820 Settlers
established farms in the Colesberg district. Outnumbered as a religious group, some attended the Methodist Church and others the Dutch Reformed Church
, where services in English
were specially held for them. Anglican officials in Cape Town
appointed Dr CEH Orpen as Rector and the first services were conducted in the Court House and the London Mission Chapel, which became known as St Stephen's Church. In 1852 the construction of the Anglican Christ Church was started, having been designed by Sophy Gray
, wife of the Cape Town bishop Robert Gray
.
The town boasts many buildings that were built in a blend of Cape Dutch
and Georgian architecture
with ceilings of reed, and yellowwood
timbers, and others that display a range of designs reflecting the changes of 19th century building. Originally plots were pegged out and sold on the site of the town to fund the building of the Dutch Reformed church.
s and merino
sheep, while In a sheep-farming area spread over half-a-million hectares, greater Colesberg breeds many of the country’s top merinos. It is also renowned for producing high-quality racehorses and many stud farms, including one owned by legendary golfer, Gary Player
, are nearby. The ostrich
-feather boom of the early 1900s, which left many farmers rich is forgotten.
The town also has a thriving tourist industry. There are is a hotel, a motel, and a large number of Guest Houses, B&Bs etc. in the town, and a number of restaurants and pubs. There are also a number of guest farms in the district offering accommodation with 4x4 trails, mountain bike trails, hunting (mainly Springbuck) and bird watching etc. There are also three major Service Stations with on-site shops and restaurants on the N1 near Colesberg. ESKOM (South Africa's state electricity provider) has an office and a depot in the town, and services a large area surrounding the town. There are also a number of small industries in the town, including a sheep abbatoir, a factory which makes a range of furniture, and also makes furniture to order and a panel beating business.
The Doornkloof Nature Reserve is located near Colesberg on the confluence of the Orange
and Seekoei Rivers.
Northern Cape
The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of an international park shared with Botswana...
province of South Africa, located on the main road
N1 (South Africa)
The N1 is a South African National Route, running from Cape Town to Beit Bridge on the border with Zimbabwe. It is also the main road link between Johannesburg and Cape Town, and forms the first section of the famed Cape to Cairo Road....
from Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
to Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
.
In a sheep-farming area spread over half-a-million hectares, greater Colesberg breeds many of the country’s top merinos. It is also renowned for producing high-quality racehorses and many stud farms, including one owned by legendary golfer, Gary Player, are nearby.
History
Founded in 1830 on an abandoned station of the London Missionary SocietyLondon Missionary Society
The London Missionary Society was a non-denominational missionary society formed in England in 1795 by evangelical Anglicans and Nonconformists, largely Congregationalist in outlook, with missions in the islands of the South Pacific and Africa...
, it was named after Sir Galbraith Lowry Cole, then Governor of the Cape Colony
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
. The site of the town lay on one of the well-travelled routes used by traders, hunters and explorers to gain access to the interior. Towerberg or Coleskop is a prominent hill near the town and a landmark
Landmark
This is a list of landmarks around the world.Landmarks may be split into two categories - natural phenomena and man-made features, like buildings, bridges, statues, public squares and so forth...
easily seen from a distance by travellers.
Colesberg saw a large number of battles and skirmishes during the second Anglo-Boer War, and the Colesberg Garden of Remembrance is located just outside the town.
1820 Settlers
The 1820 Settlers were several groups or parties of white British colonists settled by the British government and the Cape authorities in the South African Eastern Cape in 1820....
established farms in the Colesberg district. Outnumbered as a religious group, some attended the Methodist Church and others the Dutch Reformed Church
Dutch Reformed Church
The Dutch Reformed Church was a Reformed Christian denomination in the Netherlands. It existed from the 1570s to 2004, the year it merged with the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands to form the Protestant Church in the...
, where services in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
were specially held for them. Anglican officials in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
appointed Dr CEH Orpen as Rector and the first services were conducted in the Court House and the London Mission Chapel, which became known as St Stephen's Church. In 1852 the construction of the Anglican Christ Church was started, having been designed by Sophy Gray
Sophy Gray
Sophy Gray or Sophia Gray , was a Diocesan administrator, artist, architect, horsewoman and the wife of Cape Town bishop Robert Gray...
, wife of the Cape Town bishop Robert Gray
Robert Gray (bishop)
Robert Gray was the first Anglican Bishop of Cape Town.-Biography:Gray was born in Bishopwearmouth, north east England, the son of Robert Gray, Bishop of Bristol, who ordained him deacon in Wells Cathedral on 11 January 1834. His first parish was at Whitworth. In 1845 he became the vicar of...
.
The town boasts many buildings that were built in a blend of Cape Dutch
Cape Dutch
Cape Dutch are people of the Western Cape of South Africa who descended primarily from Dutch and Flemish as well as smaller numbers of French, German and other European immigrants along with a percentage of their Asian and African slaves, who, from the 17th century into the 19th century, remained...
and Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
with ceilings of reed, and yellowwood
Podocarpus
Podocarpus is a genus of conifers, the most numerous and widely distributed of the podocarp family Podocarpaceae. The 105 species of Podocarpus are evergreen shrubs or trees from 1-25 m in height...
timbers, and others that display a range of designs reflecting the changes of 19th century building. Originally plots were pegged out and sold on the site of the town to fund the building of the Dutch Reformed church.
Economy
Farming in the area is dedicated almost entirely to horseHorse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
s and merino
Merino
The Merino is an economically influential breed of sheep prized for its wool. Merinos are regarded as having some of the finest and softest wool of any sheep...
sheep, while In a sheep-farming area spread over half-a-million hectares, greater Colesberg breeds many of the country’s top merinos. It is also renowned for producing high-quality racehorses and many stud farms, including one owned by legendary golfer, Gary Player
Gary Player
Gary Player DMS; OIG is a South African professional golfer. With his nine major championship victories, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of golf. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974. Player has won 165 tournaments on six continents over six...
, are nearby. The ostrich
Ostrich
The Ostrich is one or two species of large flightless birds native to Africa, the only living member of the genus Struthio. Some analyses indicate that the Somali Ostrich may be better considered a full species apart from the Common Ostrich, but most taxonomists consider it to be a...
-feather boom of the early 1900s, which left many farmers rich is forgotten.
The town also has a thriving tourist industry. There are is a hotel, a motel, and a large number of Guest Houses, B&Bs etc. in the town, and a number of restaurants and pubs. There are also a number of guest farms in the district offering accommodation with 4x4 trails, mountain bike trails, hunting (mainly Springbuck) and bird watching etc. There are also three major Service Stations with on-site shops and restaurants on the N1 near Colesberg. ESKOM (South Africa's state electricity provider) has an office and a depot in the town, and services a large area surrounding the town. There are also a number of small industries in the town, including a sheep abbatoir, a factory which makes a range of furniture, and also makes furniture to order and a panel beating business.
The Doornkloof Nature Reserve is located near Colesberg on the confluence of the Orange
Orange River
The Orange River , Gariep River, Groote River or Senqu River is the longest river in South Africa. It rises in the Drakensberg mountains in Lesotho, flowing westwards through South Africa to the Atlantic Ocean...
and Seekoei Rivers.