King William's Town
Encyclopedia
King William's Town is a town in the Eastern Cape
province of South Africa
along the banks of the Buffalo River. The town is about 40 minutes' motorway drive WNW of the Indian Ocean
port of East London. The town is part of the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality in the Eastern Cape.
King, as the town is locally called, stands 389 m above the sea at the foot of the Amatola Mountains
, and in the midst of a thickly populated agricultural district. King William's Town is the second most populous city in the Buffalo City Municipality, with a population near 100,000 inhabitants.
The town has one of the oldest post offices in the country, developed by missionaries led by Brownlee.
, with which there is direct railway communication. Founded by Sir Benjamin d'Urban
in May 1835 during the Xhosa War
of that year, the town is named after William IV
. It was abandoned in December 1836, but was reoccupied in 1846 and was the capital of British Kaffraria
from its creation in 1847 to its incorporation in 1865 with the Cape Colony
. Many of the colonists in the neighboring districts are descendants of members of the British German Legion
disbanded after the Crimean War
and provided with homes in Cape Colony
; hence such names as Berlin
, Braunschweig
, Frankfurt
, Hamburg
, Potsdam
and Stutterheim
given to settlements in this part of the country.
Originally declared the provincial capital of the surrounding Adelaide District in the 1830s, the area's economy depended on cattle and sheep ranching, and the town itself has a large industrial base producing textiles, soap, candles, sweets, cartons and clothing. Its proximity to the new provincial capital city of Bhisho has brought much other development to the area since the fall of apartheid in 1994.
The provincial government recently announced that they plan to rename the town with a traditional African name, as the current name bears colonial connotations.
The town is also home to "Huberta," one of the farthest-travelling hippopotami in South Africa. It is preserved in the Amathole Museum
in the King Williams Town CBD
.
Eastern Cape
The Eastern Cape is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are Port Elizabeth and East London. It was formed in 1994 out of the "independent" Xhosa homelands of Transkei and Ciskei, together with the eastern portion of the Cape Province...
province of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
along the banks of the Buffalo River. The town is about 40 minutes' motorway drive WNW of the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
port of East London. The town is part of the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality in the Eastern Cape.
King, as the town is locally called, stands 389 m above the sea at the foot of the Amatola Mountains
Amatola Mountains
Amatola, Amatole or Amathole are a range of densely forested mountains, situated in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The word Amatole means "calves", and Amatole District Municipality, which lies to the south, is named after these mountains.-Natural history:Part the 'Amatola and...
, and in the midst of a thickly populated agricultural district. King William's Town is the second most populous city in the Buffalo City Municipality, with a population near 100,000 inhabitants.
The town has one of the oldest post offices in the country, developed by missionaries led by Brownlee.
History
It was also an important entrepot for trade with the natives throughout KaffrariaKaffraria
Kaffraria was the descriptive name given to the southeast part of what is today the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Kaffraria, i.e. the land of the Kaffirs, is no longer an official designation...
, with which there is direct railway communication. Founded by Sir Benjamin d'Urban
Benjamin d'Urban
Lieutenant-General Sir Benjamin d'Urban, GCB, KCH, KCTS was a British general and colonial administrator, who is best known for his frontier policy when he was the Governor in the Cape Colony .-Early career:...
in May 1835 during the Xhosa War
Xhosa wars
The Xhosa Wars, also known as the Cape Frontier Wars, were a series of nine wars between the Xhosa people and European settlers, from 1779 to 1879 in what is now the Eastern Cape in South Africa....
of that year, the town is named after William IV
William IV of the United Kingdom
William IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death...
. It was abandoned in December 1836, but was reoccupied in 1846 and was the capital of British Kaffraria
British Kaffraria
British Kaffraria was a British colony/subordinate administrative entity in present-day South Africa, consisting of the districts now known as King Williams Town and East London.The term Kaffraria stems from the word "Kaffir"...
from its creation in 1847 to its incorporation in 1865 with 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...
. Many of the colonists in the neighboring districts are descendants of members of the British German Legion
British German Legion
The British German Legion was a group of German soldiers recruited to fight for Britain in the Crimean War. It is not to be confused with the King's German Legion, which was active during the Napoleonic Wars....
disbanded after the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
and provided with homes in 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...
; hence such names as Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Braunschweig
Braunschweig
Braunschweig , is a city of 247,400 people, located in the federal-state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser....
, Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Potsdam
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
and Stutterheim
Stutterheim
Stutterheim is a town with a population of 46,730 in South Africa, situated in the Border region of the Eastern Cape province.Stutterheim has a rich history that makes for fascinating reading...
given to settlements in this part of the country.
Originally declared the provincial capital of the surrounding Adelaide District in the 1830s, the area's economy depended on cattle and sheep ranching, and the town itself has a large industrial base producing textiles, soap, candles, sweets, cartons and clothing. Its proximity to the new provincial capital city of Bhisho has brought much other development to the area since the fall of apartheid in 1994.
The provincial government recently announced that they plan to rename the town with a traditional African name, as the current name bears colonial connotations.
The town is also home to "Huberta," one of the farthest-travelling hippopotami in South Africa. It is preserved in the Amathole Museum
Amathole Museum
The Amathole Museum, formerly the Kaffrarian Museum, in King William's Town, Eastern Cape province of South Africa, houses the second largest collection of mammals in South Africa and includes Huberta, the hippopotamus. The Xhosa Gallery, housed in the old post office building, concentrates on the...
in the King Williams Town CBD
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
.
Notable natives and residents
- Steve BikoSteve BikoStephen Biko was a noted anti-apartheid activist in South Africa in the 1960s and 1970s. A student leader, he later founded the Black Consciousness Movement which would empower and mobilize much of the urban black population. Since his death in police custody, he has been called a martyr of the...
, anti-apartheidInternal resistance to South African apartheidInternal resistance to the apartheid system in South Africa came from several sectors of society and saw the creation of organisations dedicated variously to peaceful protests, passive resistance and armed insurrection. It came from both black activists like Steve Biko and Desmond Tutu as well as...
Black Consciousness MovementBlack Consciousness MovementThe Black Consciousness Movement was a grassroots anti-Apartheid activist movement that emerged in South Africa in the mid-1960s out of the political vacuum created by the jailing and banning of the African National Congress and Pan Africanist Congress leadership after the Sharpeville Massacre in...
leader was born here - Charles Patrick John CoghlanCharles Patrick John CoghlanSir Charles Patrick John Coghlan was the first Premier of Southern Rhodesia and held office from October 1, 1923 until his death on August 28, 1927....
, first premier of RhodesiaRhodesiaRhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
was born here - Griffiths MxengeGriffiths MxengeGriffiths Mxenge, was a South African anti-apartheid activist. Trained as a lawyer, he was assassinated by the apartheid secret police in 1981. He was a member of the African National Congress . He was sent to Robben Island in 1966 because of his political activities...
, anti-apartheid activist - Victoria MxengeVictoria MxengeVictoria Mxenge, was a South African anti-apartheid activist. Trained as a nurse and midwife, she began practising law....
, anti-apartheid activist