Colesberg is a town with 17,354 inhabitants in the

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 the Kgalagadi T ...

province of South Africa, located on the main N1 road from

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

. 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 renowned golfer,

Gary Player Gary James Player DMS, OIG (born 1 November 1935) is a South African retired professional golfer who is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. During his career, Player won nine major championships on the regular tou ...

, are nearby.

History

Founded in 1830 on an abandoned station of the

London Missionary Society The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed in outlook, with Congregational miss ...

, and initially named Toverberg after a nearby hill, it was renamed Colesberg after Sir

Galbraith Lowry Cole Hon. Sir Galbraith Lowry Cole, (1 May 1772 – 4 October 1842) was an Anglo-Irish British Army general and politician. Early life Cole was the second son of an Irish peer, William Willoughby Cole, 1st Earl of Enniskillen (1 March 1736&nda ...

, then Governor of the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when i ...

. 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 The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

, and the Colesberg Garden of Remembrance is located just outside the town. A number of

1820 Settlers The 1820 Settlers were several groups of British colonists from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, settled by the government of the United Kingdom and the Cape Colony authorities in the Eastern Cape of South Africa in 1820. Origins After th ...

established farms in the Colesberg district. Outnumbered as a religious group, some attended the

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

and others the

Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family and ...

, where services in English were specially held for them. Anglican officials in

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 or Sophia Gray (5 January 1814 – 27 April 1871), was a diocesan administrator, artist, architect, horsewoman and the wife of Cape Town bishop Robert Gray. Born at Easington in Yorkshire, the 5th daughter of county squire Richar ...

, wife of the Cape Town bishop Robert Gray. The

Colesberg Bank Colesberg Bank was a South African bank established in 1861 and acquired by Standard Bank in 1863. Formation The decision to establish the Colesberg Bank was taken at a public meeting held on 28 December 1860 at Colesberg. Mr. L.J. von Maltitz ...

was founded in 1861. Michael Davitt wrote while documenting the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

, that the previous generation noted the village as a rendezvous for hunters and diamond miners.

Past residents

* Hennie Bingle, rector of the PUK * General Piet Cronje, a South African general in both the Anglo-Boer wars. * Danie du Plessis, Head of the South African Railways & co-founder of The Afrikaner

Broederbond The Afrikaner Broederbond (AB) or simply the Broederbond was an exclusively Afrikaner Calvinist and male secret society in South Africa dedicated to the advancement of the Afrikaner people. It was founded by H. J. Klopper, H. W. van der Merw ...

* Frans du Toit, a South African Economist, and Trade Commissioner. * Ricardo Loubscher,

South Africa national rugby union team The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jerse ...

player & rugby coach *

Zamani Saul Zamani Saul (born 7 March 1972) is a South African politician who is the 5th and current Premier of the Northern Cape and a Member of the Northern Cape Provincial Legislature. He has also been serving as the Provincial Chairperson of the Africa ...

, Premier of the Northern Cape *

Nicolaas Theunissen Nicolaas Hendrik Christiaan de Jong Theunissen (4 May 1867 – 9 November 1929) was a South African cricketer who played in one Test match in 1889. He became a minister. Career Described at the time as "a right-hander who bumps them down rathe ...

, South African Test cricketer

Cityscape

Architecture

The town boasts many buildings that were built in a blend of

Cape Dutch Cape Dutch, also commonly known as Cape Afrikaners, were a historic socioeconomic class of Afrikaners who lived in the Western Cape during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The terms have been evoked to describe an affluent, apolitical se ...

and

Georgian architecture Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I, George II, Georg ...

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 The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family an ...

church.

Society and culture

Museums, monuments and memorials

A large number of

Heritage Sites A national heritage site is a heritage site having a value that has been registered by a governmental agency as being of national importance to the cultural heritage or history of that country. Usually such sites are listed in a heritage regist ...

registered with the

South African Heritage Resources Agency The South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) is the national administrative body responsible for the protection of South Africa's cultural heritage. It was established through the ''National Heritage Resources Act, number 25 of 1999'' and ...

are located in Colesberg.

Economy

Farming in the area is dedicated almost entirely to horses and

merino The Merino is a breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monopoly; exports of the bree ...

sheep. While in a sheep-farming area spread over half-a-million hectares, greater Colesberg breeds many of the country's top merinos. Colesberg is renowned for producing high-quality

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

s and many stud farms, including one owned by legendary golfer,

, are nearby. The

ostrich Ostriches are large flightless birds of the genus ''Struthio'' in the order Struthioniformes, part of the infra-class Palaeognathae, a diverse group of flightless birds also known as ratites that includes the emus, rheas, and kiwis. There are ...

-feather boom of the early 1900s, which left many farmers rich, is long forgotten. The town has a thriving tourism industry, in part because it represents a rough halfway point between Johannesburg and Cape Town. There is a hotel, a

motel A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central lobby. Entering dictionaries ...

, and many guest houses and B&Bs around town, most having restaurants and

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

s on-site. Several guest farms operate in the district offering accommodation with 4x4 trails, mountain bike trails, game hunting (mainly

springbok The springbok (''Antidorcas marsupialis'') is a medium-sized antelope found mainly in south and southwest Africa. The sole member of the genus ''Antidorcas'', this bovid was first described by the German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm v ...

wildebeest Wildebeest ( , , ), also called gnu ( or ), are antelopes of the genus ''Connochaetes'' and native to Eastern and Southern Africa. They belong to the family Bovidae, which includes true antelopes, cattle, goats, sheep, and other even-to ...

and blesbok) and bird watching. Three major service stations with on-site shops, restaurants and toilet facilities are located on the N1 at Colesberg. Small industries are located in town, including a sheep abattoir, a factory which makes a range of furniture to order and a

panel beater Panel beater or panelbeater is a term used in some Commonwealth countries to describe a person who repairs vehicle bodies back to their factory state after having been damaged (e.g., after being involved in a collision). In the United States an ...

. The Doornkloof Nature Reserve is located near Colesberg on the confluence of the

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

and Seekoei Rivers.

References

External links

Colesberg South AfricaColesberg site
{{Authority control Populated places in the Umsombomvu Local Municipality Populated places established in 1830 Karoo 1830 establishments in the Cape Colony