Pacaltsdorp is a suburb of
George, Western Cape. In the
Apartheid
Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...
era, it was the
coloured township
A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries.
Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...
associated with George but administrated independently. The
N2 highway provided the natural boundary between the two, enforced by a curfew.
The
mission station Hoogekraal was named Pacaltsdorp after the death of the German-speaking
missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...
of
Czech origin, the Reverend
Charles Pacalt in 1818. He was invited by Kaptein
Dikkop, leader of a
Khoikhoi
Khoikhoi (Help:IPA/English, /ˈkɔɪkɔɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''KOY-koy'') (or Khoekhoe in Namibian orthography) are the traditionally Nomad, nomadic pastoralist Indigenous peoples, indigenous population of South Africa. They ...
tribe living in the area. He built up a congregation of about 300
Khoekhoen,
slave
Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
s and free labourers.
Buildings
A number of historic buildings are preserved - The Stone Church - a Norman-style church, originally built from stone,
yellowwood, glass and clay. Rev Pacalt's second mission cottage was constructed in approximately 1813. Consisting of
sod walls, a
thatch
Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, Phragmites, water reed, Cyperaceae, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), Juncus, rushes, Calluna, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away fr ...
roof and
cow-dung floor, it was declared a national monument in 1976.
William Anderson built the first
manse
A manse () is a clergy house inhabited by, or formerly inhabited by, a minister, usually used in the context of Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and other Christian traditions.
Ultimately derived from the Latin ''mansus'', "dwelling", from '' ...
, a two-storied building with thick stone walls and abundant yellowwood, it was also declared a national monument in 1976.
"The Tree Of Meeting" is a 300-year-old tree, to be found opposite the Pacaltsdorp Post Office, in Missionstreet. The stone building nearby was originally home to some of the first missionaries. There was no church building yet and church services were conducted under this big
Essenwood tree.
Development
Prior to 1994 much of Pacaltsdorp was
Common land
Common land is collective land (sometimes only open to those whose nation governs the land) in which all persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel.
A person ...
that bordered the Gwaing River and stretched down to the sea, was used for farming. However, in 2005 two large developments, the Oubaai Golf Estate and Le Grande Golf Estate have taken the best of this Common land and all the sea frontage for upmarket development.
Poor protest against exclusive golf developments
''Cape Times''
Culture
Pacaltsdorp community mostly follow the Christian faith; which coincide with its missionary history. Sports activities such as rugby (Pacaltsdorp Evergreens – est. 1932), cricket (Pacaltsdorp Cricket Club), netball (Pacaltsdorp Netball Club) and others are popular within the community.
References
{{Garden Route District Municipality
Populated places in the George Local Municipality
Former Coloured townships in South Africa
Townships in the Western Cape