Qonce, formerly King William's Town,
is a town in the
Eastern Cape
The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...
province of
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
along the banks of the
Buffalo River. The town is about northwest of the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
port of
East London. It has a population of around 35,000 inhabitants and forms part of the
Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality.
The town lies above sea level at the foot of the
Amathole Mountains in an area known for its agriculture. The town has one of the oldest post offices in the country developed by missionaries led by
Charles Brownlee.
History
For thousands of years, the area was roamed by
Bushman bands, and then was used as grazing by the nomadic
Khoikhoi, who called the Buffalo River ''Qonce''.
Xhosa people lived alongside the Khoikhoi eventually taking over the land after Queen Hoho lost the war with
King Ngqika kaMlawu.
King William's Town was founded by Sir
Benjamin d’Urban in May 1835 during the
Xhosa War of that year. The town stands on the site of the
kraal of the minor chief Dyani Tyatyu and was 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
The Cape Colony (), 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. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...
. Uniquely in the Cape Colony, its local government was styled a borough, rather than a municipality. Many of the colonists in the neighbouring districts are descendants of members of the
British German Legion disbanded after the
Crimean War
The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...
and provided with homes in the Cape Colony; hence such names as
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
,
Braunschweig,
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
,
Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
,
Potsdam and
Stutterheim given to settlements in this part of the country.
It was declared the provincial capital of the surrounding
Queen Adelaide's Province in the 1830s. On 5 May 1877, the Cape Government of Prime Minister
John Molteno opened the first railway, connecting the town to East London on the coast and to the Xhosa lands inland and further east. With its direct railway communication, the town became an important
entrepôt for trade with the Xhosa people throughout
Kaffraria.
In 1973, a 108 hectare piece of protected land was established on the outskirts of town called the
King William's Town Nature Reserve.
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 development to the area since the end of
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 ...
in 1994.
In September 2020 the Eastern Cape government announced plans to give the city a new name as part of what it described as a programme aimed at transforming the country's geographic landscape to be more representative of its people. The city officially became Qonce on 21 February 2021.
The city is also home to
Huberta, one of the farthest-travelling hippopotami in South Africa. It is displayed in the
Amathole Museum in the
CBD.
Notable people
*
Makhaya Ntini, cricketer
*
Lukhanyo Am, rugby player
*
Jaden Hendrikse, rugby player
*
Jordan Hendrikse, rugby player
*
Aphelele Fassi, rugby player
*
Steve Biko, Black Consciousness Movement leader, anti apartheid activist
*
Anaso Jobodwana, track and field athlete
* King
Maxhob'ayakhawuleza Sandile "Aa! Zanesizwe!", the King and ruler of the Rharhabe House of the Xhosa Kingdom.
* King
Jonguxolo Sandile "Aa! Vul'ulwandle!", the King and ruler of the Rharhabe House of the Xhosa Kingdom.
*
Percy Fitzpatrick, author, politician, businessman, farming pioneer
*
Andile Yenana, South African pianist
*
Charles Patrick John Coghlan, first premier of
Rhodesia
Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...
*
Buster Farrer, international cricket, tennis and hockey player
*
Garry Pagel,
South African rugby player
*
John Tengo Jabavu, founder of the first Xhosa-language newspaper in South Africa
*
Griffiths Mxenge, anti-Apartheid activist
*
Victoria Mxenge, anti-Apartheid activist
*
Steve Tshwete, anti-Apartheid activist
*
Raven Klaasen, professional
tennis player
*
CB Jennings, rugby player and mayor of King William's Town
*
Masande Ntshanga, South African novelist
References
External links
History of King William's Town
{{Authority control
Populated places established in 1835
Populated places in Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality