South Africa - Towns and Cities A-C

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• Add the Place name to the list below - arranged Alphabetically, or ask a collaborator to add it.

Historical Province and Post 1994 Provinces are added under each place name in the listings. Date founded/established follows the place name.

A

Abbotsdale 1870

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
Also known as Abb-Add Named after: Bishop Abbot. Established in 1870 as an Anglican Missionary Station. By 1881 there were 150 families. Each family received 1 stand for which they paid rent to the church and school. Old number plate on cars - CK 123 WIKI Small Town

Abel Erasmus Pass 1959

Transvaal (post 1994 Limpopo)
Mountain pass opened on the 8th of May 1959, 11 km long between Hoedspruit and Ohrigstad, navigates the Manoutsa section of the Limpopo Drakensberg.. Named after a well-known farmer and civil servant from the days of the Transvaal Republic - Johannes Gerhardus Strijdom The J G Strijdom Tunnel forms part of the pass.

Aberdeen 1855

Transvaal (post 1994 Limpopo)
Ds. Andrew Murray named the town to Aberdeen in Scotland, where he was raised and where his father was born. The town was founded in 1855 and got municipal status in 1858.Ds Andrew Murray. It was previously called Brakkefontein It is the biggest supplier in "bokhaar" production in South Africa. This town used to have the biggest private Zoo in South Africa. It has the biggest Church Tower in South Africa Lawrence Edward Oates became famous for his South Pole expedition in 1910 were he served under Captain Robert Scott. During the Anglo Boer War he was nursed in this town in a tent. The farm Brakkefontein had been bought for this purpose by Jan Vorster. Today, Aberdeen is one of the declared architectural conservation areas of the Karoo, and many examples of Victorian architecture can be found there. According to legend, the last wild Quagga was seen in the Aberdeen area. WIKI

Acornhoek 1940

Transvaal (post 1995 Mpumalanga)
Founded in 1940. Name Eekhoornhoek most likely after the Bosch veld mouses that can be find here. WIKI

Adams Mission 1836

Natal (post 1994 KwaZulu-Natal)
Settlement west of Amanzimtoti and south of Durban, in the Umlazi district. Established in 1836, it was destroyed by Dingaan but rebuilt in 1839. Named after the American missionary Dr Newton Adams WIKI (August 4, 1804 – September 16, 1851) who arrived in Natal in 1835 and who played a prominent role in respect to this mission. Adams Mission is an important educational institution.

Addo

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
Region east of the Sundays River, about 72 km north- east of Port Elizabeth. In 1931 about 680 ha were enclosed to form the Addo Elephant National Park. The name is also borne by a railway station, post office and bridge. Of Khoekhoen origin, the name probably means 'euphorbia ravine'.

Addo Drift 1815

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
The first convenient natural crossing of the Sunday's River to be encountered inland from the sea, and was frequently used by visitors travelling from the coast into the South African interior. A military post was erected there in about 1815, and in 1823 its land was granted to William Wright, a land speculator who had arrived at the Cape Colony in 1820. Sometime between 1823 and 1830 he used the site to build the Zondags River Inn, probably using the foundations of the old post. In 1832 he sold the inn to Joseph Hubbard who, in his turn, sold it to Samuel Webber in 1837.

Adelaide 1834

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
William IV of the United Kingdom Adelaide's origins date back to 1834 when a British officer named Captain Armstrong established a military encampment which he named Fort Adelaide after the wife of King William IV Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen. Adelaide lies in a part of the Eastern Cape that is rich in history due to the confluence of South Africa's three main population groups. Population 12,000 (2001). WIKI

Adendorp 1858

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
Named after the former owner of the farm, N J Adendorff, who sub-divided it into smallholdings in about 1858. Municipal status was attained in 1878.WIKI

Aggeneys 1976

Cape (post 1994 Northern Cape)
A mining town established in 1976 on a farm of that name, situated between Pofadder and Springbok. The origin of the name Aggeneys" is uncertain. Derived from the Nama language, suggested meanings include "Place of Blood", "Place of Red Clay" or "Place of Reeds". The Nama word ‡a means "reed" while !keis means "place"

Agter-Bruintjieshoogte

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
Region north of Bruintjieshoogte, embracing the upper reaches of the Little Fish River. Named after Nic de Bruyn, or De Bruin, former heemraad of Swellendam

Agterwitsenbergkom

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
Region in the Ceres district, meaning 'basin behind the Witsenberg'. See Witsenberg

Aguada de Sao Bras 1497

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
Portuguese name of Mossel Bay, given by Vasco da Gama on 26 November 1497. 'The watering-place of St Blaize', so called because Da Gama filled his casks with fresh water there. By the time Vasco da Gama reached the area on the 3rd of February 1497, the Bay had been recorded as Aguada da Sao Bras. The watering place of St. Blaize- a Saint whose Feast Day is celebrated on the 3rd of February SA History Online

Agulhas/ Cape Agulhas

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
Cape Agulhas is a coastal resort about 32 km South of Bredarsdorp. The name is Portuguese for 'needle' and is said to have been given because the compass needle was seen to point due north and that is with no magnetic deviation, resulting in the Portuguese name of 'Cabo das Agulhas' being given. The Agulhas Bank extends for 250km at a depth of only 60m, and then plunges to 1800 m, a depth it maintains all the way to the Antartic. SA History Online

Albania

Cape (post 1994 Northern Cape)
Region bounded by the Orange River in the south, the Vetberg line in the north, the Vaal River in the west and the Rama-Belmont line in the east. Named after Albany.

Albany 1820

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
Jacob Glen Cuyler 1773-1854 the Landdrost of the Uitenhage district, named the area between the Sundays and Fish rivers "Albany" after Albany in his native New York. Albany became the destination for the 1820 Settlers by the Cape Colony's new British masters. It accepted one of the largest waves of British immigrant settlers to South Africa, and the development of Albany was a milestone in the formation of the British diaspora. Grahamstown, Bathurst, and Port Alfred became important villages in Albany following the arrival of the 1820 Settlers. The area was previously known as the 'Zuurveld' by migrating Boer farmers in the late 18th century, and it lay near the boundary between the Cape Colony and the traditional Xhosa lands to the east. The ANC government merged the Albany area with the large Xhosa township of Alice as the municipal area of 'Cacadu' WIKI

Albasini Dam 1952

Transvaal (post 1994 Limpopo)
Dam at the foot of the Soutpansberg, named after Count Joao Albasini (1812 -1885), head of the Magwamba tribe, Vice-Consul for Portugal and superintendent of the African peoples in the Soutpans berg under the ZAR.

Albertinia 1900

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
Previous name Ghokams (Khoi) The town was founded in 1900, named after the reverend Johannes Rudolph Albertyn (1847-1920) of Riversdale, the first minister of the Dutch Reformed Church in the area. He planned the establishment of a separate church community.

In 1908 a big diamond was discovered at nearby Aasvoëlberg—literally Vulture Mountain—but no further finds were recorded. The town became known for its ochre and kaolin mines and is also the center of the aloe products industry. On the 10th of September 1898 the church council of Riversdale bought the farm Grootfontein from a "Mrs H. Lourens." A rectory was built by the congregation of Riversdale, and on 17th February 1900 a minister, the reverend D.J. Malan Albertinia was proclaimed a town on 18 November 1904. The mining of red and yellow ochre started in 1925 by W.R. van As, although first noticed as far back as 1797 by John Barrow WIKI

Alberton 1904

Transvaal (post 1994 Gauteng)
Hendrik Abraham Alberts General Hennie Alberts After the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902, the Alberton Estate Syndicate of Germiston approached the Meyer family to buy part of the farm Elandsfontein to establish a town, close enough to Johannesburg for work but outside the city. The land was sold for 20 000 pounds in 1904, When naming the new town, Hester Meyer declining any personal honour, and the Meyer family having coming from Prince Albert, and General Hennie Alberts had initiated the scheme, they agreed to share the honour between the families and named it Alberton. Although established in 1904, it was only proclaimed a township in 1909.

The Afrikaans medium primary school Jan Meyer was named for the original owner of the farm, and the affluent suburb Meyersdal also refers to the family whose original farmhouse mansion still stands on the land behind the Meyersdal koppie.

• Johannes Petrus Meyer1842-1919
• Johan Georg Meyer1846-1907
• Hester Christina Elizabeth Mulder

Albertsburg

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
See Price Albert

Alexander Bay 1836

Cape (post 1994 Northern Cape)
Founded as a Copper mine town ca 1860, but the company only lasted 15 years.In 1926 the diamonds were found in this spooky town and the town started flourishing again. In 1836 it was named after Sir James Edward Alexander the first person to put the town on the map while working for the National Geographic Society WIKI

Alexandra 1912

Transvaal (post 1994 Gauteng)
Informally abbreviated to Alex, is a township that forms part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality and is located next to the wealthy suburb of Sandton. It is commonly known as "Gomora" among local residents. Alexandra is one of the poorest urban areas in the country, situated on the banks of the Jukskei River. In addition to its original, reasonably well-built houses, it also has a large number (estimated at more than 20,000) of informal dwellings or "shacks" called imikhukhu. Established in 1912, on land originally owned by a farmer, a Mr H.B. Papenfus, who tried to establish a white residential township there, naming it after his wife, Alexandra. in 1912, Alexandra was proclaimed as a so-called "native township". Because the township was proclaimed before the South African 1913 Land Act, it was one of the few urban areas in the country where black people could own land under a freehold title.

Alexandria 1856

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
Town 112 km north-east of Port Elizabeth. Originally Olifantshoek, the name was changed in 1873 to Alexandria, after Alexander Smith, a Scottish minister of the Dutch Reformed Church in Uitenhage. It might have been established by the Dutch colonial government in the late 18th century, but was named Alexandria in 1856 after Reverend Alexander Smith.

Algoa Park

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)

Algoa Bay

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
The Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias was the first European to reach Algoa Bay in 1488, where he planted a wooden cross on a small island now called St Croix or Santa Cruz island. He gave the bay a name meaning "Bay of the Rock", which was changed in Portugal to Bahia de Lagoa or Bay of the Lagoon, and which eventually became Algoa Bay. Algoa Bay from Portuguese meaning coming to Goa.

Aliwal North 1849

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
Maletswai

The town was named in 1850 as a tribute to Sir Harry Smith, the then Governor of the Cape Colony. He named the town "Aliwal" in memory of his victory over the Sikhs at the Battle of Aliwal during the First Sikh War in India in 1846, and "North" in opposition to Aliwal South (now Mossel Bay). The town was laid out in 1849 on ground acquired by the government. This was auctioned and 38 lots were sold for £972

Alice 1847

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
Town on the Tyume River, about 120 km north- west of East London. It was named in 1847 by the Governor, Sir Peregrine Maitland, after Princess Alice, the second daughter of Queen Victoria. Municipal status was attained in 1852.

Alicedale

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
Village in the Albany district, about 42 km west of Grahamstown. Named after Alice Slessor (nee Dale), wife of the engineer who constructed the railway.

Allanridge 1947

Orange Free State (post 1994 Free State)
A gold mining town in the Lejweleputswa District Municipality. It is the main centre of the Loraine Gold Mining Company and is dominated by the tall headgear and complex reduction works that processes thousands of tons of gold-bearing ore every month. Established as a settlement in the Free State goldfields in 1947 and was named after Allan Roberts whose borehole's proximity to the gold bearing reef was the precursor to the mining in the area. The town layout was designed by town planner William Backhouse, who also planned Welkom. It became a municipality on 21 December 1956 but this changed on the 5 December 2000 when it was incorporated into the Matjhabeng Local Municipality with the city of Welkom and the towns of Hennenman, Odendaalsrus, Ventersburg and Virginia.

Alverstone

Natal (post 1994 KwaZulu-Natal)
A Railway Station between Drummond and Botha's Hill. Takes its name from a flat-topped Hill nearby, which in turn takes its name from Lord Alverstone, president of the Royal Commission on Martial Law Sentences, who visited Natal in 1903 on an Immigration Commission. (whenRichard Webster became Chief Justice of England in 1900, he chose the title Lord Alverstone because it was the title he was permitted to choose which was "closest" to Sandown, one of his favourite Locales).

Amandelboom

Cape (post 1994 Northern Cape)
Now Williston

Amandelboom (Afrikaans "almond tree") as a large almond tree stood as the focal point of the town by the Sak River. The tree had been planted in 1768 by Johan Abraham Nel, a farmer and owner of the land that was to become the town, to commemorate the birth of one of his sons

Amanzimtoti 1928

Natal (post 1994 KwaZulu-Natal)
Town and holiday resort on the South Coast, 29 km south-west of Durban. It was founded in 1928, proclaimed a township in 1939 and became a borough in 1952. In 1961 Amanzimtoti, Isipingo Beach and Isipingo Rail were amalgamated into a single municipality. Named after the Manzimtoti River; the name is derived from Zulu and means 'sweet water' or 'the water is sweet'. WIKI

Amatikulu

Natal (post 1994 KwaZulu-Natal)

aMatikulu
Town about 130 km north-east of Durban, near Gingindlovu. Named after the Matigulu, also spelt Amatikulu, River. From Lala or Zulu, probably 'large water', ie 'large river'. The approved form is aMatikulu

Amatole/Amathole

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
Mountain range, subsidiary of the Winterberg range, 15 km north-east of Alice and between Seymour and Stutterheim, extending westwards to the Great Fish River. The name is of Xhosa origin and means 'weaned calves'. WIKI

Amersfoort 1876

Transvaal (post 1995 Mpumalanga)
Town 56 km south of Ermelo and 72 km south-east of Bethal, on the banks of the Schulpspruit. Established in 1888 around a Dutch Reformed Church which was built in 1876. It was founded in 1876 and proclaimed in 1888. Named after the city Amersfoort in the Netherlands by its founder, F Lion Cachet.

Amsterdam 1882

Transvaal (post 1995 Mpumalanga)
Roburnial 1881

Town about 77 km east of Ermelo. Part of a Scottish settlement established by Alexander McCorkindale, it was proclaimed a town in June 1881. At first called Roburnial the name was changed on 5 July 1882 to Amsterdam, after the Dutch city where the State Secretary, Willem Eduard Bok, was born, and out of gratitude for Dutch sympathy during the First Anglo- Boer War (1880-1881)

Andalusia 1838

Cape (post 1994 Northern Cape)
Former name of Jan Kempdorp. Named after the region in southern Spain, which was the ancient maritime kingdom of Tarshish. Jan Kempdorp was laid out on the Farm Andalusia South Africa History Online

Andriesvale

Cape (post 1994 Northern Cape)

Arlington

Orange Free State (post 1994 Free State)
A small farming town established as an important railway link between Lindley and Senekal.

Arniston

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
A small seaside settlement on the coast of the Overberg region of South Africa, close to Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of Africa. In May 1815, a British East Indiaman, Arniston, was rounding the Cape in convoy on a journey to repatriate wounded British soldiers from Ceylon. Arniston was wrecked when her captain headed north for St Helena, operating on the incorrect belief the ship had already passed Cape Point, the master steered north for St Helena and ran the ship onto the rocks at Waenhuiskrans. Only six of the 378 people on board survived the wrecking. The survivors spent several days on the beach before being discovered. A memorial, a replica of which can be seen today, was erected on the beach by the wife of Colonel Giels; whose four unaccompanied children were lost in the tragedy. The memorial bears the following inscription:

Erected by their disconsolate parents to the memory of Thomas, aged 13 years, William Noble, aged 10, Andrew, aged 8 and Alexander McGregor Murray, aged 7 (the four eldest sons of Lieut Colonel Andrew Giels of H.M. 73rd Regiment) who, with Lord and Lady Molesworth unfortunately perished in the Arniston Transport, wrecked on this shore on 3rd May, 1815.

Prior to the wreck of Arniston, it is also known as Waenhuiskrans, an Afrikaans name meaning literally "Wagon house cliff", after a local sea cave large enough to accommodate a wagon and a span of oxen.The names 'Arniston' and 'Waenhuiskrans' are used interchangeably.

Ashton 1897

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
Established in 1897 on the Roodewal farm and attained municipal status in January 1956. The town was named after the first station-master

Askham 1919

Cape (post 1994 Northern Cape)
The settlement of Askham developed around a school boarding house, built in 1931, and the Dutch Reformed Church of Askam. Scottish land surveyor, Roger Jackson, gave Askham its name when he surveyed farms in the Kuruman river in 1919. There are varying explanations for Roger Jackson’s choice in naming the settlement ‘Askham’. Jackson named the town after a town on the Irish coast. Jackson derived the name from a farmer’s words: “Ask him”, or from the message he sent to request ingredients for his breakfast: “Ask ham!”.

Athlone

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
A suburb of Cape Town located to the east of the city centre on the Cape Flats. Originally known as West London the area was renamed Athlone after Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone who was Governor-General of the Union of South Africa from 1924 to 1930.

Atlantis 1970s

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
A town 40 km (25 mi) north of the Cape Town, established during the 1970s by the Apartheid government as an industrial centre and a community for the coloured population of Cape Town under the Group Areas Act.

Atteridgeville 1939

Transvaal (post 1994 Gauteng)
A township located to the west of Pretoria. It is bordered to the east of Saulsville, to the west of Proclamation Hill; to the north of Laudium and to the south of Lotus Gardens. The settlement was established in 1939, and is named after Mrs Myrtle Patricia Atteridge, husband of William Henry Atteridge, chairwoman of the Committee for Non-European Affairs on the Pretoria City Council at the time.

Augrabies

Cape (post 1994 Northern Cape)
Small town situated on the south bank of the Orange River about 100 kilometres (60 mi) downstream from Upington. It is located on the R359 road just outside the Augrabies Falls National Park, which contains the Augrabies Falls for which the town is named.

Aurora 1906

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
Established in 1906, it was named after the Roman goddess of dawn. Aurora Peak Slightly east of the Drakensberg. Named after the Roman goddess of dawn, it is said to be so named because of its situation in the Eastern Cape, and because it is one of the first peaks to catch the rays of the rising sun.

Avontuur

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
Town about 13 km south-east of Union- dale. Afrikaans for 'adventure', the origin of the name is uncertain. The river from which the town takes its name was known in 1778

B

Baardskeerdersbos

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
alt. Baardscheerders Bosch, locally known as B'bos)

A village in the Overberg region. The first reference was in 1660, when Jan van Riebeek sent an expedition to explore the Overberg. The farm "Baarscheerders Bosch" was surveyed for Phillip Fourie Senior in 1831; the farm has since been subdivided into separate farms, smallholdings and plots The current church in Baardskeerdersbos was built in 1921 and is a National Monument. The name "Baardskeerdersbos" in Afrikaans or "Baardscheerders Bosch" in the original Dutch meaning "Beard Shaver's Forest". The accepted explanation for this name is that a species of solifuge inhabits the area, and that this arachnid is referred to as a "beard shaver" because it cuts hair to use for nest-building. The well-known cartographer and writer Peter Slingsby wrote a book entitled "Beard Shaver’s Bush: Place Names in the Cape" (ISBN 0-620-24965-X) which discusses the origin of this and many other place names.

Babanango 1838

Natal (post 1994 KwaZulu-Natal)
A small town located about 58 kilometers north-west of Melmoth in the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa. Founded in 1904, the town is takes its name from the nearby stream and mountain. eMakhosini, located in the Mkhumbane Valley on the banks of a tributary of the White Umfolozi River near the town of Babanango, is the site of one of Zulu king King Dingane kaSenzangakhona's great royal kraals, UmGungundlovu, where Piet Retief and his Voortrekkers were massacred in 1838. The name "Mgungundlovu" is said to mean "the place of the elephant", and the name eMakhosini means "At the place of the chiefs". The settlement of Babanango was originally part of a land grant to European farmers in 1885 by King Dinizulu for their support after his father's death the year before

Balfour 1828

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
Balfour is a town in Raymond Mhlaba Municipality, Amatole District Municipality. The village, which lies at the foot of the Katberg, was established as a mission station of the Glasgow Missionary Society in 1828 by John Ross and McDiarmid, and named after Robert Balfour, first Secretary of the Society. Throughout the nine Frontier Wars, the town experienced some heavy fighting. Today, tobacco, citrus, wool and beef farming are practised in the area.

Balfour 1905

Transvaal (post 1995 Mpumalanga)
McHattiesburg 1897

Town and post office, some 80 km southeast of Johannesburg, Established on the farms Vlakfontein No. 101 and No. 108 which belonged to Frederick Stuart McHattie, and named McHattiesburg after him in 1897. Proclaimed on 16 February 1898, it was renamed Balfour on 15 February 1905, after Arthur James Balfour, Prime Minister of Great Britain, 1902-1905, who visited South Africa in that year

Balgowan

Natal (post 1994 KwaZulu-Natal)
Not much more than an old trading store and a train station where locally grown timber is picked up. However, nearby is Michaelhouse, the Anglican boarding school for boys in the Diocese of Natal, an exclusive private boarding school.

Ballito 1954

Natal (post 1994 KwaZulu-Natal)
A holiday town about 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of Durban. It forms part of the KwaDukuza Local Municipality, and iLembe District Municipality. Established in 1954 as a private township, by the Glen Anil Development Corporation/Investments which was headed up by Dr Edward (Eddie) Rubenstein (1903–1972). The town's name was allegedly borrowed from a glossy advert for Ballito hosiery made by Ballito Hosiery Limited of St. Albans, England. The area was originally portion of a sugar cane farm at Compensation Beach owned by Basil Townsend.

Barkly East / Barkly West 1874

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
Towns named On 14 December 1874 after Sir Henry Barkly, governor of the Cape Colony from 1870 to 1877. Became a municipality in 1881.

Barrydale

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
A village located on the border of the Overberg and Klein Karoo regions, situated at the northern end of the Tradouw's pass which winds its way through the mountains to Swellendam. Named after Joseph Barry, a well known merchant of the 19th century. In the early 18th century farmers moved into the area looking for fertile arable land with water, and the community built their church there. Before the church was built there were a number of nagmaal houses (houses where Holy Communion could be celebrated) and a school, but not much else. The Dutch Reformed Community of Barrydale came into being in 1878 when land was purchased to build the church.

Bassonia

Transvaal (post 1994 Gauteng)
Petrus Nicolaas Basson Bassonia was named after the Basson family who owned the farmland ( A portion of the Meyer's Klipriviersberg) that was developed to become one of the most affluent residential areas of Johannesburgs Southern Suburbs.

Bathurst 1820

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)

Named after Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst, Secretary of State for the Colonies by Sir Rufane Donkin.[3] Its chief claim to fame is that it was the early administrative centre established by the British Government for the 1820 British Settlers who were sent to the district as a buffer between the Cape Colony

Bazley or Bazley Beach 1880s

Natal (post 1994 KwaZulu-Natal)
Residential beach town named after John Bazley, an engineer and Byrne Settler whose son William successfully opened the Mzimkulu River mouth for shipping in the 1880s, at the place now known as Port Shepstone. John Bazley first arrived in the area in 1859 and set up camp on the banks of the Ifafa River. After a fairly good start, his farming activities grew and he was granted 612 acres (250 ha) of land for sugar farming. He worked hard and prospered. Within two years, he had established a sugar mill.

Beaconsfield 1812

Cape (post 1994 Northern Cape)
Formerly Du Toit's Pan 1870

Originally Du Toit's Pan Named after Abraham Paulus du Toit, owner of the farm Dorstfontein in 1812 on which it was laid out in 18https://www.geni.com/project-4478769/edit#70, and a pan near the old farmhouse.

Beaufort West 1818

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
See also Port Beaufort in the Western Cape as well as Fort Beaufort in the Eastern Cape. The town was founded in 1818 and initially named Beaufort after Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort, who was the father of Henry Charles Somerset 6th Duke of Beaufort Lord Henry Charles Somerset, then governor of the Cape Colony. The town was renamed Beaufort West in 1869 to avoid confusion with Port Beaufort in the Western Cape as well as Fort Beaufort in the Eastern Cape.

https://www.karoo-southafrica.com/koup/beaufort-west/history-of-bea...

Bedford 1854

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
In 1854, one of the leading inhabitants of the district, [who was this?] then in England, conceived the plan and laid out the erven for the village which he named after his good friend, the Francis Charles Russell, 9th Duke of Bedford (1819-1891)

Bekkersdal

Transvaal (post 1994 Gauteng)
A township situated 7 km east of Westonaria and 14 km south of Randfontein. It was established in 1945, to house Africans who worked in town and at the surrounding gold mines. In 1983 the township was granted municipal status. The township was the site of violent protests ahead of the general elections on 7 May 2014

Belleville / Belleville North 1861

Cape (post 1994 Northern Cape)
Founded as "12 Mile Post" (Afrikaans: "12-Myl-Pos") because it is located 12 miles (20 km) from Cape Town city centre. It was first known as "Hardekraaltjie". Founded as a railway station on the line from Cape Town to Stellenbosch and Strand, it was renamed Bellville in 1861 after the surveyor-general Charles Bell.

Benoni 1907

Transvaal (post 1994 Gauteng)
Benoni was established as a mining camp after the local discovery of gold in 1887. The local mining chairman, Sir George Farrar, landscaped the valley in the early 1900s, and Benoni was officially declared a town in 1907. It is now part of the industrial complex of the Witwatersrand and is particularly noted for its iron and steel works and brass foundry.

Bergville 1897

Natal (post 1994 KwaZulu-Natal)
A small town situated in the foothills of the Drakensberg mountains. It was established as Bergville Mountain Village in 1897 by Big Zulu and is now the commercial centre for a 2,500 km2 dairy and cattle ranching area. A blockhouse was built by the British soldiers in the town during the Second Boer War. There are many small villages associated within Bergville including Hambrook, Green Point, Acton homes Zwelisha, Moyeni, Bethany and Thintwa village.

Berlin 1857

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
Renamed Ntabozuko on 23 February 2021

A small town in Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality about 20km east of King William's Town. Founded in 1857 by German settlers of the British-German Legion and named after the German metropolis. Founded by Carl August Ferdinand Pape, a missionary.

Bethane 1834

Beyond the Northern Borders of the Colony
Now after 1994 Free State Province
Bethany

Bethlehem 1860

Orange Free State (post 1994 Free State)
Town 250 km north-east of Bloemfontein and 260 km south of Johannesburg, Bethlehem was founded by three local residents, Kristiaan Klopper, Neil Bishop and Henco Cronjé, who jointly bought the Farm: 'Pretorius Kloof'. The first stands were sold in 1860 and a justice of peace was appointed in 1864. Named after the biblical Bethlehem (Judg. 17:7), the birth-place of Jesus. 'House of bread', so called because wheat was found to thrive there. Bethlehem was founded by The first stands were sold in 1860 and a Justice of Peace was appointed, in 1864. SA History Online

Bethelsdorp 1803

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
Bethelsdorp Village, Port Elizabeth’s first organised settlement, was established in 1803 by Johannes Theodorus van der Kemp, a missionary working among the Khoikhoi. (from the Hebrew Beth-El [House of God], the site of Jacob’s dream in Genesis 28)

Bethulie 1829

Orange Free State (post 1994 Free State)
Bethulua; Caledon; Verheullpolis; Heidelberg

A small sheep and cattle farming town, established by the Reverend Clark of the London Missionary Society in 1829. The name meaning "chosen by God" was given by directors of a mission station in 1829 which the town formed around. The mission building is the oldest settler built building still standing in the Free State. Until 1833 Bethulie was known as Caledon (after the nearby Caledon River). This name was in conflict with a Western Cape town bearing the same name. The town was also home to one of the largest concentration camps run by the British during the Boer War. In 1832 the missionary Jean Pierre Pellissier replaced the London missionaries. In 1833 a French Missionary Society, the "Paris Evangelical Missionary Society" took over control of the Bethulie area and renamed the mission station Bethulua - meaning "Place of Worship". In 1835 it was renamed Verheullpolis and in 1863 the town was established and renamed Heidelberg. In 1872 the town was again renamed to Bethulie. During the Anglo-Boer War (1899 to 1902) the third largest concentration camp erected by the British was also situated in Bethulie.

Betty's Bay

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
A small holiday town situated on the Overberg coast, located 100 km from Cape Town beneath the Kogelberg Mountains. It was named after Betty Youlden, daughter of the first developer of the area Arthur Youlden. Betty's Bay was allegedly a favourite place for runaway slaves. In 1912 Betty's Bay became a formal whaling station until the 1930s. Remains of the whaling station can still be seen at Stony Point.

Bezuidenhouts Valley

Transvaal (post 1994 Gauteng)
(Bez Valley)

For a fairly comprehensive history of this suburb of Johannesburg please read the Bezuidenhout Family

Bhisho

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
(previously Bisho)

Bhisho is the capital of the Eastern Cape Province, three kilometres from King William's Town and 70 kilometres from East London, is also part of Buffalo City. The Office of the Premier, Provincial Legislature and many other government departments are headquartered in the town. Bhisho derives its name from the Xhosa word for buffalo, which is also the name of the river (Buffalo River) that runs through this town.

Bianco

Cape post 1994 ?Western Cape)
(Listed in church records) No information found. CJB

Birkenhead

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
A settlement in Overberg District Municipality, located on the Danger Point Peninsula (Birkenhead Peninsula) on the southern side of Walker Bay. See The Birkenhead Disaster - 26 Feb 1852

Bitterfontein

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
A village in the Knersvlakte, the northernmost area of the Western Cape, 320 kilometres (200 mi) north of Cape Town.

Bizana

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
(formally known as Mbizana)

Winnie Mandela, ex-wife of Nelson Mandela, was born there in 1936

Bloemfontein 1846

Orange Free State (post 1994 Free State)
Though historically a predominantly Afrikaner settlement, Bloemfontein was officially founded in 1846 as a fort by British army major [ Henry Douglas Warden] as a British outpost. Although modern day Bloemfontein has a reputation for its flowers in an otherwise arid region, the origin of the city's name is unclear. Popular legends include an ox named "Bloem" owned by one of the pioneer farmers that was taken by a lion near a fountain on his property, while another story names Jan Blom (1775–1858), a Korana KhoiKhoi leader who inhabited the area. Bloemfontein literally means fountain of flowers or flower spring in Dutch.

Bloemhof 1864

Transvaal (post 1994 North West)
North West province includes parts of the former Transvaal Province and Cape Province Die dorp is in 1864 gestig nadat diamante in die area ontdek is. Die dorp is op John Barclay se plaas, Klipfontein, uitgelê. John Barclay was 'n oorlewende van die HMS Birkenhead wat in 1852 by Danger Pointgestrand het. Die plek is Bloemhof genoem na aanleiding van die pragtige tuine wat deur Barclay se dogter aangeplant is. Die dorp is in 1865 opgemeet en in 1869 geproklameer. Bloemhof is 'n landelike dorpie wat op die banke van die vaalrivier in die Noordwes-provinsie in Suid-Afrika geleë is. Dis ook die geboorte dorp van grootwildjagter Cobus Aucamp.Die Bloemhofdam is een van die grootste damme in Suid-Afrika. Die sanger *Bles Bridges is in 2000 in die dorp in 'n padongeluk oorlede

Founded in August 1864 when diamonds were discovered in the area. The town was established on the farm owned by John Barclay, who survived the HMS Birkenhead shipwreck in 1852. The place became known as Bloemhof (flower court) because of the lovely gardens that were planted by Barclay's daughter. In June 1869, the South African Republic's Volksraad created a new district called Bloemhof named after the town itself. Currently Bloemhof has a variety of social milieus; it has a township called Boitumelong and former coloured residence called Coverdale. Salamat is also a small residence, formerly an Indian suburb, which is situated in this town.

Blue Downs

Cape - (post 1994 Western Cape)
A town/suburb in the outlying area of Cape Town; part of the Oostenberg subregion of the City of Cape Town

Boggomsbaai

Cape - (post 1994 Western Cape)
A coastal holiday village in Mossel Bay Municipality, located in the center of the bay called Vleesbaai

Boipatong 1955

Transvaal (post 1994 Gauteng)
Boipatong in Vanderbijlpark is a township established in 1955 to house black residents who worked in Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging. Boipatong means "the place of hiding" in the Sesotho language. Boipatong's expansion took place in tandem with the growth of Afrikaner Nationalism and the South African discrimination policy called apartheid.

Boksburg 1887

Transvaal (post 1994 Gauteng)
Town 22 km east of Johannesburg, between Benoni and Germiston. Established on 2 March 1887 on Vogelfontein and named in honour of Willem Eduard Bok (1846-1904), Transvaal State Secretary. Became a municipality in October 1905. See also WIKI

Bonnievale 1922

Cape - (post 1994 Western Cape)
A settlement in the Cape Winelands District Municipality. It was founded in 1922, and was named after the railway siding called Vale at its opening in 1902 and Bonnie Vale in 1917. Municipal status was gained in April 1953

Bophelong 1955

Transvaal (post 1994 Gauteng)
Bophelong means 'a place of life' - a township near Vanderbijlpark. It was established in 1955 to house black residents who worked in Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging.

Boshoff 1856

Orange Free State - (post 1994 Free State)
The administrative town in the west of the Free State province, South Africa, 55 km north-east of Kimberley. Established in March 1856 on the farm Vanwyksvlei, which had been named after a Griqua who sowed his crops on it from time to time. Named in honour of Jacobus Nicolaas Boshof (1808-1881), second President of the Orange Free State (1855–59) and founder of its civil service. Became a municipality in 1872. The local commando was involved in the Siege of Kimberley, notably the disruption of the city's water supply at Riverton Andrew Murray Sources added

Bothaville 1891/3

Orange Free State (post 1994 Free State)
Botharnia

A 'church town' and maize farming town. Botharnia, was established in 1891 on a portion of Gladdedrift farm, by Voortrekker JP van Wyk who left Pretoria after religious persecution. The town was renamed Bothaville in 1893, after Theunis Louis Botha, the original owner of the farm. Situated near the Vaal River in the Lejweleputswa DM,60 km east of the Vaal, 78 km north-west of Kroonstad. Established on the farm Botharnia, a portion of Gladdedrift which had been bought by Theunis Louis Botha, and named after him

Botrivier

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
A small town situated in the Overberg region, 93 km southeast of Cape Town. It takes its name from the Bot River on the west bank of which it is situated. The form Botrivier is preferred for official use

Botshabelo 1865

Orange Free State (post 1994 Free State)
Mission station of the Berlin Missionary Society, 13 km north of Middelburg, founded in 1865 on the farm Boschhoek (now Toevlugt) by Alexander Merensky, to serve the Bapedi. 'Place of refuge', so called because a fort was built to protect the converted Bapedi from attacks by Sekhukhune's warriors. In 1979, the then Prime Minister of QwaQwa, Kenneth Mopeli together with the apartheid government found a place for all the people of Kromdraai at a farm called Onverwacht. All the people who were not Tswana started to move to Onverwacht for free, and later on when they started to settle in the area paid ZAR80 for a stand. Late in 1980 to early 1981 the name Onverwacht started to disappear and people started to call their place by the name of Botshabelo, this name given by Julius Nkoko.

Brackenfell

Cape - (post 1994 Western Cape)
In 1712 the area known as "Kruispad" was transferred to J. Selie. Kruispad was owned by A. Brink, and in 1901 he sold it to a Scottish Immigrant G. H. Walton. The flora on this farm reminded him of the same in Scotland. He called it Brackenfell (Bracken means fern; Fell means hill). The richness of granite in the area was let to the farm being sold to a Brick company in 1903 and a granite quarry was established. Activity here stopped in 1948. In 1904 a railway station was established

Brakpan 1880s

Transvaal (post 1994 Gauteng)
The name Brakpan was first used by the British in the 1880s because of a non-perennial lake that would annually dry to become a "brackish pan". See Centurion

Brandfvlei

Cape (post 1994 Northern Cape)
A 19th-century trekboer called Ou Brand settled here. Brand camped at this spot at the Sakrivier, a dry river bed, which only occasionally had water after good rains. The settlement was cut in two by such a flood in 1961. After it was recovered, a municipality was formed in 1962.

Brandfort 1886

Orange Free State (post 1994 Free State)
Founded 1886 Brandfort is a small town in the Free State province of South Africa. (Renamed Winnie Mandela in August 2021) Jacobus van Zijl, a Voortrekker elder, established a church on his farm Keerom in 1866. The community was visited by Orange Free State president Brand and, shortly afterwards, the town was named in his honour. The British built a concentration camp here during the Boer War to house Boer women and children. Brandfort was also home to former prime-minister H.F. Verwoerd, who matriculated there. Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd

Braunschweig 1857

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
A small town situated in the former district of King William's Town, one of the villages that were established after the arrival of the German Legion and the German Settlers in British Kaffraria in and after 1857

Bredasdorp 1838

Cape - (post 1994 Western Cape)
The town of Bredasdorp was founded with the building of a Dutch Reformed Church in 1838 on the farm Langefontein. The town was named after Michiel van Breda, the first Mayor of Cape Town, who was also known as the father of South Africa's merino sheep industry. Van Breda and Pieter Voltelyn van der Byl could not agree on a location for the church; as a result two churches were built, and two towns, Bredasdorp and Napier, were established.

Brenton-on-Sea

Cape - (post 1994 Western Cape)
A settlement and seaside resort town 15km west of Knysna. Named after Sir Jahleel Brenton, who declared Knysna a harbour in 1818. The area is home to the endangered Brenton blue butterfly.

Breyten

Transvaal (post 1995 Mpumalanga)
Village founded by Nicolaas Breytenbach WIKI

British Kaffraria

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
See main page for more information
Consisted of the districts now known as King William’s Town and East London. It was also called Queen Adelaide's Province. (1847–1866) After the 7th Frontier War ("Amatola War"), on 17 December 1847, the area was seized by the new British Governor Harry Smith, and annexed to the Cape Colony, this time as the British Kaffraria Colony, with King William's Town as its capital. The new Governor re-occupied the abandoned forts and British Imperial troops were moved into the territory. WIKI[

Britstown 1877

Cape (post 1994 Northern Cape)
Laid out on portion of the farm Gemsbokfontein in 1877 and named after the owner, Hans Brits. Became a municipality in 1899. In 1877 a community centre and a church was built on a section of Brits's farm. A private irrigation scheme was started by the Smartt Syndicate in 1885 and liquidated in 1954. The concern built two dams, planted lucerne and wheat. They grazed karakul sheep and Clydesdale horses. In 1961, floods destroyed the Smartt Irrigation Board Dam and it was rebuilt by the government in 1964.

Brixton 1902

Transvaal (post 1994 Gauteng)
The Johannesburg suburb of Brixton was first surveyed in 1902 from a portion of the farm Braamfontein. The suburb was named after the Brixton suburb in London with many of the area's streets taking their names from districts in the British capital.

Bronkhorstspruit 1935

Transvaal (post 1994 Gauteng)
A town 50 km east of Pretoria, towards Witbank. It lies on the border between the Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces. It also consists of three townships called Zithobeni, Rethabiseng and Ekangala. On 18 May 2011, the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality took over the municipal administration from the abolished Kungwini Local Municipality, which makes Bronkhorstspruit part of Tshwane. In 1858, a group of Voortrekkers settled in the Bronkhorstspruit creek, which was originally called Kalkoenkransrivier ('Turkey Cliff River'). The town was laid out on land of the farm Hondsrivier in 1904 owned by C.J.G. Erasmus and was initially named after him. It adopted the name Bronkhorstspruit in 1935. On 20 December 1880 it was the scene of the Battle of Bronkhorstspruit, an important event in the early days of the First Boer War when a Boer Commando ambushed a British army column, 94th Regiment of Foot, near the present town en route from Lydenburg to Pretoria. There is disagreement about where the town got its name from. Some believe it was named after the farmer JG Bronkhorst, while others say that it was named after the plant, bronkors (Afrikaans for watercress), that grew in the region of the creek.

Buffeljagsrivier

Cape - (post 1994 Western Cape)
Buffeljags River (C 3320-3420). River rising in the Langeberg range, and flowing south into the Breede River. Afrikaans (at first Dutch) for 'buffalo hunt river', it was so called from its being at one time a noted place for hunting buffaloes. The Afrikaans form Buffeljagsrivier is preferred for official purposes.

Buffelsbaai

Cape - (post 1994 Western Cape)
(also Buffels Bay and Buffalo Bay)

A small seaside village 20 kilometres from Knysna. The village is named after Buffelsbaai which stretches east of the village. The cargo ship Kiani Satu, travelling from Hong Kong to Ghana with a shipment of rice, ran aground and sank off the coast of the town in August 2013. Leaked oil from the vessel threatened the nearby Goukamma Nature Reserve; 217 birds were cleaned by SANCCOB after the spill.

Bultfontein 1873

Orange Free State (post 1994 Free State)
A town isituated in the Tswelopele Local Municipality, about 100 kilometres (60 mi) north of Bloemfontein. Although approval for the establishment of a village was granted in 1862, disagreement as to the site delayed the laying out until 1873, when it was decided to lay out two towns, one at Bultfontein and one at Hoopstad. The former was estabished on the farm Bultfontein, belonging to A McCullum and named in 1874. Became a municipality in 1938. The name is Afrikaans and means 'hill fountain'. The township of Phahameng was established on the outskirts of Bultfontein in the 1970s.

Burgersdorp 1847

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
Town on the Stormberg Spruit, 359 km north-west of East London. Estabished on the farm Klipfontein, purchased from Gert Buytendach on 27 December 1847, and named either in honour of burger commandos during the Seventh Frontier War (1846-47) or because the citizens themselves had taken the initiative in its establishment; burger is the Dutch word for 'citizen'.

Burgersfort

Transvaal (post 1994 Limpopo)
Settlement and railway station 95 km north-west of Lydenburg, on the Belfast-Steelpoort line, near the confluence of the Spekboom and Steelpoort rivers. Named after the hexagonal fort built during the Sekhukhune War (1876-77- by Captain C H von Schlickmann and named after President Thomas Francois Burgers (1834-81).

Burnshill 1831

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
Former mission station of the Glasgow Missionary Society, established at the foot of the Amatole Mountains in 1831. Named after the Reverend John Burns, minister of the Barony Church, Glasgow, one of the founders of the society. It was destroyed in 1851.

Bushbuckridge 1884

Transvaal (post 1995 Mpumalanga)
Range of hills east of Pilgrim's Rest, after which the village of Bosbokrand is named. Known by the Bantu name Maviljan. The name is derived from the many bushbuck which inhabited the area in former times. The town of Bushbuckridge grew around a trading store that opened in 1884.

Bulwer 1890

Natal (post 1994 KwaZulu-Natal)
Town 8 km north of Bulwer station on the Donnybrook-Underberg line, at the foot of the Marwagga Mountains. Laid out in 1890 and named in honour of Sir Henry Ernest Gascoyne Bulwer (1836-1914), Governor of Natal, 1882-85. Bulwer is a prominent tourist destination for various reasons. It's a popular birding spot, a beautiful place to just relax, but mainly it's a flying destination for both hang gliders and para-gliders. Both local and international pilots flock to Bulwer for flying around the year.

Buntingville 1830

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
Methodist mission station 15 km south-east of Umtata. Originally established by the Reverend W B Boyce in 1830 as Old Bunting near the village of the Pondo chief Faku at the headwaters of the Umngazana River, it was transferred about 1865. Named after Dr Jabez Bunting WIKI(1779-1858), the English Wesleyan leader

Bushbuckridge 1884

Transvaal (post 1995 Mpumalanga)
Range of hills east of Pilgrim's Rest, after which the village of Bosbokrand is named. Known by the Bantu name Maviljan. The name is derived from the many bushbuck which inhabited the area in former times. The town of Bushbuckridge grew around a trading store that opened in 1884.

Bushmanland

Cape (post 1994 Northern Cape)
Region bounded approximately by the Orange River in the north, Namaqualand in the west, the Sak and Hartbees rivers in the east, and Calvinia in the south. So named because the San, popularly called Bushmen, lived there.

Bushmans River

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
River rising near Ann's Villa in the Albany district and flowing south- east past Alicedale to enter the Indian Ocean between Boknes and Kenton on Sea at Boesmansrivier- mond. Named after the San or Bushmen. The Xhosa name for this river is Qora.

Bushmans River

Natal (post 1994 KwaZulu-Natal)
Tributary of the Tugela River. It rises near Giant's Castle in the Drakensberg and flows north-east past Estcourt to enter the Tugela 13 km north-east of Weenen. Named after the San or Bushmen, who lived in the vicinity.

Butterworth 1827

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
Town 113 km from East London, on the national road between Durban and Cape Town. Developed from a station of the Wesleyan Missionary Society established in 1827 by the Reverend W J Shrewsbury and named after Joseph Butterworth, former treasurer of the Society. The town was founded in 1880 and became a municipality in 1904.

C

Cacadu

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
Previously Lady Frere

A small town in Chris Hani District Municipality in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The town was renamed to Cacadu in 2017, after amendments of changing colonial names in South Africa. Cacadu, meaning “bulrush water”, is the Xhosa name for the White Kei River, which rises in the district. The town was established 1879, and became a municipality in 1900. Lady Frere was named after the wife of Sir Henry Bartle Frere, governor of the Cape Colony from 1877 to 1880

Cala

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
A town in Sakhisizwe Local Municipality, part of the Chris Hani District Municipality. The village is located on the Tsomo River, 28 km southwest of Elliot. The name is Xhosa for ‘adjacent to’, referring to its situation west of the Drakensberg, which here extends north and south

Caledon 1811

Cape - (post 1994 Western Cape)
Caledon was originally known in Dutch as Bad agter de Berg (Bath Behind the Mountain). A bath house was built in 1797 and a village called Swartberg sprang up, which was later renamed Caledon in honour of the Irish peer Du Pre Alexander, 2nd Earl of Caledon (1777–1839), the first British governor of the Cape (1806-11).

Caledon
Province Western Cape
District Overberg
Municipality Theewaterskloof
Established 1811

Calitzdorp

Cape - (post 1994 Western Cape)
A town on the Western side of the Little or Klein Karoo. The farm Buffelsvallei, on which Calitzdorp stands, was granted to Jacobus Johannes and Matthys Christiaan Calitz in 1831. The brothers donated part of their farm for the establishment of a church in 1853 and in 1858 the church started the sale of plots to church members. In 1924 a railway line was opened, in 1937 electrification and a new cement road to Oudtshoorn was completed.

Calvinia 1851

Cape (post 1994 Northern Cape)
Town on the north bank of the Oorlogskloof River, just south of the Hantamsberg, 387 km north-east of Cape Town. Established in 1851 on the farm Hoogekraal, it became a municipality in 1904. Named after the religious reformer John Calvin (1509-1564).

Cambridge

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
A suburb of East London, part of the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality

Campbell

Cape (post 1994 Northern Cape)
Small town situated on the edge of the Ghaap Plateau, located 48 km east of Griquatown. It was originally known as Knovel Valley and then Groote Fontein, but was renamed in honour of the Reverend John Campbell WIKI who visited the Cape Colony in 1813. In 1805 a group of Griqua, including Captain Andries Waterboer, travelled with missionary Jan Matthys Kok from Klaarwater (now Griquatown) to the territory of the Tswana near the modern town of Kuruman. They encountered strong springs in a valley at the edge of the Ghaap Plateau, and named it Knovel Valley. In 1811 that the Reverend Lambert Jansz, accompanying the traveller William John Burchell, revisited the place, taking possession of the springs, by now known as Groote Fontein (Great Fountain), in the name of the London Missionary Society. When the Reverend John Campbell, on a tour of inspection in 1813, reached the village and asked its name, he was told it was Campbell. In 1816 Cornelis Kok II (1778-1858) was declared Griqua Kaptyn (Captain) of Campbell. Other members of the Kok family had resided there from the beginning of the settlement. The Reverend John Bartlett was stationed as a missionary at Campbell from 1825 and supervised the construction of a mission church there between 1827 and 1831.

Camperdown 1865

Natal (post 1994 KwaZulu-Natal)
A settlement in Umgungundlovu District Municipality. Town about 60km by road north-west of Durban (20km south-east of Pietermaritzburg). Laid out in 1865 on the farm Camperdown, named to commemorate the victory of the British navy under Admiral Adam Duncan over the Dutch fleet under Admiral Jan Willem de Winter in October 1797

Cape Town 1652

Cape - (post 1994 Western Cape)
Mother city of South Africa, second largest city situated between Table Mountain and Table Bay. It developed from a settlement established by Jan van Riebeeck in 1652 and became a municipality in 1839. Originally referred to as Cabo de Goede Hoop, a shortened form 'Cabo' or 'De Caab' came to be used. In the 18th century it was known as Het Vlek ('hamlet') van de Caab. The names Cape Town and Kaapstad were applied about the middle of the 18th century. The Khoekhoen name, Huigais, meaning 'stone place', was first applied to the Castle but was subsequently extended to include Cape Town. The Afrikaans form Kaapstad has also been approved and enjoys the same status as Cape Town.

Carletonville 1937

Transvaal (post 1994 Gauteng)
Developed by various mining companies from 1937 onwards, Carletonville was named after the long-serving mining director of Consolidated Gold Fields, Guy Carleton Jones, but was not officially incorporated until 1959.

Carnarvon 1860

Cape (post 1994 Northern Cape)
Town 135 km north-east of Williston and 133 km north-west of Victoria West. It was laid out in 1860 on land belonging to the Rhenish Missionary Society, and became a municipality in 1882. At first known as Harmsfontein and Schietfontein, it was given the name Carnarvon in 1874 after Henry Howard Molyneux Herbert, the Earl of Carnarvon (1831-1890), British Colonial Secretary

Carolusberg

Cape (post 1994 Northern Cape)

Cathcart 1858

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
Town to the east of the Windvogelberg, 146 km north-west of East London. Developed after 1856 from a military camp was established in 1850. It was named after Sir George Cathcart (1794-1854), Governor of the Cape from 1852 to 1854. It became a municipality in 1881. Centre of a wool-producing area.

Cedarberg

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
Mountain range in the Clanwilliam district, within the catchment area of the Olifants River. Named after a species of cedar tree, Widdringtonia cedarbergensis, which grows there. Only the Dutch form Cederberg has been approved. The name is also borne by a mountain on the eastern border of the Matatiele district.

Cedarville

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
Village at the foot of the Cedarberg in the Matatiele district, 48 km north-west of Kokstad and 278 km from Pietermaritzburg. Named after the Cedarberg. In 1912 a village management board was established. Cedarville was in Cape Province until in 1978 becoming part of Natal and then its successor KwaZulu-Natal, and in 2006 became part of Eastern Cape province.

Centane

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
Kentani

A settlement in Amathole District Municipality, situated at about 31 kilometres (19 mi) from Butterworth. Centane was the site of the battle of Centane on 7 February 1878 during the ninth Frontier War, where in more than 300 Xhosa were killed for the loss of only two British soldiers. The grave of the Xhosa king, Khawuta kaGcaleka (the father of Bhurhu kaKhawuta and Hintsa kaKhawuta) is in this town in the village of Njingini.

Centurion 1841

Transvaal (post 1994 Gauteng)
Centurion (previously known as Verwoerdburg and before that Lyttelton) is an area the Gauteng Province of South Africa, between Pretoria and Midrand (Johannesburg).In 1841 the Erasmus family arrived and settled in the area. Daniel Jacobus Erasmus settled on the farm Zwartkop, Daniel Elardus Erasmus on the farm Doornkloof and Rasmus Elardus Erasmus developed the farm Brakfontein. Several of the suburbs like Erasmia, Elardus Park, Zwartkop and Doornkloof were named after these 19th-century owners of the land and their properties. In 1849 Rev Andrew Murray visited the farm Doornkloof and christened 129 babies, heard the profession of faith of 29 new members of the Reformed Church and the next day, 29 December 1849, celebrated communion. In 1889 Alois Hugo Nelmapius bought the northern and north-eastern portions of the farm Doornkloof and named it after his daughter Irene (who died in 1961).

Ceres 1854

Cape - (post 1994 Western Cape)
Town on the Dwars River in the Warm Bokkeveld, 127 km north-east of Cape Town, 16 km from Wolseley and 10 km from Prince Alfred's Hamlet. Established in 1854, it became a municipality in 1964. It was named after the Roman goddess of agriculture, by virtue of the fertility of the soil. It is an important fruit- producing centre.

Charlestown 1891

Natal (post 1994 KwaZulu-Natal)
A small town situated at the top of Laing's Nek pass between Newcastle and Volksrust. It started out as an important railway station and customs post between Natal and Transvaal in 1891 until the Union of South Africa came into being in 1910, and customs tariffs were abolished. It is named after Sir Charles Mitchell, governor of Natal. In 1927 the town was the site of one of South Africa's first mass-shooting instances when local farmer Stephanus Swart shot and killed 8 people. It became a dormitory suburb of Volksrust, just across the border in the Transvaal, and many black people bought freehold land in the town. During the 1960s, however, the apartheid policy of the government led to most of the black inhabitants being forcibly removed to Madadeni, near Newcastle, and Charlestown became a ghost town.

Chatsworth

Cape - (post 1994 Western Cape)

Chatsworth 1848

Natal (post 1994 KwaZulu-Natal)
Indian township located in Durban some 14km south-west of the City centre, in the Umhlatuzana River Valley, north of Umlazi. Initially, it consisted mainly of poor, working class Indian people, whose culture is central to Durban’s identity, and a direct result of the Group Areas Act. Chatsworth comprises an area that was once a farm called Chatsworth, part of Witteklip, which was acquired in 1848 by Samuel Bennington and named by him after Chatsworth near Chesterfield in Derbyshire, England. In the 1950s, Indians from all over Durban were moved to Chatsworth under the Group Areas legislation. The land had been expropriated from 600 Indian farmers, and acquired its real identity as an Indian group area through the 1960s and early 1970s.

Chintsa

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
A village in the Wild Coast region of the Eastern Cape province, situated 38 km north-east from East London and 10 km north from Gonubie, at the mouth of the Cintsa river. The village is in Xhosa country. It has a laid-back atmosphere with low-cost accommodation and unspoilt white sand beaches in Chintsa East, backed by forested dunes, lagoons and rivers.

Christiana 1870s

Transvaal (post 1994 North West)
Town on the Vaal River, 113 km north-north- east of Kimberley. When diamonds were discovered in the Vaal River in the 1870s a settlement developed on the banks of the river. Christiana was established on the farm Zoutpansdrift ("salt pan drift")in the Bloemhof district. A health committee, established in 1895, controlled the town until 1904, when municipal status was achieved. It is presumed to have been named after Christina, daughter of President Pretorius of the old Transvaal (1819- 1901), first President of the South African Republic, later Transvaal.

Citrusdal 1916

Cape - (post 1994 Western Cape)
A town situated at the base of the Cederberg mountains about 160 kilometres (100 mi) north of Cape Town. Eestablished in 1916 by the Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk to serve the upper Olifants River valley. The church bought a portion of Middelpost farm, on which a township was laid out. A town council was established in 1957.

Clanwilliam 1814

Cape - (post 1994 Western Cape)
Town at the confluence of the Olifants and Jan Dissels rivers, at the foot of the Cedarberg, 232 km from Cape Town and 35 km from Graafwater. Laid out on the farm Jan Disselsvlei, it at first bore that name. On 1 January 1814 it was renamed Clanwilliam by Sir John Cradock, Governor of the Cape, 1811-1814, after his father-in- law, John Meade, 1st Earl of Clanwilliam. It attained municipal status in 1901.

Claremont 1834

Cape - (post 1994 Western Cape)
A suburb of Cape Town, situated six miles south of the city, and is one of the so-called "Southern Suburbs". It is situated alongside Lansdowne. It is an important commercial and residential area A village began to develop on the main road near Feldhausen in the 1830s, and by 1840 it had become known as 'Claremont'. The annual Cape Almanac for 1840 described the area and stated that :

"The new village of 'Claremont' succeeds, near to which, on the left, is 'Claremont House', the property of R. Waters Esq, who has lately laid out the grounds with much taste, in the manner usually known as the English style of landscape gardening".

Claremont

Transvaal (post 1994 Gauteng)
Suburb of Pretoria West - Tshwane

Clarens 1912

Orange Free State (post 1994 Free State)
A small town situated in the foothills of the Maluti Mountains and nicknamed the "Jewel of the Eastern Free State". It was established in 1912 and named after the town of Clarens in Switzerland where exiled Paul Kruger spent his last days. It is situated 336 km from Johannesburg, 284 km from Bloemfontein, 389 km from Durban. A farm called "Leliehoek" (English: Lily Corner) was bought from Hermanus Steyn in 1910, and in 1911 Piet de Villiers sold his farm "Naauwpoort" (situated near the Titanic rock) to a company wanting to establish a village there. These two farms were divided into erven and sold for fifty pounds each.

Clocolan 1906

Orange Free State (post 1994 Free State)
A a small town established in 1906.The Basotho called the place Hlohlolwane (Hlohla-o-lwane, ("get up and fight"). New inhabitants mispronounced the name and called it Clocolan. The town developed as surrounding communities needed a school, a church and business facilities . The Bakwena, a Sotho tribe, gave Clocolan its name in 1800.

Coffee Bay 1893

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
(Afrikaans: Koffiebaai)

A town on the Wild Coast of the Eastern Cape Province, located about 250 kilometres south of the city of Durban. The town is named after the hundreds of coffee trees which grew from beans either scattered by a shipwreck or by plunderers. Onetheory is that the town was named Coffee Bay in 1893 after a shipwreck lost its cargo of coffee beans near the coast of Coffee Bay, although there may no longer be any coffee trees or beans in the Coffee Bay area. The municipality is located in an area that was previously part of the Xhosa bantustan, Transkei, and the population is still predominantly Xhosa.

Cofimvaba

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
A town in Chris Hani District Municipality 79 km east of Queenstown on the route to Butterworth, in Thembuland. Probably named after the nearby stream which, after rains, froths turbulently and resembles milk. The name is also said to be derived from cofa, ‘press’, mvaba, ‘milk-bag’ (of goat-skin), done to break lumps of sour milk. Another explanation is that the sound of the water gurgling over the rocks is reminiscent of the splashing of milk in the bag when shaken

Colenso 1855

Natal (post 1994 KwaZulu-Natal)
A town located on the southern bank of the Tugela River on the R103 road. The original settlement was contained within a loop on the river, but it subsequently expanded southwards and eastwards.The settlement was established in 1855 at a Commando Drift, a ford on the Tugela River. The settlement was a stop-over point before or after fording the river (which is about 60–70 metres (200–230 ft) wide at that point). It was named after the Anglican bishop of Natal and champion of the Zulu cause, John William Colenso.

Colesberg 1830

Cape (post 1994 Northern Cape)
Town about 29 km south of the Orange River, 29 km south-south-west of Philippolis and 51 km north of Noupoort. Founded in 1830 on an abandoned station of the London Missionary Society, it was named after Sir Galbraith Lowry Cole (1772-1842) WIKI. It was first named Toverberg, after a nearby hill, but subsequently renamed. Municipal status was attained in 1840.

Concordia 1852

Cape (post 1994 Northern Cape)
Concordia was originally established as a Rhenish mission station in 1852 and copper mining began in 1853 through to 1983 in the area.

Cookhouse 1790s

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
(Afrikaans: Kookhuis), is a small village located about 170 kilometres (110 mi) north of Port Elizabeth and 24 kilometres (15 mi) east of Somerset East, on the west bank of the Great Fish River. The current village is said to take its name from a small stone house used for shelter and cooking by troops camping on the bank of this river. Another explanation links the name to the hot climate as experienced by the troops stationed there. The Cookhouse is located on what was the Roodewal farm owned by Frans Johannes van Aardt 1777-1856).His first wife was Susanna Wilhelmina Tregardt Another theory is that it got its name is in the late 1790s because Susanna van Aardt supplied provisions from her "cookhouse" (or outdoor kitchen) to riders and soldiers waiting to cross the Great Fish River.

Copperton 1970

Cape (post 1994 Northern Cape)
Was a mining town in the central Karoo region which saw its heyday between 1970 and the end of the 20th century, when it housed about 3,000 workers and their families. The copper-zinc mine at Copperton, which had been opened in 1972, was shut down in 1991 by the Anglovaal Mining Group. The 2011 census found 57 inhabitants. Today, most of the buildings have been demolished and only a few houses are used by Armscor, who operate a weapons testing centre, Alkantpan Test Range, in the area.

Cornelia 1894

Orange Free State (post 1994 Free State)
A small town in the Vrede district, situated on the banks of the Skoonspruit, midway between Frankfort and Vrede. In 1875 D.J. Steyn bought the farm "Mooiheid" and J.D. Odendaal bought the farm "Sugarloaf" (known as Tafelkop) for a sum of R2000. They settled there in 1876. At that time it was in the Harrismith district. In 1886 the two farmers and other people formed the Afrikaans Baptist Church and J.D. Odendaal was the first preacher. The Odendaal family made an important contribution to the church. D.J. Steyn donated a piece of land to the church to erect a church building. In 1894 it was named after Cornelia Mulder, second wife of Regter Francis William Reitz President of the OFS, and proclaimed a township in 1917 and became a municipality in 1923. A famous fossil-site on the farm Uitzoek is 10 km to the north. Cornelia is the birthplace of the well-known Afrikaans playwright, P G du Plessis.

Cradock 1818

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
The town was founded on 27 August 1818 when a Dutch Reformed church (based on that of St Martin-in-the-Fields in London) was built; it is named after John Cradock, 1st Baron Howden, governor of the Cape from 1811 to 1813.

Crossroads 1970

Cape - (post 1994 Western Cape)
The establishment of Crossroads, situated near Cape Town International Airport, as a settlement began in the 1970s when workers from a nearby farm were told to leave and move to 'the crossroads'. By the year of 1977 a survey indicated that a total of 18,000 people were living at Crossroads.

Cullinan 1903

Transvaal (post 1994 Gauteng)
A small town located 30 km (19 mi) east of the city of Pretoria along the diamond route and is heavily reliant on tourism and the mine that dominates the skyline. The town is named after diamond magnate Sir Thomas Cullinan. In 1898 Sir Thomas Cullinan was handed a three carat diamond found along a farm fence. He studied the area and came to the conclusion that the diamond was washed down from a nearby hill. Sir Cullinan tried unsuccessfully to buy the land from the owner, Joachim Prinsloo. After Prinsloo's death, he was able to purchase the land for £52,000 from Prinsloo's daughter. The Cullinan kimberlite was discovered in 1902 and in 1903 open pit mining commenced. The mine was named the Premier mine. On 25 June 1905, the famed Cullinan Diamond, the largest in the world at 3,106 carats (621.2 g), was discovered by Frederick George Stanley Wells, surface manager of the Premier Diamond Mining Company. It was bought by the Transvaal government and presented to King Edward VII.

References

Additional reference Book A-Z Plekname van Suid Afrka/Place names from South Africa - Ann GADD - Oorsprong van name/Attraksies en Geskiedenis.

Reference - Dictionary of Southern African Place Names

SA History Online

LINKS to other sections

South Africa - Towns and Cities D-G South Africa - Towns and Cities H-K
South Africa - Towns and Cities L-P South Africa - Towns and Cities Q-S South Africa - Towns and Cities T-Z

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