South Africa - Towns and Cities L- P

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Historical Province and Post 1994 Provinces are added under each place name in the listings.

L

Ladismith 1852

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
Named after Juana Maria de Leon - eggenote van die destydse goewerneur van die Kaapprovinsie, Sir Harry Smith. Ladismith is a town and agricultural centre in the western Klein Karoo region of South Africa's Western Cape province. In 1852 the farm Elandsvlei was set aside for the town. Became a municipality in 1862. Ladismith is 'n dorp in die Kannaland munisipaliteit van die distrik Eden (provinsie Wes-Kaap, Suid-Afrika). Die dorpsnaam word met 'n "i" gespel om verwarring met Ladysmith in die provinsie KwaZulu-Natal te voorkom.Besienswaardighede sluit die plaaslike kerkgeboue van die Pinksterbeweging en Lutherane.Die geboortehuis van die bekende Afrikaanse digter C.J. Langenhoven

Ladysmith 1847

Natal (post 1994 KwaZulu-Natal)
In 1847 after buying land from the Zulu king Mpande, a number of Boers settled in the area and called it the Republic of Klip River with Andries Spies as their commandant. The republic was annexed by the British in the same year and on 20 June 1850 was proclaimed a township called Windsor. On 11 October 1850 the name was changed to Ladysmith after Juana María de los Dolores de León Smith, also known as "Lady Smith," the Spanish wife of Sir Harry Smith, the Governor of the Cape Colony. Sir Harry Smith was the British general governor of Cape Colony and high commissioner in South Africa from 1847 to 1852.

Laingsburg 1881

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
Town on the Buffels River, a tributary of the Groot River, 274 km north-east of Cape Town and 125 km south- west of Leeu-Gamka. It was established on the farm Vischkuil aan de Buffels Rivier in 1881 and became a municipality in 1906. Named after John Laing, Commissioner of Crown Lands in the Cabinets of Sprigg and Rhodes.

Land van Waveren 1699

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
Iincluded in modern day Wolseley

A large area was named "Land van Waveren" in 1699 by Willem Adriaan van der Stel in honour of the Oetgens van Waveren family, from which his mother was descended. Before this date, but also subsequent to it, the region had also been known as Roodezand ("red sand"). The region corresponds to the present Tulbagh district, named after Governor Ryk Tulbagh. 1804 No village or town existed in Land van Waveren before Roodezandkerk built in 1743 when a village grew up around the church which eventually became Tulbagh in 1804 . Wagemakersvlei next to it developed into Wellington and Rawsonville over time.

Leeudoringstad 1918

Transvaal (post 1994 North West
Town 29 km east of Wolmaransstad, 27 km north-east of Makwassie and 253 km south-west of Johannesburg. It was laid out on the farm Rietkuil in 1918 and proclaimed in December 1920. A health committee was instituted in 1927 (some say 1932), and a village council in October 1958. Took its name from Leeuwdoorns, a railway station established in 1908. Scene of a disaster in 1932 when a train carrying 320 to 330 tons (previously incorrectly stated as 1,200 tons) of dynamite from the De Beers factory at Somerset West to the Witwatersrand exploded and flattened the town. Five people were killed . The name is Afrkaans for 'lion-thorn city', after the Harpagophytum procumbens, the African Devil's Claw, which grows there.

Lichtenburg 1873

Transvaal (post 1994 North West
The town was established in 1873 by Commandant H.A. Greeff. and was named by Transvaal President 'Thomas François Burgers as Lichtenburg (Town of Light). On the 13 March 1926, Jacobus Voorendyk, discovered a diamond on his family farm and within 12 months there were 108,000 fortune seekers on the scene. The resulting diamond rush lasted ten years. The history of the town is closely associated with the life of General De la Rey, who, apart from being the town's representative in the House of Assembly, was also Assistant Commandant General of the Boer forces. After Unification he also became Senator. He was buried in Lichtenburg after a fatal shooting incident at Langlaagte. More and more farmers settled in the area during the mid to late 1800s.

Lilyvale

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
East London district. No further details found. CJB

Linmeyer 1947

Transvaal (post 1994 Gauteng)
The picturesque Johannesburg suburb of Linmeyer was named after Lynnie Meyer, real name Elizabeth Magdalena Meyer the daughter in law of Jan Petrus Meyer the owner of the original farm Klipriviersberg on which the suburb was built.

Loeriesfontein 1894

Cape (post 1994 Northern Cape)
Town about 90 km north-west of Calvinia and 122 km north-east of Vanrhynsdorp. Attained municipal status in 1958. Said to have been named after large numbers of louries (Turacus corythaix), 'loerie' in Afrikaans, formerly occurring there. Conversely, it has been pointed out that louries do not occur here, and that the name is derived from the Afrikaans verb loer, 'peer', 'peep', 'spy'. The town grew around a general store established in 1894 by a travelling Bible salesman, named Fredrick Turner, the son of the sister of Charles Spurgeon. He came from Norwich, England. The store still exists. It is currently owned by Victor Haupt, the grandson of Fredrick Turner.

Louis Trichardt 1899

Transvaal (post 1994 Limpopo)
Louis Tregardt (1783-1838) Louis Trichardt (formerly Trichardtsdorp) named after the Voortrekker leader.

Loxton 1899

Cape (post 1994 Northern Cape)
Town in the Victoria West district, 68 km south-east of Carnarvon and 126 km north of Beaufort West. It was established on the farm Phezantefontein in 1899 and became a municipality in 1905. Named after the owner of the farm, Algernon Edgar Loxton. Important wool pro- ducing centre.

Lutzville

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
A settlement in West Coast District Municipality. Established in August 1923 as Vlermuisklip, but later (~1950) renamed after its founder, Johan J Lutz

Lydenburg 1849

Transvaal (post 1995 Mpumalanga)
Today known as Mashishing
Mashishing, later renamed Lydenburg was colonised in 1849 by a group of Voortrekkers under the leadership of Andries Potgieter when they abandoned their previous settlement Ohrigstad (to the north) due to a malaria epidemic. The town became the capital of the Lydenburg Republic ('De Republiek Lydenburg in Zuid Afrika') in 1856 and later in 1857 joined the Republic of Utrecht but in 1860 both these republics joined the Zuid Afrikaanse Republiek (ZAR). The town became the capital of the Lydenburg District of the South African Republic (ZAR).

M

Macleantown 1881

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
Village 34 km north-west of East London and 46 km south-east of Stutterheim. Named in April 1881 after Colonel John Maclean (1810-1874), Chief Commissioner of British Caffraria from 1852 and Lieutenant-Governor of that territory from March 1860 to December 1864

Maclear 1876

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
(officially renamed Nqanqarhu on 23 February 2021)
Small town near the Mooi River (a tributary of the Tsitsa River), 172 km north of East London and 80 km north-east of Elliot. It was founded in 1876 as a military camp, called Nqanqaru Drift and developed rapidly, reaching municipal status in 1916. Nqanqarhu was previously named after Sir Thomas Maclear (1794-1879), a famous astronomer who laid the foundation for a trigonometrical survey of the Cape Colony. It lies just north-east of Ugie. The land to the east and south was part of the former homeland of Transkei. The first white man to settle in the present Maclear district was the medical doctor and missionary Rev. William Murray. He was born on 15 July 1837 at Newdeer near Tillinamoult, New Pitsligo in the county Aberdeenshire in Scotland. He was the son of John and Isabella Murray., John was a shoemaker and farmer who rented a small plot on the banks of the Ugie River See http://www.maclear.co.za/FirstWhite.htm; https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780191882913.00...

Mafeking 1852

Transvaal (post 1994 North West
Mahikeng, still commonly known as Mafikeng and previously Mafeking is the capital city of the North-West Province of South Africa. WIKI

Maitland

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
Named after Sir Peregrine Maitland who was governor of the Cape in the mid 1840s.

Majuba

Natal (post 1994 KwaZulu-Natal)
Mountain 2 146 m high, 14 km south of Volksrust and about 30 km north- north-west of Newcastle. The name is of Zulu origin and means 'doves', 'hill of doves', or 'dove-cote'. This was the site of a famous battle on 27 February 1881 in which 92 British troops under General Sir Pomeroy Colley were killed and 134 wounded when they were attacked by Boer forces under General Piet Joubert, who had stalked them in the dark. Also encountered as Amajuba

Malmesbury 1744

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
The first settlers established themselves in the town in 1744. The settlement was given its present name in 1829 during a visit by the Governor of the Cape, who named it after his father-in-law the James Harris, 1st Earl of Malmesbury.

Marabastad 1868

Transvaal (post 1994 Limpopo)
Now Eerstegoud 1871

Village 14 km south-west of Pietersburg. Laid out in 1868, it was at first called Marabastad. At the request of the inhabitants the name was changed about 1954 to Eerstegoud, Afrikaans for 'first gold', in memory of the discovery in 1871 of the first gold in the Transvaal at Eersteling by Edward Button

Marchand

Cape (post 1994 Northern Cape)

Marquard 1905

Orange Free State (post 1994 Free State)
Town on the Laaispruit, 169 km east-north- east of Bloemfontein and 45 km south-west of Senekal. It was established in 1905 on the farm Varschfontein and attained municipal status in the same year. Named after J J T Marquard, minister of the Dutch Reformed Church in Winburg, who had pleaded for the establishment of the town.

Marydale 1902

Cape (post 1994 Northern Cape)
Feorly Draghoender
Village 75 km north-west of Prieska and 120 km south-east of Upington. Established in 1902 on the farm Kalkput and named after Mary Snyman, wife of the owner. Marydale was donated as 11 undeveloped plots to the NGK by GP Snyman after he finished surveying his farm, Kalkput, in 1903.

Matatiele 1874

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
Town 27 km south of Qacha's Nek and 29 km west-north-west of Cedarville. It was established in 1874 and attained municipal status in 1904. The name is derived from Sotho mada-i-yila or matato-a-ile, meaning 'the ducks have flown'.

McGregor 1861

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
The village was established in 1861 and was originally called Lady Grey. It was renamed in 1905 in honour of Rev. Andrew McGregor, who had been the Dutch Reformed Church minister of the Robertson District for forty years.

Melsetter

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)

Merweville 1904

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
Village 45 km north-west of Prince Albert Road and 130 km south-east of Beaufort West. It was established on the farm Vanderbylskraal in 1904 and administered by a village management board from 1921. Named after the Reverend P van der Merwe (1860-1940), minister at Beaufort West of the Dutch Reformed Church, and chairman of the church council which established the town

Meyerton 1891

Transvaal (post 1994 Gauteng)
With the discovery of gold in the Witwatersrand area in the late 1800s, a further discovery was made called “Black Reef”, which ran along the bank of the Klip River. Johannes Petrus Meyer, a council member for the Klip River District had a vision for a town in this area. The town of Meyerton was officially proclaimed on 6 June 1891. It acquired municipal status in 1961. It has a population of 12,000 and sits on the Klip River, a tributary of the Vaal River.

Middelburg 1852

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
In 1837 the Cape Colony government proclaimed the district of Colesberg, and established the Town of Middelburg in 1852, so named since it is midway between Graaff-Reinet and Colesberg. (It is also approximately halfway between Port Elizabeth and Bloemfontein, as well as between Johannesburg and Cape Town.)

Middelburg 1860

Transvaal (post 1995 Mpumalanga)
Initially established as a halfway station between Lydenburg and Pretoria by the Republic of Lydenburg in 1860. That republic merged with South African Republic (ZAR) soon afterwards. The proposed town was established on two farms, Klipfontein and Keerom but when the Dutch Reformed Church established a church town next door on the farm Sterkfontein, the town would be moved there. It was established as Nasareth, (root from dry land), in 1864 by the Voortrekkers on the banks of the Klein Olifants River. It was changed in 1872 to Middelburg to mark its location between the Transvaal capital Pretoria, and the gold mining town of Lydenburg. The Dutch Reform Church building was built in 1890. The British built a large concentration camp in Middelburg during the Second Boer War. The Memorial Museum was built at the site next to the 1,381 graves of women and children who died in the concentration camp

Modjadjiskloof 2004

Transvaal (post 1994 Limpopo)
See under former name Duiwelskloof

Mogwadi

Transvaal (post 1994 Limpopo)
Previously Dendron

Small town located about 61 km northwest of Polokwane. It was laid out on the farm Duitsland and then managed by a health committee. The former name is derived from the Greek word for ‘tree’ and refers to the abundance of indigenous trees in the area.

Mokopane

Transvaal (post 1994 Limpopo)
Officially renamed from Potgietersrus in 2003

Montagu 1851

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
Founded on the farm "Uitvlugt" in 1851, and is known for its hot mineral springs and scenic mountains. Town 195 km north-east of Cape Town. Laid out on the farm Uitvlugt before 1851, it was administered by a village management board from 1881 and became a municipality in 1895. Named in 1851 after John Montagu (1797-1853), Colonial Secretary at the Cape from 1843 to 1853. Renowned as a health centre with mineral baths

Moorreesburg 1879

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
Town in the Malmesbury district, 105 km north-east of Cape Town and 30 km north of Malmesbury. It was laid out in 1879 on the farm Hooikraal, was administered by a village management board from 1882 and attained municipal status in 1909. Named after Johannes Carolus le Febre Moorrees (1807-1885), minister of the Swartland congregation from 1833 to 1881

Mosselbaai 1848

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
Mossel Bay (Afrikaans: Mosselbaai)

Inlet on the southern coast, 409 km east of Cape Town, between Fish Bay and Victoria Bay. It was named Aguada de Sao Bras by Vasco da Gama in 1497, Golfo dos Vaqueiros by Joao da Nova in 1501, and Mosselbaai by the Dutch navigator Paulus van Caerden in July 1601, because mussels (Dutch mossels) were all he could find to replenish the ship's stores Town Mossel Bay - Town 409 km east of Cape Town, 90 km south of Oudtshoorn and 55 km south-west of George. It was founded in 1848 and became a municipality in 1852. Originally named Aliwal, it was renamed after the bay to avoid confusion with Aliwal North. The form Mosselbaai is preferred for official purposes.

Mqanduli

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
Thembuland

Village 30 km south of Umtata and 22 km north-east of Elliotdale. Named after a nearby hill; of Xhosa origin, the name is said to mean 'grindstone-maker', after a person living there.

N

Namakwaland

Cape (post 1994 Northern Cape)
"Nama-kwa" meaning Nama Khoe people's land, is an arid region of Namibia and South Africa, extending along the west coast over 1,000 km (600 mi) and covering a total area of 440,000 km2 (170,000 sq mi)

Napier 1838

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
Founded in 1838 through a dispute between two neighbours, Michiel van Breda and Pieter Voltelyn van der Byl, over the location of the community church. Michiel van Breda wanted the church sited on his farm, Langefontein, while Pieter Voltelyn van der Byl wanted it built on his property, Klipdrift. Neither van Breda nor van der Byl would give way, so churches were built in both places, the town of Bredasdorp growing around van Breda’s church and the town of Napier founded around Van der Byl’s church, and being named after Sir George Thomas Napier, the British governor of the Cape Province at that time. A village management board was instituted in 1896 and municipal status attained in 1938. Named in March 1840 after Sir George Thomas Napier (1784- 1855), Governor of the Cape Colony from 1837 to 1844.

Nelspruit

Transvaal (post 1995 Mpumalanga)
Now Mbombela (previously known and mostly known as Nelspruit),
founded as Nelspruit in 1895 by three brothers of the Nel family who grazed their cattle around the site in the winter months. During the Boer War, Nelspruit served briefly as the seat of government for the South African Republic, an independent Boer republic (not to be confused with the Republic of South Africa).)

Newlands

(Cape Town) Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
Willem Adriaan van der Stel, Governor of the colony at the time, was granted land for an estate in 1700 which he named De Nieuwe Land or Nieuwland. The estate was sold in 1791 and changed hands a number of times until 1826. In the 1860s the estate was leased to the British Colonial Government so as to act as a country residence for Cape Governors during which time it is thought that Newlands Village was established.

Newlands, 1897

Transvaal (post 1994 Gauteng)
Johannesburg, a suburb of Johannesburg
Prior to the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand in 1886, the suburb lay on land on one of the original farms called Waterval. The suburb was established in 1897 by J.J.P. Ackermann

Newlands

Transvaal (post 1994 Gauteng)
Pretoria, a suburb of Pretoria

Nuweveld 1760

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
Region north of the Nuweveld Mountains and south of Loxton. Derived from Dutch, this Afrikaans name means 'new field' and was probably given because it was different from that previously known to the stock-farmers. It was first settled about 1760. The Nuweveld Mountains take their name from it

Noordhoek 1743

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
The name "Noordhoek" was taken from Dutch and literally means "north corner". It was given this name in 1743 as being the northern corner of the Slangkop farm. The first permanent resident of European origin is Jaco Malan who built his house there. In 1857, the region was divided into six plots, most of which were bought by a single family, that of the de Villiers.

Noordhoek (2)

Orange Free State (post 1994 Free State)

A suburb of the city of Bloemfontein. Akrikaans "North corner.

Noupoort 1937

Cape (post 1994 Northern Cape)
Town 54 km south of Colesberg and 45 km north of Rosmead Junction. It was laid out on a portion of the farm Caroluspoort, was administered by a village management board from 1937 and attained municipal status in 1942. Afrikaans for 'narrow pass', the name refers to a gap in the Carlton Hills 27 km to the north-west.

O

Ohrigstad 1845

Transvaal (post 1994 Limpopo)
The Amsterdam merchant Georgius Ohrig WIKI (1805-1852) equipped in 1842 and 1843 the brig 'Brazilie' to South Africa and loaded her with a thousand and one articles which would presumably be welcome to the Voortrekkers, paper, ink and bibles included. The 'Brazilie' visited Port Natal in 1842 and 1843 'with J.A. Smellekamp (1812-66) as supercargo. The first visit excited the Voortrekkers. At the second visit the British had just occupied Port Natal and they commanded the Dutch ship to depart immediately. It sailed to Delagoa Bay to trade there with the Transvalers, but both voyages were commercially unsuccessful. Ohrig lost f.35 000, went bankrupt, emigrated to South Africa, but did not proceed past Cape Town and died there in poverty. His name is preserved in the name of the village of Ohrigstad in Eastern Transvaal, which was founded by the Voortrekkers in 1845

Olifantshoek 1912

Cape (post 1994 Northern Cape)
Georgius Ohrig WIKI (1805-1852)The town was officially founded in 1912. The town was allegedly named after the tusk of an elephant that was used to purchase the farm on which the town was built. Many other elephant bones were found in the area.

Oudtshoorn 1750s

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
The pioneer farmers in the area that would be known as Oudtshoorn arrived in the 1750s, and became well-established in the area by the end of the 18th century. In addition to rearing livestock, they cultivated wheat and barley, made wine and brandy, and grew tobacco as well as a variety of soft fruit. As market opportunities in neighbouring districts such as George and Mossel Bay developed, the economic benefit of mixed farming came to be understood and utilised. Farmer Cornelis P. Rademeyer was persuaded by residents in 1838 to make some of his farmland along the Hartebees River available for the construction of the first church in the area. On Sunday, 3 November 1839, the new Dutch Reformed church was inaugurated. For the next 40 years, it formed the centre of congregational life in the area. Oudtshoorn gradually grew around this church. During September 1847, following the "urgent wishes of [his] neighbours", C.P. Rademeyer requested permission from the Cape government to turn his farm, Hartebees River, into a town, which he would name after Baron Pieter van Rheede van Oudtshoorn.

P

Paarl 1687

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
Abraham Gabemma Paarl is the third oldest European settlement in the Republic of South Africa (after Cape Town and Stellenbosch). Abraham Gabbema/Gabemma saw a giant granite rock glistening in the sun after a rainstorm and named it "de Diamondt en de Peerlberg” (Diamond and Pearl Mountain) from which Paarl is derived.

Pacaltsdorp 1818

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
Hooge Kraal

Village 8 km south of George. It was founded as a station of the London Missionary Society under the name Hooge Kraal in 1818. Named Pacaltsdorp after the death of the German missionary Carl August Pacalt (1773-1818) who worked there from 1813 to 1818. He was invited by Kaptein Dikkop, leader of the Khoikhoi tribe living in the area. He built up a congregation of about 300 Khoekhoen, slaves and free labourers. In 1886 a village management board was instituted. See UCCSA REVERENDS for more information on Carl August Pacalt. South African History Online

Pamperstad

Cape (post 1994 Northern Cape)
A town in Frances Baard District Municipality. lies in the northern part of the Vaalharts irrigation scheme and 14 km from Hartswater. Most residents are Tswana speaking. Pampierstad (now Thuso a Sotho or Tswana word meaning Help/Assistance) was established in the former homeland of Bophuthatswana in the late 1960s. It was located 31 km north-west of Jan Kempdorp and 12km west of Hartswater. The town was named after Lekwalo Pampiri who was also known as Pampier. He was the son of a local Chief, Chief Motlaadile. More at SA History

Papendorp

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
A small village located at the mouth of the Olifants River. Ebenhaezer, a Rhenish mission station established in 1831, is located a few km further inland, on the road between Papendorp and Lutzville.

Parow 1865

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
Parow is a northern suburb of Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa founded by Johann Heinrich Ferdinand Parow who arrived there in 1865. During a great storm in Table Bay in 1865, 19 ships were stranded. Amongst the many schooners was the Kehrwieder, the ship of Captain Johann Heinrich Ferdinand Parow. After being stranded, Captain Parow settled down in the Cape of Good Hope and married Johanna Wilhelmina Timmerman, the daughter of the family that helped Captain Parow after being stranded on the Cape coast. Parow quickly realised the potential value of the Tyger Valley area north of Cape Town and that the area held great opportunities for cattle trade. Captain Parow soon moved inland to this area and started selling ground in the area which is today known as Parow, which built up a great deal of wealth for the Captain. Parow died on 4 December 1910, in his house in Cassibelle, Maitland. His wife, JW Timmerman, died ten years prior. They did not have any children. Captain Parow's telescope is in the Town Hall of Parow. A village management board was established for Parow in 1902. It was upgraded to a municipality in 1939. The municipality was incorporated into the City of Tygerberg in 1996.The Parow valley was included in the Cape Town municipal land area in 1944. During the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, Parow was largely transforming into a commercial area, with many shopping centres opening around Voortrekker road, one of the longest roads in Cape Town.

Parys

Orange Free State (post 1994 Free State)

Situated on the banks of the Vaal River. The name of the town is the Afrikaans translation of Paris. The name was given by a German surveyor named Schilbach who had participated in the siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War and the location next to the Vaal reminded him of Paris on the River Seine. The area of Parys also includes the two townships Tumahole and Schonkenville. WIKI

Paulpietersburg 1888

Natal (post 1994 KwaZulu-Natal)
Town 72 km south of Piet Retief and 151 km north-east of Dundee. It was established in 1888, proclaimed a township in 1910, and attained municipal status in 1958. Named after President Paul Kruger and General Piet Joubert, it was first called Paulpietersrust, then Paulpietersdorp, and Paulpietersburg in 1896

Pearston 1859

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
Town 50 km north-west of Somerset East and 72 km south-east of Graaff Reinet. It was laid out in 1859 on the farm Rustenburg, administered by a village management board from 1861 and became a municipality in April 1894. Named after John Pears, Dutch Reformed minister at Somerset East and first relieving minister of Pearston

Peddie 1835

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
Town 55 km south-west of King William's Town and 67 km east of Grahamstown. It developed from a frontier post established in 1835 and named Fort Peddie, and became a municipality in 1905. Named after Lieutenant-Colonel John Peddie (?-1840), who led the 72nd Highlanders against the Xhosa in the Sixth Frontier War.

Philadelphia 1863

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
Village 33 km south-west of Malmesbury. It was developed from a parish of the Dutch Reformed Church established in 1863. The name is of biblical origin (Rev. 3:7-13) and means 'brotherly love.'

Philippolis

Transvaal (post 1994 Gauteng)
Town 58 km south-west of Trompsburg and 56 km north-north-east of Colesberg. It was founded in 1823 as a station of the London Missionary Society as a mission station serving the local Griqua people. It became a municipality in 1862. Named after Dr John Philip (1775- 1851), Superintendent of the London Missionary Society, who selected the site. At first, the area was referred to as Southern Transorangia. Adam Kok II, a Griqua leader, settled in Philippolis with his people in 1826 and became the protector of the mission station. Kok II and some of his followers moved to Philippolis from Griquatown (about 200 km away) following conflict in the area. When Adam Kok II was given possession of the mission station it was on condition that he promised to protect the San against the aggression of the Boers and the London Missionary Society hoped that the Griqua would promote peace in the region. However, Philippolis became a base from which a number of deadly commandos against the San people were organised within a year of the Griqua arrival. This violated the agreement made between the London Missionary Society and Adam Kok II and eventually the San were driven out of the area. Kok's son, Adam Kok III and his followers later migrated across the Drakensberg mountains to settle in Kokstad in Griqualand East.

Philipstown

Cape (post 1994 Northern Cape)
Town 56 km north-east of De Aar. It was established in May 1863 on the farm Rietfontein and became a municipality in August 1876. Named after Sir Philip Edmond Wodehouse (1811- 1887), Governor of the Cape Colony from 1861 to 1870

Pietermaritzburg 1839

Natal (post 1994 KwaZulu-Natal)
Founded by the Voortrekkers, following the defeat of Dingane at the Battle of Blood River, and was the capital of the short-lived Boer republic, Natalia. Britain took over Pietermaritzburg in 1843 and it became the seat of the Natal Colony's administration with the first lieutenant-governor, Martin West, making it his home. Fort Napier, named after the governor of the Cape Colony, Sir George Thomas Napier, was built to house a garrison. In 1893, Natal received responsibility for their own government and an assembly building was built along with the city hall. There are two theories about the origin of the name. One is that it was named after Piet Retief and Gert (Gerrit) Maritz, two Voortrekker leaders. The other is that it was originally named after Piet Retief alone, since his full name was Pieter Maurits Retief, - the original name was "Pieter Maurits Burg", later transliterated to the current name

Pietersburg 1884

Transvaal (post 1994 Limpopo)
Polokwane 2005
Town 275 km north-east of Pretoria and 58 km north-east of Potgietersrus. It was established on the farm Sterkloop in 1884, became the seat of magistracy in 1886 and attained municipal status in September 1903. Named after General Petrus Jacobus Joubert Commandant-General Piet Joubert] (1831-1900), Acting State President. The British built a concentration camp at Pietersburg during the Boer War to incarcerate almost 4,000 Boer women and children. The town officially became a city on 23 April 1992; on 25 February 2005, the government declared the official name of the city as Polokwane, a name that was generally in use by the speakers of Northern Sotho.

Piketberg 1836

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
Piquetberg

Piquetberg commando was established in 1711. The name was used used on a map in 1724. The Piketberg church existed from 1833 before the actual town was established. Founded in 1836 when Sir Benjamin D'Urban donated the farm “Grotefontein” to the church board. The 1st stands were sold in in 1841. Die kerk het die dorp tot 1901 bestuur. Die spoorlyn na Bitterfontein het die dorp in 1902 bereik. Die naam is afgelei van die ou Nederlandse woord picquet wat van Frans geleen is en militêre wagpos beteken. So 'n pos is reeds in die 1670's aan die voet van die berge gestig om die boere te beskerm teen strooptogte van die Khoikhoi-stamme. Soos op baie ander dorpies in Suid-Afrika is die grootste gebou die NG kerkgebou. Piketberg spog met 'n besonder indrukwekkende voorbeeld wat deur die argitek Carl Otto Hager in sy kenmerkende Neogotiese styl ontwerp is.

The original spelling of the name was "Piquetberg". The town is in the foothills of the Piketberg mountains, a range of low mountains formed from Table Mountain Sandstone. The area was inhabited by the Khoikhoi and the San before the arrival of 21 Dutch, Huguenot and German families in 1705-06, and there is still well-preserved San rock art in the mountains. There was once a small military post in the town to protect the livestock of farmers from raids by the Khoikhoi. By the 1730s the population had grown to 35 families and around 400 White people. The Holtzhausen, Reyneke, Joubert, van Rooyen, Niewoudt and Visagie families are among the earliest settler-pioneers of 1705-06

Pilgrims Rest 1873

Transvaal (post 1995 Mpumalanga)
Protected as a provincial heritage site The alluvial gold was discovered by prospector Alec Patterson. He panned Pilgrim's Creek, as it became known, when the nearby MacMac diggings became too crowded. He kept his find a secret, but a gold rush resulted when fellow prospector William Trafford registered his claim with the Gold Commissioner at MacMac. After it was officially declared a gold field in September 1873, the town suddenly grew to 1,500 inhabitants searching for alluvial gold. The diggers called it Pilgrim's Rest because here, at last, after so many false trails and faded dreams they had truly found their home.

Pinelands 1919

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
Suburb of Cape Town, 8 km east of Cape Town. It was laid out in 1919 by the British town-planner, Sir Ebenezer Howard.on a section of the Uitvlugt forest reserve, administered by a local board from July 1921, and became a municipality in May 1948. More at [ WIKI]

Pinetown 1848

Natal (post 1994 KwaZulu-Natal)

Town 19 km north-west of Durban. It was laid out in 1848 on the farm Salt River Poort, administered by a health committee from 1925, proclaimed a township in 1942 and a borough in 1949. Named after Sir Benjamin Pine (1809-1901), Lieutenant-Governor of Natal from 1849 to 1856 and Governor from 1873 to 1875.

Pirie 1830

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
Region in the Amatole Mountains, 25km north west of King William's Town, at 32 47S, 27 13E, incorporating an indigenous forest reserve. Named after the Pirie Missionary Station situated at 4km from Mngqesha and 17km north west of King William's Town, established in 1830 by Reverend Dr. John Ross and named in honour of Revd Alexander Pirie, then Secretary of the Glasgow Missionary Society, and one of its founders. From - New Dictionary of South African Place Names Peter E. Raper

Pondoland 1820

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
The San and Khoikhoi people had inhabited the region since ancient times in scattered nomadic groups. About 500 AD the Mpondo people settled in the area. Geographically Mpondoland was a remote area, not strongly affected by the events in the rest of South Africa. During the centuries of European navigation towards the Indian Ocean, Portuguese ships, as well as ships from other colonial empires (such as the Grosvenor) ran aground at different spots of the coast of Mpondoland. Some of the castaways stayed in Mpondoland and were later absorbed into Mpondo communities. The Mpondo clan of abeLungu traces its ancestry to a castaway English girl named Bessie who married the son of Mpondo Chief Mathayi of the amaTshomane.

In 1820, Mpondo King Faku granted permission to the Wesleyans to establish a mission within his territory. A few decades later some German settlers came to Mpondoland and by 1885 German Lieutenant Emil Nagel tried unsuccessfully to establish a German colony. In 1886 the British segregated Xesibeland, traditionally part of the Mpondo Kingdom, and armed Mpondo people resisted the move by invading the territory, burning kraals and causing disorder. The segregation of Xesibeland was a first step prior to its annexation to the Cape Colony at the end of the same year. Finally Mpondoland as well became a British protectorate and in 1894 the amaMpondo were forced to accept the annexation of their own region to the Cape Colony

Port Alfred 1820

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
Alfred, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Port Alfred was established in the early 1820s by British settlers who were moved into the area by Lord Charles Somerset as a buffer between the Western Cape and the Ama Xhosa. Originally it was two separate towns (settlers arriving on the west bank in 1820 named their settlement Port Kowie, and those arriving on the east bank named theirs Port Frances). In 1839, William Cock started to block the natural river mouth to the east and canalise the present opening to the sea. This allowed high-masted sailing ships with their heavy cargo to dock at the wharf. Later, in 1860, when Queen Victoria’s son Prince Alfred visited, the name was changed to honour him.

Port Beaufort 1817

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
A seaside resort, formerly also a harbor, on the north bank of the Breede River estuary. The settlement was named after '"Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort"', the father of Lord Charles Somerset, governor of the Cape Colony, South Africa, from 1814 to 1826. Joseph Barry's business had a large influence on the city. He came from London to South Africa in 1819 and quickly saw that it was easier to transport goods by sea between Cape Town and the Overberg. It took oxcarts three weeks to travel from Cape Town to Swellendam. Barry immediately built a harbour on the north shore of the Breede River, which became Port Beaufort.

Port Elizabeth 1820 "PE"

Cape (post 1994 Eastern Cape)
(post 2020 Gqeberha )’’ Officially renamed Gqeberha in 2019
Also called Fort Frederick. Early name of Port Elizabeth was taken from a fort erected in 1798 to ward off attacks by the French. Named after Frederick, the Duke of York. Sir Rufane Donkin (1773-1841) was given the task of organising the 1820 Settlers in Port Elizabeth. He was officially the first governor of Port Elizabeth from the 6 June 1820 - 1821. He married Elizabeth Markham in Yorkshire who travelled with him to India where she became seriously ill and died in August 1818 after their first son George David was born. Sir Rufane Donkin built a memorial to his wife Elizabeth known as the Donkin Memorial on top of a hill above the city center and named the city, Port Elizabeth, in her memory.

Postmasburg 1890

Cape (post 1994 Northern Cape)
Town 67 km north of Griquatown and 58 km west-south-west of Daniel- skuil. Originally a station of the London Missionary Society called Sibiling, it became a Griqua village with the name Blinkklip. In 1890 it acquired its present name, and achieved municipal status in 1936. Named after the Reverend Dir Postma (1818-1890), founder of the Reformed Church

Potchefstroom 1838

Transvaal (post 1994 North West
Potchefstroom is 'n stad in die Noordwes-provinsie van Suid-Afrika. Dit was die oudste dorp in die ou Transvaal-provinsie. Dit is in November 1838 deur Voortrekkerleier Hendrik Potgieter aan die oewers van die Mooirivier gestig. Die stad staan ook as die "Stad van Deskundigheid" bekend. Potchefstroom is 'n groot akademiese dorp. Die Teologiese Skool van die Gereformeerde Kerke in Suid-Afrika, wat in 1869 op Burgersdorp gestig is, is in 1905 na Potchefstroom verskuif. In 1919 het "Het Potchefstroom Universiteitskollege voor Christelike Hooger Onderwijs" ontstaan uit die Literariese Departement van die Teologiese Skool. In 1951 is die PUK erken as ‘n selfstandige universiteit wat bekend sou staan as die Potchefstroomse Universiteit vir Christelike Hoër Onderwys (PU vir CHO). Die PU vir CHO het in 2004 met die University of the Northwest in Mahikeng saamgesmelt om die Noordwes-Universiteit te word en sou voortaan bekend staan as die Potchefstroomkampus van die Noordwes-Universiteit. Hierdie multikampus en multidiverse universiteit het tot stand gekom nadat die regering verreikende veranderings in tersiëre onderwys aangebring het en wetgewing deurgevoer het wat die aantal tersiêre inrigtings in die land verminder het. Dit het die einde van die Christelike inslag van die universiteit beteken.Die Potchefstroomkampus het 33 000 studente.

Potchefstroom, founded in 1838 by the Voortrekkers, is the second-oldest European settlement in the Transvaal. The oldest European settlement is Klerksdorp, about 40 km (25 mi) west. Some historians challenge this, because the first settlement was in the "upper regions of the Schoon Spruit" (believed to have been between Klerksdorp and Potchefstroom). However, Potchefstroom was the first to develop into a town. Until 1840, the towns of Potchefstroom and Winburg and their surrounding territories were a Boer Republic known as the Republic of Winburg-Potchefstroom. Voortrekker leader Andries Hendrik Potgieter was elected as chief commandant. In October 1840, after a meeting between Potgieter, Andries Pretorius and G. R. van Rooyen, it was decided that Potchefstroom would unite with "Pieter Mouriets Burg" (Pietermaritzburg). On 16–17 January 1852, the Sand River Convention was signed between Andries Pretorius (representing the Boers) and Major W. S. Hogge and C. M. Owen (representing Britain). According to the convention, the British government would allow the immigrant farmers north of the Vaal River to govern themselves with no interference from either side. This signalled the establishment of the Zuid-Afrikaanse Republiek (ZAR) (South African Republic). In Article 17 of the Constitution of the ZAR dated 18 February 1858 (which was accepted in Rustenburg), it was stated that "Potchefstroom, located on the Mooi River, would be the capital of the Republic and that Pretoria would be the seat of government".[4] In May 1860, Potchefstroom became the "chief city" of the republic and the capital moved to Pretoria. On 16 December 1880, the First Boer War began when the Boers laid siege to the old fort. The siege ended amicably on 23 March 1881.

Potgietersrus 1852

Transvaal (post 1994 Limpopo)
Mokopane in 2003
Town 220 km north-east of Pretoria, 58 km south-west of Pietersburg and 93 km north-east of Nylstroom. Originally established in 1852, it was abandoned because of fever and hostile local inhabitants around 1870. It was re-established after 1890, administered by a village council from 1904, and acquired municipal status in 1935. At first it bore the name Vredenburg but on 25 September 1858 it was renamed Pietpotgietersrust after Pieter Johannes, son of the Voortrekker leader Andries Hendrik Potgieter. The name was later shortened to Potgietersrust and in 1939 the final t was dropped. The town name was changed to Mokopane in 2003 in honour of a local Shumayela Ndebele leader, King Mngombane Kekana, who ruled the area before being conquered by the Voortrekkers.

Pretoria 1855

Transvaal (post 1994 Gauteng)
Pretoria was founded in 1855 by Marthinus Pretorius, a leader of the Voortrekkers, who named it after his father Andries Wilhelmus JacobusPretorius and chose a spot on the banks of the Apies rivier (Afrikaans for "Monkeys river") to be the new capital of the South African Republic. The elder Pretorius had become a national hero of the Voortrekkers after his victory over Dingane and the Zulus in the Battle of Blood River in 1838. The elder Pretorius also negotiated the Sand River Convention (1852), in which the United Kingdom acknowledged the independence of the Transvaal. It became the capital of the South African Republic on 1 May 1860. The founding of Pretoria as the capital of the South African Republic can be seen as marking the end of the Boers' settlement movements of the Great Trek.

Prins Albert 1762

Cape (post 1994 Western Cape)
Prince Albert
Prins Albert lê aan die voet van die Swartberg en by die noordelike ingang tot die Swartbergpas, op 'n hoogte van 650 meter bo seevlak. Die dorp het sy landelike 19de eeuse karakter met sy kenmerkende grasgedekte gewelhuise bewaar. Die dorp het aanvanklik as 'n kerkdorpie ontwikkel. Die leenplaas De Qweekvalleij is op 2 Desember 1762 deur die eerste blanke pionier in die gebied, Zagarias de Beer betrek. Die plaas was 'n halfwegstasie tussen Kaapstad en Graaff-Reinet, en sy seun Samuel het hier later vername besoekers ontvang, waaronder die Kaapse goewerneurs Joachim van Plettenberg en Jan Willem Janssens. Laasgenoemde is van die bekende reisiger en natuurkundige dr. Hinrich Lichtenstein vergesel. Die Kaapse owerheid het egter op 31 Julie 1845 ter ere van koningin Victoria se eggenoot die naam Prins Albert aan die nuwe dorp toegeken.Die dorp was in 1891 midde-in 'n goudstormloop toe 'n goudklont naby die dorp ontdek is

Prince Albert was founded in 1762 on a farm called Queekvalleij that had been on loan to Zacharias and Dina de Beer since 1762. Originally known as Albertsburg, when it obtained municipal status in 1845 it was renamed Prince Albert in honour of Queen Victoria's consort, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg. Prince Albert was historically part of the Cape Colony. During the latter part of the century, a nugget of gold was discovered on a farm in the area. Due to the fact that a similar occurrence had led to the Gold Rush in the Witwatersrand, this new discovery precipitated a similar population boom. However, the prosperity up North was not to be shared in Prince Albert and the gold mined turned out to be minimal. Prince Albert became a British garrison during the Second Boer War in 1899. The town was the site of several clashes between the British and the Boers during this period.

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