Kokstad
| Kokstad | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Coordinates | 30 ° 33 ′ S , 29 ° 25 ′ E | ||
| Basic data | |||
| Country | South Africa | ||
| KwaZulu-Natal | |||
| District | Harry Gwala | ||
| ISO 3166-2 | ZA-KZN | ||
| local community | Greater Kokstad | ||
| height | 1280 m | ||
| Residents | 51,561 (2011) | ||
| founding | 1869 | ||
| Website | www.kokstad.org.za (English) | ||
.jpg) Northern outskirts of Kokstad
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Kokstad is a town with 51,561 inhabitants (as of 2011) in the municipality of Greater Kokstad , Harry Gwala District , KwaZulu-Natal Province in South Africa . The city is the seat of the local government and is conveniently located on the N2 , between Mount Currie (2200 meters) and the Ingeli Mountains at an altitude of 1280 meters. The town of Matatiele is 64 kilometers away. Kokstad is the supply center for the surrounding farm region, where mainly cattle and sheep breeding and dairy farming are carried out.
history
The city is named after the Griqua guide Adam Kok III . In 1861 he and his people from Philippolis in the southern Orange Free State - where there had been conflicts with the Voortrekkers - moved to the uninhabited land on the other side of the Drakensberg . Each head of the Griqua family received 1200 hectares of land. However, many of the Griqua became impoverished, addicted to alcohol, or sold their farms to white farmers. Desperate about these social grievances, the Griqua asked Reverend William Dower of the London Mission Society in 1869 to open a mission station in what was then Griqualand East . He agreed and the settlement was built right on the bank of the Umzimhlava River.
In the following years the situation around Kokstad stabilized. With the influx of wealthier white settlers, the place experienced a further boom. In 1874 a hotel was opened and a local newspaper was published. In 1884 a Roman Catholic church was built, which was replaced by a new building from 1924.
Attractions
- East Griqualand Museum , a national monument, it documents the history of the Griqua people and the city
- St. Patrick's Cathedral (1924) of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kokstad
- Adam Kok's Monument , the memorial of the Griqua guide
- Mount Currie Nature Reserve , five kilometers north of Kokstad on a reservoir. Water sports are possible in summer. Adam Kok's Laager is also located in the reserve , the campsite to which Adam Kok took his 2000 Griqua and his herds of cattle in 1862.
Web links
- Official website (English)
- The Griquas of Nomansland (English)
- The trade tokens of Strachan and Company (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ 2011 census , accessed November 17, 2013