Burgersdorp is a medium-sized town in

Walter Sisulu Walter Max Ulyate Sisulu (18 May 1912 – 5 May 2003) was a South African anti-apartheid activist and member of the African National Congress (ANC). Between terms as ANC Secretary-General (1949–1954) and ANC Deputy President (1991–1994), h ...

in the

Joe Gqabi District Municipality Joe Gqabi District Municipality is one of the seven districts of Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The seat of Joe Gqabi is Barkly East. The majority of its 349,768 people speak IsiXhosa ( 2011 census). Before 1 February 2010 it was known a ...

of the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

province of South Africa. In 1869 a Theological Seminary was established here by the ''Gereformeerde Kerk'', but in 1905 it was moved to

Potchefstroom Potchefstroom (, colloquially known as Potch) is an academic city in the North West Province of South Africa. It hosts the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. Potchefstroom is on the Mooi Rivier (Afrikaans for "pretty river" ...

, acting as an instrument in the formation of the PUK in 1919, then becoming the

Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education The Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education (abbreviated as PU for CHE) was a South African university located in Potchefstroom. Instruction was mainly in Afrikaans. In 2004, the university was merged with other institutions to c ...

in 1951. The

Afrikaner Bond The Afrikaner Bond (Afrikaans and Dutch for "Afrikaner Union"; South African Dutch: Afrikander Bond) was founded as an anti-imperialist political party in 19th century southern Africa. While its origins were largely in the Orange Free State, it ...

political party was founded in Burgersdorp in 1881.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, the town of Burgersdorp proper has a population of 5,240, while the adjacent

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

of Mzamomhle and Tembisa have populations of 4,656 and 6,094 respectively, giving the urban area a population of 15,990. Of this population 78.1% described themselves as

Black African Black is a Racialization, racialized classification of people, usually a Politics, political and Human skin color, skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have ...

, 11.98% as

Coloured Coloureds ( af, Kleurlinge or , ) refers to members of multiracial ethnic communities in Southern Africa who may have ancestry from more than one of the various populations inhabiting the region, including African, European, and Asian. South ...

and 9.4% as

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

. 69.2% spoke

Xhosa Xhosa may refer to: * Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa * Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people See als ...

as their

home language A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...

, 20.1% spoke

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

, 3.3% spoke

Sotho Sotho may refer to: *Sotho people (or ''Basotho''), an African ethnic group principally resident in South Africa, Lesotho and southern Botswana * Sotho language (''Sesotho'' or ''Southern Sotho''), a Bantu language spoken in southern Africa, an off ...

, 1.4% spoke

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

as their

and 6.0% spoke some other language.

Transport

Rail

The first rail connection to Burgersdorp was opened on 19 March 1885. Today

Shosholoza Meyl Shosholoza Meyl is a division of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) that operates long-distance (intercity) passenger rail services. It operates various train routes across South Africa, carrying approximately 4 million passengers ...

provides passenger rail service to Burgersdorp on its

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State (province), Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legisla ...

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

route.

Road

Burgersdorp is located on the junction of the R58 between

Aliwal North Aliwal North (officially Maletswai) is a town in central South Africa on the banks of the Orange River, Eastern Cape Province. It is a medium-sized commercial centre in the northernmost part of the Eastern Cape. History Sir Harry Smith, then ...

and

Venterstad Venterstad is a settlement in Walter Sisulu Local Municipality in Joe Gqabi District Municipality in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Town 43 km south-east of Norvalspont and 65 km west of Burgersdorp It was laid out in 1875 ...

; and the R391 leading to

Hofmeyr Hofmeyr is a small Karoo town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, 20 km west of the Bamboesberg mountain range. It lies 64 km north-east of Cradock at an altitude of 1,252 metres. According to the 2011 census, the population ...

Molteno Molteno (; lmo, label= Brianzöö, Mültée) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and a hill-top town in the Province of Lecco in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about southwest of Lecco. As of 31 December 2004, it h ...

and

Steynsburg Steynsburg is a small town in the Walter Sisulu Local Municipality of the Joe Gqabi District Municipality, Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Steynsburg is located on the intersection of the R56 and R390. The town lies south-west of Burg ...

Society

Sport

Match 18 of the

1910 British Lions tour to South Africa The 1910 British Isles tour to South Africa was the eighth tour by a British Isles rugby union team and the fourth to South Africa. It is retrospectively classed as one of the British Lions tours, as the Lions naming convention was not adopted ...

was played in Burgersdorp.

Museums, monuments and memorials

Ten of the Eastern Cape's provincial heritage sites can be found in Burgersdorp. They include the Christ Church, the Coetzee House, the De Bruin House, the Jubilee Fountain, the Old Goal, the Old Reformed Church Parsonage, the Old Reformed Church Theological Seminary as well as the three listed below in more detail.

Dutch Reformed Church

This church was declared a provincial heritage site in 1996.

Blockhouse

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

blockhouse A blockhouse is a small fortification, usually consisting of one or more rooms with loopholes, allowing its defenders to fire in various directions. It is usually an isolated fort in the form of a single building, serving as a defensive stro ...

overlooking the town, commonly known as the Sentinel was declared a provincial heritage site in 1939.

Dutch Language Monument

A monument to

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

, built in 1893 is located in the town. The monument depicts a woman pointing her finger at a book in her hands. This monument was declared a provincial heritage site in 1937. Although the main inscription on that monument refers to the ''Hollandse taal'' (Dutch language), it can be understood to mean

, because the ''Hollandse taal'' in South Africa was only split since 1925. But the monument is officially recognised as a monument to Dutch. The monument was damaged during the Anglo-Boer War, and Lord Milner had it removed. It was replaced with a replica in 1907. The original was later discovered in

King William's Town Qonce, formerly known as King William's Town, is a city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa along the banks of the Buffalo River. The city is about northwest of the Indian Ocean port of East London. Qonce, with a population of around ...

in 1939, and moved back to stand next to the replica in Burgersdorp. Some sources claim that Lord Milner had removed the original monument not because it was damaged, but because he was opposed to Dutch (and Afrikaans), and that the replica was built not by government but by a group of Afrikaners. Burgersdorp-Language Monument-002.JPG, The replica (''left'') and original (''right'') Dutch Language Monuments Burgersdorp-Sentinel-001.JPG, The Sentinel Blockhouse Burgersdorp-NGKerk-001.JPG, The Dutch Reformed Church

Education

Burgersdorp has 5 primary schools and 2 high schools *PRIMARY SCHOOLS* Mzimkhulu Primary School Mpumelelo Mfundisi Public Primary School Maruping Primary School Eureka Primary School Burgersdorp Laerskool *HIGH SCHOOLS* Ethembeni Senior Secondary School Burgersdorp Hoerskool

References

External links

Hoërskool Burgersdorp

Laerskool Burgersdorp

Burgersdorp.za.net

Name of Burgersdorp
Dictionary of Southern African Place Names, Raper P.E., 1987 {{Joe Gqabi District Municipality Populated places in the Walter Sisulu Local Municipality Populated places established in 1846 Populated places founded by Afrikaners 1846 establishments in the British Empire