, nickname =
, settlement_type = City
, motto =
Ex Oriente Lux
, image_skyline = Gobabis Namibia aerial.jpg
, imagesize = 300px
, image_caption = Aerial view in 2005
, image_flag =
, flag_size =
, image_seal =
, seal_size =
, image_shield = Gobabis COA.svg
, shield_size = 100px
, image_blank_emblem =
, blank_emblem_type =
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, image_map =
, mapsize =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Namibia
, pushpin_label_position = bottom
, pushpin_mapsize = 300
, pushpin_map_caption = Location in Namibia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name =
, subdivision_type1 =
Region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...
, subdivision_name1 =
Omaheke Region
Omaheke ( hz, Sandveld) is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, the least populous region. Its capital is Gobabis. It lies in eastern Namibia on the border with Botswana and is the western extension of the Kalahari desert. The self-governed v ...
, subdivision_type2 =
Constituency
, subdivision_name2 =
Gobabis Constituency Kalahari Constituency
, subdivision_type3 =
, subdivision_name3 =
, government_footnotes =
, government_type =
, leader_title =
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
, leader_name = Elvire Theron (
NUDO)
, leader_title1 =
Deputy Mayor
, leader_name1 = Elwin Gariseb (
SWAPO)
, established_title = Established
, established_date = 1856
, area_magnitude =
, unit_pref = Imperial
, area_footnotes =
, area_total_km2 =
, area_land_km2 =
, area_water_km2 =
, area_total_sq_mi =
, population_as_of = 2011
, population_footnotes =
, population_note =
, population_total = 19101
, population_density_km2 =
, population_density_sq_mi =
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, population_blank1_title = Ethnicities
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, timezone =
SAST
, utc_offset = +2
, coordinates =
, elevation_footnotes =
, elevation_m = 1440
, elevation_ft =
, postal_code_type =
, postal_code =
, area_code =
, blank_name =
Climate
Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologi ...
, blank_info =
BSh
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below Evapotranspiration#Potential evapotranspiration, potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a des ...
, blank1_name =
, blank1_info =
, website = https://gobabis.org
, footnotes =
, official_name =
Gobabis ( hz, Epako, naq, ǂKhoandabes) is a city
in eastern
Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
. It is the regional capital of the
Omaheke Region
Omaheke ( hz, Sandveld) is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, the least populous region. Its capital is Gobabis. It lies in eastern Namibia on the border with Botswana and is the western extension of the Kalahari desert. The self-governed v ...
, and the district capital of the
Gobabis electoral constituency. Gobabis is situated down the
B6 motorway from
Windhoek
Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 202 ...
to
Botswana
Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalaha ...
. The town is from the
Buitepos border post with Botswana, and serves as an important link to
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
on the tarred
Trans-Kalahari Highway. Gobabis is in the heart of the
cattle
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...
farming area. In fact Gobabis is so proud of its cattle farming that a statue of a large
Brahman
In Hinduism, ''Brahman'' ( sa, ब्रह्मन्) connotes the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality in the universe.P. T. Raju (2006), ''Idealistic Thought of India'', Routledge, , page 426 and Conclusion chapter part X ...
bull with the inscription "Cattle Country" greets visitors to the town. Gobabis also has its own local
Airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...
.
History
Etymology and pre-colonial history
The area around Gobabis and along the
Nossob River
The Nossob (also Nosob or Nossop) River (''ǂnuse ǃab'', Khoikhoi for black river) is a dry river bed in eastern Namibia and the Kalahari region of South Africa and Botswana. It covers a distance of 740 km and last flooded in 1989. The ri ...
had a strong population of elephants. The settlement itself was a base camp for
ivory
Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals i ...
hunters and a trading post for elephant tusks.
[Rosslyn Tatarik, "Welcome to the Cattle Country". The @vertiser (supplement to New Era on 1 March 2010)]
In 1856 a
mission station
A Christian mission is an organized effort for the propagation of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries, to carry on evangelism or other activities, such as ...
was established by one Friederich Eggert of the
Rhenish Missionary Society. In the latter half of the 19th century and the early 20th century several conflicts flared up between the
Ovambanderu and the Khauas Khoikhoi, as well as between the settlers and the indigenous people. Gobabis is in an area where the
Herero and the
Nama people fought wars against one another, as well as with settlers from the
Cape colony
The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with t ...
that occupied the land.
According to oral tradition, the earliest name for the settlement in this area was the
Khoekhoegowab
The Khoekhoe language (), also known by the ethnic terms Nama (''Namagowab'') , Damara (''ǂNūkhoegowab''), or Nama/Damara and formerly as Hottentot, is the most widespread of the non-Bantu languages of Southern Africa that make heavy use o ...
word ǂKhoandabes, ''the place where the elephant came to lick''. This reason for this name is speculated to be that elephant tusks that would crack in the dry and hot climate of the Omaheke were at times stored right in the settlement's well.
The
Herero called the place ''Epako''.
Later the settlement was referred to as "Gobabis" by the Whites, this expression was likely derived from goba (argue, quarrel) and bis (place): ''The place where people quarreled''. A common earlier interpretation of the name, ǂkhoa (Elephant) -bes (place), ''Elephant fountain'', was introduced by
Heinrich Vedder and gained wide acceptance. Vedder also opined that it was
Amraal Lambert,
Captain of the Kaiǀkhauan (Khauas Nama) who called the place Gobabis because he could not pronounce ''ǂKoabes''. Apart from linguistic problems, this interpretation was contradicted by an 1845 letter by Reverend Joseph Tindall, a
Wesleyan missionary, which states: "Reached Gobabis which I named 'Elephant's fountain'" - a place name like "Place of Altercation" would not bode too well for the missionary station he intended to establish.
Colonial
The Gobabis district was proclaimed by the
German authorities in February 1894 and in June the following year Gobabis was occupied by a German garrison. While the military fort, built in 1896–7, has long since disappeared, one of the few buildings dating back to that era is the
field hospital
A field hospital is a temporary hospital or mobile medical unit that takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent facilities. This term was initially used in military medicine (such as the Mobile A ...
, or Lazarett, which has been declared a national monument.
Geography
Climate
Gobabis has a
semi-arid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of sem ...
(''BSh'', according to the
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
), with hot summers and cool winters (with mild days and chilly nights). The average annual precipitation is .
Economy
![Sewage plant Gobabis (2018)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Sewage_plant_Gobabis_%282018%29.jpg)
Gobabis continues to grow as a town due to goods being transported from the mines of landlocked Botswana to the Namibian port of
Walvis Bay
Walvis Bay ( en, lit. Whale Bay; af, Walvisbaai; ger, Walfischbucht or Walfischbai) is a city in Namibia and the name of the bay on which it lies. It is the second largest city in Namibia and the largest coastal city in the country. The c ...
, and furthermore from consumer goods being imported into Namibia from
Gauteng
Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'.
Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...
in South Africa. The transport route is known as the
Trans-Kalahari Corridor
The Trans-Kalahari Corridor is a paved highway corridor that provides a direct route from Walvis Bay and Windhoek in central Namibia, through Botswana, to Pretoria in Gauteng province in South Africa. It initially cost approximately 850 million Nam ...
. Gobabis is connected to the
Namibian railway system. The passenger train that used to run to the capital Windhoek four times a week no longer takes passengers. The town hosts a state hospital, a state clinic and a private hospital, banking and shopping facilities.
Legare Stadium is located in the town.
Politics
Local
Gobabis is governed by a municipal council that has seven seats. The town has its own local party, the
Gobabis Residents' Association
The Gobabis Residents' Association (GRA) is a local political party in Gobabis, Namibia.
In the Namibian local and regional elections, 1998, 1998 municipal elections GRA won 3 out of 7 seats in the Gobabis council. After the elections, GRA teamed ...
(GRA) which won three council seats in the
1998 local authority election and one seat
in 2004.
The
2015 local authority election was won by
SWAPO
The South West Africa People's Organisation (, SWAPO; af, Suidwes-Afrikaanse Volks Organisasie, SWAVO; german: Südwestafrikanische Volksorganisation, SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former ind ...
which gained 3,077 votes and five seats. One seat each was won by the
Democratic Turnhalle Alliance
The Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), formerly the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA), is an amalgamation of political parties in Namibia, registered as one singular party for representation purposes. In coalition with the United Democratic ...
(DTA, 682 votes) and the
National Unity Democratic Organisation
The National Unity Democratic Organisation (NUDO) is a political party in Namibia. It has been represented in the National Assembly of Namibia and in the National Council of Namibia since it split from the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (now PDM ...
(NUDO, 153 votes). SWAPO also won the
2020 local authority election but lost majority control over the municipal council. It obtained 1,986 votes and gained three seats. One seat each went to the
Landless People's Movement
The Landless People's Movement was an independent social movement in South Africa. It consisted of rural people and people living in shack settlements in cities. The Landless People's Movement boycotted parliamentary elections and had a histor ...
(LPM, a new party registered in 2018, 818 votes), the GRA (681 votes), NUDO (440 votes) and the
Popular Democratic Movement
The Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), formerly the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA), is an amalgamation of political parties in Namibia, registered as one singular party for representation purposes. In coalition with the United Democratic ...
(PDM), formerly DTA, with 338 votes.
Regional
Gobabis is the regional capital of the
Omaheke Region
Omaheke ( hz, Sandveld) is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, the least populous region. Its capital is Gobabis. It lies in eastern Namibia on the border with Botswana and is the western extension of the Kalahari desert. The self-governed v ...
.
Gobabis Constituency covers most of the town area except for its eastern township of
Nossobville which belongs to the
Kalahari Constituency.
Education
Gobabis is home to
Wennie du Plessis Secondary School, which began as an
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 ...
-speaking school. With the government abolition of non-
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 ...
education after grade 4 at
independence
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
, Afrikaner students endeavoured to start a private school, and the Gobabis Gymnasium in January 2000 with 67 students from grades 8 to 11 and 6 teachers. In January 2002, 122 students were reported, and on December 2, 2004, the school was registered to teach grades 1 through 12. Primary school education officially was started in January 2005.
Notable landmarks
![Gobabis Railway Station Pic2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/Gobabis_Railway_Station_Pic2.jpg)
The most notable landmark upon entering Gobabis from
Windhoek
Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 202 ...
is the Cattle Country Statue.
Partner cities
*
Smallingerland
Smallingerland (; fy, ) is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the province of Friesland in the Netherlands.
Population centres
Boornbergum, De Tike, De Veenhoop, De Wilgen, Drachten (main town), Drachtstercompagnie, Goëngahu ...
,
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
Residents
*
Laura McLeod-Katjirua
Laura Veendapi McLeod-Katjirua is a Namibian politician who has been Governor of the Khomas Region since 2012 and Deputy Secretary General of SWAPO since 2012. Previously she was Governor of Omaheke Region from 2001 to 2012. She was transferred ...
, former Omaheke Regional Governor and
SWAPO
The South West Africa People's Organisation (, SWAPO; af, Suidwes-Afrikaanse Volks Organisasie, SWAVO; german: Südwestafrikanische Volksorganisation, SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former ind ...
Deputy Secretary-General
*
Keharanjo Nguvauva, Paramount Chief of the Ovambanderu
*
Shafimana Ueitele, Lawyer
References
External links
Official web site
{{Authority control
Cities in Namibia
Populated places in the Omaheke Region
Regional capitals in Namibia
Populated places established in 1856