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, 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 = , blank_emblem_size = , 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 , 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 vi ...
, subdivision_type2 =
Constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...
, subdivision_name2 = Gobabis Constituency
Kalahari Constituency , subdivision_type3 = , subdivision_name3 = , government_footnotes = , government_type = , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Elvire Theron (
NUDO Nudo or NUDO may refer to: People * Gene Nudo (born 1958), American American football coach * Vince Nudo, Canadian musician * , Italian actor Places * Col Nudo, Italy * Monte Nudo, Italy * * Nudo, Nikšić, Montenegro * Nudo de los Pastos, E ...
) , 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 = , population_metro = , population_density_metro_km2 = , population_density_metro_sq_mi = , population_urban = , population_density_urban_km2 = , population_density_urban_sq_mi = , population_blank1_title = Ethnicities , population_blank1 = , population_density_blank1_km2 = , population_density_blank1_sq_mi = , 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 potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...
, blank1_name = , blank1_info = , website = https://gobabis.org , footnotes = , official_name = Gobabis ( hz, Epako, naq, ǂKhoandabes) is a city in eastern Namibia. 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 vi ...
, and the district capital of the Gobabis electoral constituency. Gobabis is situated down the B6 motorway from Windhoek 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 Kalahar ...
. The town is from the Buitepos border post with Botswana, and serves as an important link to South Africa 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 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 surface ...
.


History


Etymology and pre-colonial history

The area around Gobabis and along the Nossob River had a strong population of elephants. The settlement itself was a base camp for ivory 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 The Mbanderu (''Ovambanderu'') are a population inhabiting eastern parts of Namibia and western parts of Botswana. They speak Mbanderu (''Otjimbanderu)'' a Bantu language History and Culture Etymology While earlier theories of the meaning of t ...
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 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 ...
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 Hermann Heinrich Vedder (born 3 July 1876 in , Westphalia, Germany; died 26 April 1972 in Okahandja, South-West Africa) was a German missionary, linguist, ethnologist and historian. Originally a silk weaver, he received missionary training by the ...
and gained wide acceptance. Vedder also opined that it was
Amraal Lambert Amraal Lambert, Nama name: ǂGaiǀnub, (ca. 1774 – 13 February 1864) was the first Captain of the Kaiǀkhauan ( Khauas Nama), a subtribe of the Orlam, in the eastern area of Namaland, today's Namibia. Amraal Lambert was born around 1774 near ...
,
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
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 German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
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, or Lazarett, which has been declared a national monument.


Geography


Climate

Gobabis has a semi-arid climate (''BSh'', according to the Köppen climate classification), with hot summers and cool winters (with mild days and chilly nights). The average annual precipitation is .


Economy

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 ci ...
, and furthermore from consumer goods being imported into Namibia from Gauteng 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 (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 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 (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 (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 vi ...
. 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 grad ...
-speaking school. With the government abolition of non- English 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 st ...
, 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

The most notable landmark upon entering Gobabis from Windhoek is the Cattle Country Statue.


Partner cities

*
Smallingerland Smallingerland (; fy, ) is a municipality in the province of Friesland in the Netherlands. Population centres Boornbergum, De Tike, De Veenhoop, De Wilgen, Drachten (main town), Drachtstercompagnie, Goëngahuizen, Houtigehage, Kortehem ...
, Netherlands


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 Deputy Secretary-General *
Keharanjo Nguvauva Keharanjo II Xavier Komavau Nguvauva (12 October 1984 – 8 April 2011) was the youngest Chief of the Ovambanderu, a Herero clan in Namibia. Keharanjo was born to the Ovambanderu family to the then Chief Munjuku Nguvauva II and his wife Alet ...
, 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