Hopetown is a town which lies at the edge of the Great Karoo in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

Northern Cape The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of the Kgalagadi ...

province. It is situated on an arid slope leading down to the

Orange River The Orange River (from Afrikaans/Dutch: ''Oranjerivier'') is a river in Southern Africa. It is the longest river in South Africa. With a total length of , the Orange River Basin extends from Lesotho into South Africa and Namibia to the north ...

. The first diamond discovered in South Africa, the

Eureka Diamond The Eureka Diamond was the first diamond discovered in South Africa. It originally weighed , and was later cut to a cushion-shaped brilliant, which is currently on display at the Mine Museum in Kimberley. The discovery of diamonds in South Africa ...

, was found at Hopetown.

History

Hopetown was founded in 1850 when Sir Harry Smith extended the northern frontier of 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 ...

to the

. A handful of settlers claimed ground where there was a natural ford over the Orange River, and by 1854 a frontier town had developed. Hopetown was named after William Hope, Auditor-General and Secretary of the Cape Colony Government at the time, and is often mistaken for a town in the Free State, South Africa, called Hoopstad. Hopetown was a quiet farming area until several large diamonds, most notable the

and the Star of South Africa, were discovered there between 1867 and 1869. The

Cape Government Railways The Cape Government Railways (CGR) was the government-owned railway operator in the Cape Colony from 1874 until the creation of the South African Railways (SAR) in 1910. History Private railways The first railways at the Cape were privately ow ...

were founded in 1872, and the

Cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

government decided to run the main western line, between the Kimberley diamond fields and

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

on the coast, directly through Hopetown. The ford was upgraded to a railway bridge in 1884. Burman, Jose (1984). ''Early Railways at the Cape''. Cape Town. Human & Rousseau, p.92.

References

Populated places established in 1850 Populated places in the Thembelihle Local Municipality History of South Africa 1850 in South Africa Karoo {{NorthernCape-geo-stub