Uitenhage ( ; ), officially renamed Kariega, is a South African town in the

Eastern Cape Province 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 1994 ...

. It is well known for the

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...

factory located there, which is the biggest car factory on the

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

n continent. Along with the city of

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

and the small town of Despatch, it forms the

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality ( af, Nelson Mandelabaai Metropolitaanse Munisipaliteit; xh, uMasipala wase Nelson Mandela Bay or ''uMasipala waseBhayi'') is one of eight metropolitan municipalities (also called Category A municipalities) in So ...

History

Uitenhage was founded on 25 April 1804 by ''

landdrost {{Use dmy dates, date=December 2020 ''Landdrost'' was the title of various officials with local jurisdiction in the Netherlands and a number of former territories in the Dutch Empire. The term is a Dutch compound, with ''land'' meaning "region" and ...

'' (district magistrate)

Jacob Glen Cuyler Jacob Glen Cuyler (1773-April 14, 1854) was an American of Dutch origin who was an important character in the settlement of the British 1820 Settlers to the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Early life Jacob Glen Cuyler was born in 1773 to Abraham Cu ...

and named in honour of the Cape's Commissioner-General

Jacob Abraham Uitenhage de Mist Jacob Abraham Uitenhage de Mist (20 April 1749 – 3 August 1823) was a Dutch statesman. He was Head of State of the National Assembly of the Batavian Republic from 17 April 1797 – 1 May 1797, and Commissioner-General of the Cape Colony durin ...

by the

Dutch Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie) was a Dutch United East India Company (VOC) colony in Southern Africa, centered on the Cape of Good Hope, from where it derived its name. The original colony and its successive states that the colony was inco ...

governor,

Jan Willem Janssens Jonkheer Jan Willem Janssens GCMWO (12 October 1762 – 23 May 1838) was a Dutch nobleman, soldier and statesman who served both as the governor of the Dutch Cape Colony and governor-general of the Dutch East Indies. Early life Born in Nijme ...

. Uitenhage formed part of the district of

Graaff Reinet Graaff-Reinet is a town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is the oldest town in the province. It is also the sixth-oldest town in South Africa, after Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Simon's Town, Paarl and Swellendam. The town was the c ...

(shortly after its short-lived secession). The

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, 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 i ...

received a degree of independence when "

Responsible Government Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive bran ...

" was declared in 1872. In 1875, 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 of

John Molteno Sir John Charles Molteno (5 June 1814 – 1 September 1886) was a soldier, businessman, champion of responsible government and the first Prime Minister of the Cape Colony. Early life Born in London into a large Anglo-Italian family, Molten ...

took over the rudimentary Uitenhage railway site, incorporated it into 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 own ...

(CGR), and began construction of the lines connecting Uitenhage to

and the

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...

n interior. Two years later in

1877 Events January–March * January 1 – Queen Victoria is proclaimed ''Empress of India'' by the ''Royal Titles Act 1876'', introduced by Benjamin Disraeli, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom . * January 8 – Great Sio ...

, Uitenhage was declared a municipality. Nearly a hundred years later, as part of the Republic of South Africa, Uitenhage became a centre for resistance against apartheid. In 1985, police opened fire on a funeral procession in Uitenhage, killing a number of unarmed people, in an event that became notorious as an example of police oppression in

South Africa under apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

. In

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

it was incorporated with Port Elizabeth and Despatch into the

Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality ( af, Nelson Mandelabaai Metropolitaanse Munisipaliteit; xh, uMasipala wase Nelson Mandela Bay or ''uMasipala waseBhayi'') is one of eight metropolitan municipality (South Africa), metropolitan municipalities (als ...

. On 23 February 2021, Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture,

Nathi Mthethwa Emmanuel Nkosinathi "Nathi" Mthethwa is a South African politician who has served as Minister of Arts and Culture since February 2014. He was appointed again in 2019 for his second term, taking also the portfolio of Sport under his wing. He also ...

approved and gazetted the decision to rename Uitenhage to Kariega along with the neighbouring city of Port Elizabeth which was changed to Gqeberha.

Geography

Uitenhage is located 30 km north-west of

. Its neighbouring town of Despatch and township

KwaNobuhle KwaNobuhle is the largest township on the outskirts of Uitenhage, followed by KwaLanga in the Eastern Cape province of the Republic of South Africa. Water supply KwaNobuhle has been one of the townships in the region that have experienced proble ...

, the city of Port Elizabeth and other surrounding areas form the

. Uitenhage is also located at the beginning of the Mohair Route which stretches to

Graaff-Reinet Graaff-Reinet is a town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is the oldest town in the province. It is also the sixth-oldest town in South Africa, after Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Simon's Town, Paarl and Swellendam. The town was the c ...

(considered the centre for mohair farming) via

Jansenville Jansenville is a town in Sarah Baartman District Municipality in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Town on the Sundays River, 87 km south of Graaff-Reinet. Laid out on the farm Vergenoegd in 1854, it was proclaimed in 1855 and beca ...

on Route 75.

Industries

Uitenhage is known for the large industries situated there. The largest of these industries are the

Volkswagen of South Africa Volkswagen of South Africa (Pty.) Ltd. is the South African subsidiary of German automotive manufacturing company Volkswagen Group based in Kariega (previously Uitenhage), Eastern Cape. History As early as the 1930s, the manufacturer Studebaker ...

and Goodyear factories. An automotive supplier park, Alexander Park Industrial, has also been created directly next to the Volkswagen factory, thus allowing automotive component manufacturers to construct their manufacturing plants close by.

Transport

Uitenhage is at the junction of

regional 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 and t ...

and metropolitan routes and has access to many roads. * The R75 links to Despatch and

in the south and

and

in the north. * The M19 links to Despatch,

Ibhayi iBhayi is a large township near Port Elizabeth, South Africa. It is the largest township in the Eastern Cape province and the ninth largest in South Africa after Mitchells Plain near Cape Town in the Western Cape. Etymology ''iBhayi'' (sometimes ...

and

Swartkops Swartkops is a village in Nelson Mandela Bay in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The location is on the Swartkops River, 11 km north of Port Elizabeth and 1,6 km from the Indian Ocean. ''Swartkops'' means "black hills" in Afri ...

in the east. * The R334 links to

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...

and

Coega The Coega Special Economic Zone (SEZ), established in 1999 and 11,500 ha in extent, is situated near Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The initiative is a multibillion-dollar industrial development complex ...

to the east and

and the

R102 The R.102 (originally referred to as Project H) was a British airship planned in 1930 but never built. The development of R.102 resulted from the Imperial Airship Scheme, when it became apparent that the R100 and R101 airships then being built ...

(which also connects to the N2 to

Humansdorp Humansdorp is a small town and surrounding district in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, with a population of around 29,000 during the South African National Census of 2011, census of 2011. It is part of the Kouga Local Municipality of the Sara ...

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 ...

) in the south-west. * The M10 links to Despatch,

Bethelsdorp Bethelsdorp is a town in Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, 20 km north-west of Port Elizabeth. History Established in 1803 by Rev. J.T. van der Kemp on the farm Roodepas of Theunis Bo ...

and Port Elizabeth in the south.

Notable people

* Loyiso Bala, South African R&B singer; part of Bala Brothers ground and

TKZee TKZee is a South African kwaito music group formed in 1990s by three school friends, Tokollo Tshabalala, Kabelo Mabalane, and Zwai Bala. The group shot to prominence in late 1997 and early 1998 with their chart-topping singles "Phalafala" and ...

Mihlali Mosi Mihlali Mosi (born ) is a South African rugby union player for the . His regular position is flanker or number 8. Mosi was named in the squad for the 2021 Currie Cup Premier Division. He made his debut for the in Round 2 of the 2021 Currie Cu ...

, professional Rugby Player from Muir College Boys' High School * Zikhona Bali, actress acts as Asanda on DiepCity *

Linky Boshoff Delina Ann Boshoff-Mortlock, commonly known as Linky Boshoff (born 12 November 1956), is a former professional tennis player who won the 1976 US Open women's doubles title with her partner Ilana Kloss. In 1973 she won the South African Open ...

, South African tennis player from Riebeek College Girls' High School *

Okkert Brits Okkert Brits (born 22 August 1973, in Uitenhage) is a former South African track and field athlete who specialised in the pole vault. He was the silver medallist at the World Championships in Athletics in 2003. He was a four-time champion at th ...

, Olympic pole vaulter * Joseph Petrus Hendrik Crowe,

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer who was awarded the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

* Annatjie van Deventer, netball *

Deshun Deysel The 1996 South African Everest expedition was a heavily publicised expedition by a South African climbing team to summit Mount Everest. The expedition was led by Ian Woodall, and was intended to be a celebration of post-apartheid South Africa. Wood ...

, international business coach and mountaineer * Heloise Ferreira, Van Wyk - netball * Carel Fourie, Springbok rugby wing; from Die Brandwag Hoërskool * Marie Hayes, netball * Nantie Hayward, South African cricketer who now plays in the

Indian Cricket League The Indian Cricket League (ICL) was a private cricket league funded by Zee Entertainment Enterprises that operated between 2007 and 2009 in India. Its two seasons included tournaments between four international teams (World XI, India, Pakistan ...

Allan Hendrickse Helenard Joe Hendrickse (22 October 1927 – 16 March 2005), popularly known as Allan Hendrickse, was a South African politician, Congregationalist minister and teacher. He participated in an act of defiance by swimming at a South African beach ...

, preacher-teacher-politician from apartheid politics *

Mcebisi Jonas Mcebisi Hubert Jonas (born 1960) is a former Deputy Finance Minister of the Government of South Africa who served from 2014 to 2016. He has also been a Member of the Executive Council for Economic Development and Environmental Affairs in the Eas ...

, former deputy Finance Minister, active member of

ANC The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election installe ...

's Uitenhage branch *

Deon Kayser Deon Jerome Kayser (born 3 July 1970 in Uitenhage) is a South African former rugby union player and current coach. He played as a wing. Career Kayser made his senior provincial debut for in 1996 and at the end of the 1999 season he moved to the ...

, rugby player * Johann van der Merwe, Springbok rugby centre 1969/70 British tour; from Die Brandwag Hoërskool * Bicks Ndoni, former mayor of Uitenhage and ANC politician *

Smuts Ngonyama Lulama Smuts Ngonyama (born 22 August 1952) is a South African ambassador previously to Spain and currently to Japan, and a former head of communications for the African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa. He was born in Uitenhage, attended s ...

, ANC National Spokesman during Thabo Mbeki's Era. Recently appointed South African Ambassador to Spain *

Anrich Nortje Anrich Arno Nortje (born 16 November 1993) is a South African professional cricketer. He made his international debut for the South Africa cricket team in March 2019. In July 2020, Nortje was named the newcomer of the year at Cricket South Africa ...

, South African cricketer * Charles Robert Redcliffe, Labour Party politician, community leader and anti-apartheid activist *

Christo van Rensburg Christo van Rensburg (born 23 October 1962) is a former professional tennis player from South Africa. Van Rensburg turned professional in 1983. He won his first doubles title on ATP Tour later that year at Cleveland. Van Rensburg won 20 top-l ...

, South African tennis player, ATP-ranked *

Enoch Sontonga Enoch Mankayi Sontonga ( – 18 April 1905) was a South African composer, who is best known for writing the Xhosa hymn "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" (), which, in abbreviated version, has been sung as the first half of the national anthem of South ...

, composer of ''

Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" (, ) is a Christian hymn originally composed in 1897 by Enoch Sontonga, a Xhosa people, Xhosa clergyman at a Methodism, Methodist mission school near Johannesburg. The song became a pan-African liberation song and ver ...

'' which is now part of the national anthem * James Wide, double leg amputee railway signalman and owner of

Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

the signal-

baboon Baboons are primates comprising the genus ''Papio'', one of the 23 genera of Old World monkeys. There are six species of baboon: the hamadryas baboon, the Guinea baboon, the olive baboon, the yellow baboon, the Kinda baboon and the chacma ba ...

Garth Wright Garth Derick Wright (born 9 September 1963) is a former South African rugby union player. Playing career Wright played for Eastern Province and Transvaal in the South African domestic competitions. He made his test debut for the Springboks i ...

Springbok The springbok (''Antidorcas marsupialis'') is a medium-sized antelope found mainly in south and southwest Africa. The sole member of the genus ''Antidorcas'', this bovid was first described by the German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm v ...

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

scrum-half from

Muir College Muir College is a semi-private English medium high school for boys situated in the suburb of Vanes Estate in Kariega (Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality) in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Muir caters for pupils from Grades 4 ...

* Lee-Roy Wright, South African actor and television presenter

Notable animals

– a

chacma baboon The chacma baboon (''Papio ursinus''), also known as the Cape baboon, is, like all other baboons, from the Old World monkey family. It is one of the largest of all monkeys. Located primarily in southern Africa, the chacma baboon has a wide vari ...

trained to assist signalman James Wide, who had both legs amputated.

Notable buildings

* Masjid al-Qudama (1849), is one of the oldest

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

s in the country. *

Cuyler Manor Cuyler Manor (SAHRA 9/2/095/0017), or Cuyler House, is a historic house museum in the Western Region of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Cuyler Manor was designated as a Provincial Heritage Site on March 14, 1980. In addition to the ...

, historic house museum

Coats of arms

Drostdy — In 1804, the Cape colonial government assigned the shield of

's arms to the new Uitenhage drostdy. The arms were ''Sable, a cross moline Argent'', i.e. a silver cross moline on a black shield. An anchor was placed behind the shield.Pama, C. (1965) ''Lions and Virgins''. The British authorities discontinued the drostdy seals in 1814, and replaced them with the royal coat of arms.''Cape Town Gazette'' 418 (15 January 1814). Municipality — In 1881, the Uitenhage municipal council adopted the De Mist arms, complete with a crest consisting of a cross moline issuing from a gold coronet.The arms were depicted on
cigarette card
issued in 1931. The arms were registered with the Cape Provincial Administration in September 1956Cape of Good Hope ''Official Gazette'' 2833 (28 September 1956). and at the

Bureau of Heraldry Bureau ( ) may refer to: Agencies and organizations *Government agency *Public administration * News bureau, an office for gathering or distributing news, generally for a given geographical location * Bureau (European Parliament), the administrat ...

in June 1994. Divisional council — The Uitenhage divisional council (the local authority for the rural areas outside the town) assumed a coat of arms in 1968. The arms were granted by the provincial administrator in August 1968Cape of Good Hope ''Official Gazette'' 3470 (9 August 1968). and registered at the

in June 1972. On the arms were stated: "Or, a triple crowned

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

Vert, the trunk entwined with the Batavian tricolour; on a chief wavy Sable a cross moline between dexter a pickaxe and hammer in saltire, handles downwards and sinister two scrolls in saltire, Argent." In layman's terms, the design was a golden shield displaying, from top to bottom, a crossed pickaxe and hammer, a cross moline and two crossed scrolls on a black horizontal strip with a wavy edge, and a triple-crowned tree with a

Batavian Republic The Batavian Republic ( nl, Bataafse Republiek; french: République Batave) was the successor state to the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on 19 January 1795 and ended on 5 June 1806, with the accession of Louis Bona ...

flag wrapped around it. The crest was an

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...

, and the motto ''Per laborem ad honorem''.

References

Bibliography

External links

{{Authority control Populated places in Nelson Mandela Bay Populated places established in 1804