Philippolis is a town in the Free State province of

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 ...

. The town is the birthplace of many South African celebrities including the writer and intellectual Sir Laurens van der Post, actress

Brümilda van Rensburg Brümilda van Rensburg is a South African actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Louwna in the TV series '' Egoli: Place of Gold''. She attained her BA Honours in Drama ''cum laude'' from the University of Pretoria. Brumilda has wo ...

and Springboks rugby player Adriaan Strauss. It is regarded as one of the first colonial settlements in the Free State.

History

The

London Missionary Society The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed in outlook, with Congregational m ...

founded Philippolis in 1823 as a mission station serving the local

Griqua people The Griquas (; af, Griekwa, often confused with ''!Orana'', which is written as ''Korana'' or ''Koranna'') are a subgroup of heterogeneous former Khoe-speaking nations in Southern Africa with a unique origin in the early history of the C ...

. At first, the area was referred to as Southern Transorangia. The town takes its name from Dr John Philip, who was the superintendent of the Society from 1819 to 1849. Adam Kok II, a

Griqua Griqua may refer to: * Griqua people * Griqua language or Xiri language * Griquas (rugby) Griquas (known as the Windhoek Draught Griquas for sponsorship reasons since April 2022) are a South African rugby union team that participates in the a ...

leader, settled in Philippolis with his people in 1826 and became the protector of the mission station. Kok II and some of his followers moved to Philippolis from Griquatown (about 200 km away) following conflict in the area. When Adam Kok II was given possession of the mission station it was on condition that he promised to protect the San against the aggression of the

Boers Boers ( ; af, Boere ()) are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled this a ...

and the

hoped that the

would promote peace in the region. However, Philippolis became a base from which a number of deadly commandos against the

San people The San peoples (also Saan), or Bushmen, are members of various Khoe, Tuu, or Kxʼa-speaking indigenous hunter-gatherer cultures that are the first cultures of Southern Africa, and whose territories span Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Zam ...

were organised within a year of the

arrival. This violated the agreement made between the London Missionary Society and Adam Kok II and eventually the San were driven out of the area. Kok's son,

Adam Kok III Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as ...

and his followers later migrated across the Drakensberg mountains to settle in

Kokstad Kokstad is a town in the Harry Gwala District Municipality of KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. Kokstad is named after the Griqua chief Adam Kok III who settled here in 1863. Kokstad is the capital town of the East Griqualand region, as it ...

in Griqualand East.

Monuments and tourist attractions

The town has a number of declared heritage sites including an historical jail that has been turned into a bed and breakfast guest house.

Cannons

Two naval cannons stand on top of a small hill which were presented by the Cape colonial government in 1840 to

who was the

chief at that time. The cannons are fired during the town's

Witblits Witblits, or "white lightning", is a clear spirit that has been distilled in South Africa for many years. Witblits is predominately produced in the Western Cape where it has enjoyed over 200 years. Many producers take great pride in their product ...

festival held in April. These cannons may have been used during the various wars between the

, Basotho and the

Emily Hobhouse memorial

A memorial was erected in Philippolis to commemorate English activist Emily Hobhouse, who worked to bring the poor conditions of Second Boer War concentration camps to the British public's attention. After the conflict's end, Hobhouse established a spinning and weaving school in Philippolis in 1905.

Karoo Artist's Café

The building in which this café is now situated in, was the first school building in the town, built in the 1830s.

Transgariep Museum

This museum was opened on 2 March 1982. It focuses on the London Missionary Society,

and the

as well as Emily Hobhouse and her weaving school.

The Philippolis Jail

The town jail was built in 1872 and served as a jail for 70 years. It was subsequently converted into a police station and several changes were made such as the repurposing of jail cells into charge offices. The SADF (South African Defence Force) used the jail as an army barracks from 1972 to 1982. The jail was abandoned from 1982 until 1998 when it was restored and turned into a bed and breakfast guest house.

Old Dutch Reformed Church

The

Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa (NGK) The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NGK) is a Reformed Christian denomination in South Africa. It also has a presence in neighbouring countries, such as Namibia, Eswatini, and parts of Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia.

in Philippolis was opened in 1871. The church is famous for its pulpit which is carved from wild olive and erected with no nails, screws or bolts. This site is a declared Provincial Heritage Site.

Other declared heritage sites in the area

*The property with the Old Victorian Library building thereon, Voortrekker Street, Donated by the Jacobson Family for the benefit of the Townspeople *The property with the Dwelling-house thereon, 24 Tobie Muller Street *The property with the Dwelling-house thereon, being certain Portion “C” of Erf 97, Tobie Muller Street *The property with the Dwelling-house and adjoining building thereon, 26 Kok Street 26_Kok_Street

*The property, together with the Karoo styled Dwelling-house thereon, 4 Justisie Street *The Old Pound, together with a portion of surrounding land, being 5 metres on the northern and western side of the structure, the land on the eastern site to and bordered by Justisie Street and the land on the southern side thereof to and bordered by Erf 129, Philippolis. *The property, together with the Victorian House thereon, 7 Colin Fraser Street (Amended declared in 1990. *The historic Old Power Magazine, together with 10 metres of surrounding land, situated on Subdivision 20 of the Town Lands of Philippolis 143,declared in 1991. *The wagon house adjacent the Victorian House together with the property on which they are situated, at 6 and 7 Colin Fraser Street.declared in 1990. Wagon_house

References

External links

*http://www.foodwithastory.co.za/Food-Event/172/Philippolis-Witblits-Festival * http://www.philippolisinfo.co.za/historical.htm, title=Philippolis

* http://www.southafrica.com/free-state/philippolis/ {{Authority control Populated places in the Kopanong Local Municipality Karoo Populated places established in 1823 1823 establishments in South Africa