Butterworth, also known as Gcuwa, is a town in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...

Province,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. Butterworth has a population of 45,900 and is situated on the N2 national highway 111 km north of

East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

.''Butterworth'', Travelblog
p.1 - 2Tony Pinchuck, Barbara McCrea & Donald Reid, ''Rough guide to South Africa, Lesotho & Swaziland'', Edition 3, Rough Guides, 2002. p. 425

History

The area around Butterworth was populated by amaXhosa, KhoiKhoi and San people. Butterworth was first established as a

Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan–Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charle ...

mission station in 1827 north of the

Great Kei River The Great Kei River is a river in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is formed by the confluence of the Black Kei River and White Kei River, northeast of Cathcart. It flows for and ends in the Great Kei Estuary at the Indian Ocean ...

British Kaffraria British Kaffraria was a British colony/subordinate administrative entity in present-day South Africa, consisting of the districts now known as Qonce (King William's Town) and East London. It was also called Queen Adelaide's Province and, unoffici ...

. It was named after Joseph Butterworth. The mission station and white settlement of Butterworth was burnt down 3 times during the Cape Frontier Wars. Nonetheless, it is one of the oldest white settlements in Eastern Cape. When the British seized the Cape of Good Hope, many of the Boers trekked north to establish their own republics. The discovery of diamonds (1867) and gold (1886) in South Africa spurred wealth and immigration and intensified the subjugation of the native inhabitants. The town was close to the seat of Hintsa ka Khawuta, the King of the

Xhosa Xhosa may refer to: * Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa * Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people See als ...

people. It was of great strategic importance. Around that time, a young girl, Nongqawuse, had a vision that her forebears would help the Xhosa drive the English out. The disastrous result weakened the Xhosa. The Ninth Frontier War spelled the end of the Xhosa, and the Transkei area was incorporated into the Cape Colony. But it was never quiet. There were raids between settlers and Xhosa, and turf wars between different Xhosa groups. Missions were established here and there to try to bring Christianity to the local people, with limited success. Butterworth is the birthplace of Marmaduke Pattle, the highest scoring RAF ace of World War 2, and

Bill Drummond William Ernest Drummond (born 29 April 1953) is a Scottish artist, musician, writer, and record producer. He was a co-founder of the late-1980s avant-garde pop group the KLF and its 1990s media-manipulating successor, the K Foundation, with wh ...

, a Scottish artist, musician, writer, and record producer. At the end of the Frontier Wars in 1878, traders began to settle here and the town has grown to become a small industrial centre. Butterworth became a municipality of the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), 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. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...

1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system. * ...

. The town was incorporated into the former

Transkei Transkei ( , meaning ''the area beyond Great Kei River,

he river The He River is a tributary of the Xi River in Guangxi and Guangdong provinces in China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it ...

Kei''), officially the Republic of Transkei (), was an list of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognised state in the southeastern region of South Africa f ...

bantustan A Bantustan (also known as a Bantu peoples, Bantu homeland, a Black people, black homeland, a Khoisan, black state or simply known as a homeland; ) was a territory that the National Party (South Africa), National Party administration of the ...

during the

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

years. It is one of the fastest-growing towns in terms of the economy and the population. Currently Butterworth is home to nine townships.

Demographics

The town is predominantly Black and

-speaking. According to the 2001 South African census, the "main place" of Butterworth had a population of 45,900. Of these, 45,142 (98.4%) were recorded as "Black", 345 (0.8%) as "

Coloured Coloureds () are multiracial people in South Africa, Namibia and, to a smaller extent, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Their ancestry descends from the interracial mixing that occurred between Europeans, Africans and Asians. Interracial mixing in South ...

", 213 (0.5%) as "Indian or Asian" and 200 (0.4%) as White. The most common language spoken at home was Xhosa (96.9%), followed by English (1.7%) and

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

(0.5%). The town is 57% female and 43% male.

Religion

The supreme being among the Xhosa is called u Thixo. Christianity in one form or another is accepted by most people today. Cultural traditionalists are likely to belong to independent denominations that combine Christianity with traditional beliefs and practices. The Church of the Province of Southern Africa has played an important role in the life of the Butterworth community. The late Archbishop

Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop ...

was seen as a significant spiritual leader. St Peter's Church is a beautiful example of 19th Century colonial architecture.

Economy

Butterworth is the main service area for Mnquma municipality, contributing 77% of the GDP in the municipality and is an important town in the new South Africa. It now has several major industrial sites, including Zitulele and Ibeka, on its outskirts. Its industries produce processed food, beverages, tobacco products, beer, textiles, clothing, leather goods, wood and wood products, chemicals, rubber and plastic products. It is on the Mthatha-East London railway line, but rarely sees a passenger train. This may change when the

Bhisho Bhisho, formerly Bisho, is the capital of the Eastern Cape province in South Africa. The Office of the Premier, Provincial Legislature and many other government departments are headquartered in the town. The town, three kilometres from Qonce and ...

government gets a main line passenger rail service operational. Butterworth's town area is relatively small, including a small business district of middle-to-high income housing. The central town, established exclusively “white” before 1976, has since been occupied largely by black high-income groups. White occupancy has not been re-established post-1994. Development in Butterworth has followed the line of the N2 and thus resulted in a long, narrow settlement east of town towards

Walter Sisulu University Walter Sisulu University (WSU) is a university of technology and science located in Mthatha, East London (Buffalo City), Butterworth and Komani (Queenstown) in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, which came into existence on 1 July 2005 as a resul ...

(WSU), about 5 km away. The N2 also runs through the CBD, which results in a clash of uses and congestion, with high speed road transport seeming to use the same space as pedestrians, hawkers and public service functions. Butterworth is also home to the first shopping centre in the area. October 24 and 25 2012 saw the much-awaited launch of the Fingoland Mall development in the small town of Butterworth. Fingoland Mall extends over 12,700 m², which is less than half of the total footprint of the shopping centre when complete after the third and last phase is built. As of December 2014, there were 51 tenants, which includes but is not limited to major national retailers, as well as accommodating no less than 10 micro-businesses. On completion of the third phase, Fingoland Mall is expecting a minimum total of 100 shops. The development has already created approximately 350 jobs, and by the end of the third phase, the total number of jobs created is expected to reach 1000.

Tourism

Tourist attractions include Bawa Falls, Birding, Cape Vulture Colony, Collywobbles on Mbashe River, Gcuwa River Cascades and various historical sights. Butterworth is surrounded by beautiful countryside. Visitors can go for day walks to the nearby villages such as Tobashana and experience the hospitality of traditional Xhosa living. Gcuwa Dam provides for a man-made lake for boating and fishing. Nearby ''Bawa Falls'' on the Qolorha River, has a sheer drop of nearly 300 ft. The dirt road leading to the falls is just west of the town. Winding through the Transkei countryside, little has changed in the past 100 years. The district's scenery is attractive with its almost ever-green thorn trees and tropical flowers. Bawa Falls has a popular picnic spot and more adventurous hikers can camp overnight. The Cascades Falls on the Gcuwa (Butterworth) River has a reputed fall of 270 ft. Butterworth is the starting point for a number of nature walks.

Hospitals

Butterworth has two provincial hospitals: Butterworth Hospital in the central town is the main hospital serving the people of Dutywa, Willowvale, Centane and Butterworth; and Tafalofefe Hospital in the rural district about 15 km east of Butterworth. Eastern Cape Dept of Health

References

{{Authority control Populated places in the Mnquma Local Municipality Transkei Populated places established in 1827 1827 establishments in the British Empire