Cradock, Eastern Cape
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Cradock, officially Nxuba, 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 of South Africa, in the upper valley of the
Great Fish River The Great Fish River (called ''great'' to distinguish it from the Namibian Fish River) () is a river running through the South African province of the Eastern Cape. The coastal area between Port Elizabeth and the Fish River mouth is known as ...
, by road northeast of
Gqeberha Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially 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 Municipa ...
. The town is the administrative seat of the Inxuba Yethemba Local Municipality in the Chris Hani District of the Eastern Cape. The town is named after John Cradock, governor 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 ...
in early 19th century and commander of the forces.


Pre-colonial history

For thousands of years San hunter-gatherers were the sole human inhabitants of southern Africa. About 2000 years BP the semi-nomadic
Khoikhoi Khoikhoi (Help:IPA/English, /ˈkɔɪkɔɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''KOY-koy'') (or Khoekhoe in Namibian orthography) are the traditionally Nomad, nomadic pastoralist Indigenous peoples, indigenous population of South Africa. They ...
(or Khoekhoen or Khoikhoin) arrived with cattle, sheep and goats. These pastoralists migrated south towards the coast. Rock paintings and petroglyphs (engravings) remain as evidence of the first people who lived here. By the 4th century AD Bantu-speaking people had begun to migrate from central Africa down the east coast into southern Africa. The amaXhosa pressed further south to the banks of the Great Fish River where they met San hunter-gatherers and
Khoikhoi Khoikhoi (Help:IPA/English, /ˈkɔɪkɔɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''KOY-koy'') (or Khoekhoe in Namibian orthography) are the traditionally Nomad, nomadic pastoralist Indigenous peoples, indigenous population of South Africa. They ...
pastoralists, and later still Dutch and then British settlers.


Colonial history

The district of which Cradock is now the centre was first settled by Dutch farmers in the late 18th century, but was known long before to the hunters who illicitly crossed the frontier in search of game and ivory. The first official Dutch expedition to the upper Great Fish River was in mid-1752 when a party led by Ensign August Frederik Beutler visited the area. Beutler, following the instructions of Governor Ryk Tulbagh to investigate the possibilities of developing the Cape's eastern regions, was accompanied by a number of other officials including a diarist, Carl Haupt, and a surveyor, Carl Wentzel, who drew a map of the route taken. Almost the only mention made about the area in the diary was that it was very dry and forage was unobtainable. Forty five years later traveller
Sir John Barrow Sir John Barrow, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1764 â€“ 23 November 1848) was an English geographer, linguist, writer and civil servant best known for serving as the Second Secretary to the Admiralty from 1804 until 1845. Early life Barrow was b ...
crossed the Great Fish River. At his crossing point he noted on his map the existence beside the river of "Hepatic wells" – sulphur springs. In later years the springs were to be used for wool washing and the town's laundry. After the 1811–12 Xhosa War, it became apparent that to maintain order along the frontier more administrative and military posts would have to be established along the Great Fish River. The district of
Graaff-Reinet Graaff-Reinet (; Xhosa: eRhafu) is a town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is the oldest town in the province and the fourth oldest town in South Africa, after Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Simon's Town, Paarl and Swellendam. The to ...
was too large to administer properly and the town itself too far from the river, so it was decided to set up a new sub-drostdy, and in June 1812 Ensign Andries Stockenstrom was appointed deputy landdrost. Piet van Heerden's farm Buffels Kloof beside the Great Fish River was bought for 3 500 rix dollars. One of the advantages of the purchase was that Van Heerden's stone-walled house farmhouse could serve as a prison, the first and apparently most important requirement of any town. The house also provided accommodation for a constable and two policemen. The official proclamation appeared in the Cape Town Gazette on 21 January 1814. Sir John Cradock sanctioned an expenditure of 12 000
rixdollar Rixdollar is the English term for silver coinage used throughout the European continent (, , , ). The same term was also used of currency in Cape Colony and Ceylon. However, the Rixdollar only existed as a coin in Ceylon. Unissued remainder bankn ...
s on public buildings and work began at once on a house for the deputy landdrost. In addition he was allowed a farm to "render his position as comfortable and respectable as possible". The farm chosen was Driefontein, that of Piet van Heerden's brother, W J van Heerden. In July 1817 the Reverend John Evans was appointed as first minister and he set about raising funds for a church. With minister, deputy landdrost, constable and policemen, the inhabitants could consider their tiny village well on the way to being a "town". In the 1830s the
Great Trek The Great Trek (, ) was a northward migration of Dutch-speaking settlers who travelled by wagon trains from the Cape Colony into the interior of modern South Africa from 1836 onwards, seeking to live beyond the Cape's British colonial adminis ...
began, as
Afrikaners Afrikaners () are a Southern African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch people, Dutch Settler colonialism, settlers who first arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in Free Burghers in the Dutch Cape Colony, 1652.Entry: Cape Colony. '' ...
who were discontent with British rule left ''en masse'' for the interior. Most of the migration departed from (and via) the area around Cradock. 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 ...
received a degree of independence in 1872 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 br ...
" was declared and, in 1877, the government of Prime Minister
John Molteno Sir John Charles Molteno (; 5 June 1814 – 1 September 1886) was a politician and businessman who served as the first Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1872 to 1878. Early life Born in London into a large Anglo-Italian family, Molten ...
sanctioned construction of a railway line connecting
Port Elizabeth Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially 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 Municipal ...
on the coast with the hinterland. Passing as it did through Cradock it led to significant growth and economic development in and around the town. In the early 1900s, a boom in demand for ostrich feathers led to a massive rise in prosperity for the local ostrich farmers.


The Cradock Four

Matthew Goniwe, Sparrow Mkhonto, Fort Calata and Sicelo Mhlauli, known as The Cradock Four – were abducted while travelling from
Port Elizabeth Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially 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 Municipal ...
to Cradock in 1985. They were then taken to an unknown destination, where they were assaulted, killed and their bodies and the vehicle in which they were travelling burnt. Some of these incidents occurred on the night of 27 June 1985 (the night of their abduction) and some of them occurred at a later, unknown time. Three Security Branch policemen, a Sergeant Faku, Sergeant Mgoduka, and one Sakati who participated in the killing of the activists were later killed in a car bomb blast at
Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...
in 1989. The Cradock Four Memorial is a monument located in Lingelihle, a township near Cradock. The monument was erected on 22 July 2000 in commemoration of the Cradock Four.


Economy and tourism

Cradock is one of the Cape's chief centres of the
wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...
industry, and also produces beef, dairy, fruit,
lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...
, and
mohair Mohair (pronounced ) originated from the Arabic word …هيرand it is a fabric or yarn made from the hair of the Angora goat (not Angora wool from the fur of the Angora rabbit). Both durable and resilient, mohair is lustrous with high shee ...
. Of enormous importance to the economic development of Cradock was the construction of the Orange-Fish River Tunnel. Completed in 1975 and in length it diverts water from the Gariep Dam on the
Orange River The Orange River (from Afrikaans/Dutch language, 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 Namibi ...
to the Great Fish River and then on as far as the Addo Valley,
Grahamstown Makhanda, formerly known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 75,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Gqeberha and southwest of East London. It is the largest town in the Makana Local Mun ...
and
Port Elizabeth Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially 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 Municipal ...
for irrigation, household and industrial use. The construction of the tunnel also made possible the annual
Fish River Canoe Marathon The Fish River Canoe Marathon is a two-day event taking place on the Great Fish River, Fish River in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It covers a total distance of , from Grassridge Dam southward to Cradock, Eastern Cape, Cradock. The t ...
. From humble beginnings in 1982 the two-day, event now attracts in excess of 1 500 paddlers from around the world. A notable attraction is the Mountain Zebra National Park just from the town, where the once-endangered
zebra Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), the plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. ...
species together with lion, cheetah, buffalo and a range of antelope species are to be seen in magnificent surroundings. Notable attractions in the town are the "tuishuise" (at-home houses), superbly restored Victorian era craftsmen's houses in Market Street which form part of the Victoria Manor Hotel; the Dutch Reformed Moederkerk which dates back to 1868 and was designed after the style of
St Martin-in-the-Fields St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. Dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours, there has been a church on the site since at least the medieval pe ...
in
Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster in Central London. It was established in the early-19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. Its name commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar, the Royal Navy, ...
, London; and Schreiner House where the author of ''
The Story of an African Farm ''The Story of an African Farm'' was South African author Olive Schreiner's first published novel. It was published in 1883 under the pseudonym Ralph Iron. It was an immediate success and has become recognised as one of the first feminist nov ...
'' lived as a young girl. The house, which is located at 9 Cross Street and is a satellite of the National English Literary Museum, contains a modern set of exhibitions portraying the life of Olive Schreiner.


People

* William Faulds,
Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...
recipient * General Pieter Hendrik Kritzinger, Boer general and Assistant Commandant of the Forces of the Orange Free State and Commander-in-Chief of the Boer Rebel Forces in the Cape Colony during the Second Boer War * Douglas Gilfillan, lawyer and plant collector *
Olive Schreiner Olive Schreiner (24 March 1855 – 11 December 1920) was a South African author, anti-war campaigner and intellectual. She is best remembered today for her novel '' The Story of an African Farm'' (1883), which has been highly acclaimed. It dea ...
, author and human rights activist * Guy Butler, author and poet * Etienne van Heerden, author and poet *
Neville Alexander Neville Edward Alexander OLS (22 October 1936 – 27 August 2012) was a proponent of a multilingual South Africa and a former revolutionary who spent ten years on Robben Island as a fellow prisoner of Nelson Mandela. Early life Alexander was ...
, author * James Arthur Calata, cleric and activist * Mary Ngalo, anti-apartheid activist * Clifford Isaacs, cricket umpire * T. O. Honiball, cartoonist *
Abe Bailey Sir Abraham Bailey, 1st Baronet (6 November 1864 – 10 August 1940), known as Abe Bailey, was a South African diamond and gold tycoon, politician, financier and cricketer. Early years Bailey's mother, Ann Drummond McEwan, was Scottish by bi ...
, diamond tycoon, politician, financier and cricketer * Baby Michau, rugby player * Sir Joseph Robinson, 1st Baronet, mining magnate * Paul Schoeman, rugby player * Harry Smith, cricketer * Joshua Stander, rugby player * Deon Stegmann, rugby player * George Weideman, poet and writer * Leigh Julius, athlete * Samantha Stander, author, poet and differently abled athlete


Politicians

* Fort Calata, anti-apartheid activist * Matthew Goniwe, anti-apartheid activist * Sicelo Mhlauli, anti-apartheid activist * Sparrow Mkhonto, anti-apartheid activist


Coat of arms

Cradock was established as a municipality in 1840. By 1902, the town council had assumed a coat of arms.The arms were depicted on
medallion
issued in 1902.
The arms were depicted on
cigarette card
issued in 1931.
The arms were formally granted by the provincial administrator in May 1966Cape of Good Hope ''Official Gazette'' 3348 (27 May 1966). and registered at the Bureau of Heraldry in September 1969. The arms were: ''Quarterly: I, Argent, a tree Vert; II, Gules, a beehive, Or; III, Gules, a fleece Or; IV, Azure, a garb Or''. In layman's terms, this means that the shield was divided into four quarters displaying (1) a green tree on a silver background, (2) a golden beehive on a red background, (3) a golden fleece on a red background, and (4) a golden wheatsheaf on a blue background. Until 1966, the shield was flanked by two ostrich feathers. They were replaced with two mountain zebras, as supporters. The crest was a cornucopia and the motto was ''Perseverantia vincit''.


Renaming

Cradock was officially renamed Nxuba on 26 August 2022.


See also

* Beer Hall Boycott


References


External links


The Cradock Four

Cradock South Africa Guide

Cradock history and other information

Panoramas of Cradock and further information on the area

The Cradock Four Memorial

About Cradock
* {{Authority control Populated places in the Inxuba Yethemba Local Municipality Populated places established in 1818 Great Fish River Karoo Opposition to apartheid in South Africa Civil disobedience in South Africa Protests in South Africa