Despatch is a small town in the Eastern Cape 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 count ...

situated between

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, S ...

and Uitenhage with an estimated population of 40 000. It forms part of 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 municipalities (also called Category A municipalities) in So ...

which includes Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage, and has collectively a population of over 1.3 million.

History

The town of Despatch is situated on rich clay soil and in the late 1800s was the site of a flourishing brick industry. Despatch's name derives from this brick industry history on the account that bricks were dispatched from the original railway siding. Many of the older buildings in Uitenhage and Port Elizabeth were built from these bricks. Most of these early bricks can be identified by the word 'Despatch' imprinted on the top and bottom of the brick. The only reminder of the town's brick industry past is a chimney built in 1882 which formed part of the Brick Works. The Chimney is situated in a field on the outskirts of the town to the north next to the railway lines. In recent years restoration work has brought it back to its former glory including supports which now give it the appearance of a space rocket. In 1903 the remains of an ''

Algoasaurus ''Algoasaurus'' (; "Algoa Bay reptile") is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Berriasian- early Valanginian-age Early Cretaceous Upper Kirkwood Formation of Cape Province, South Africa, specifically near a town called Despatch. Discovery an ...

'' were discovered near Despatch. The township of Despatch was originally developed in 1942 to offer cheaper homing alternative for its fast growing neighbours of Uitenhage and Port Elizabeth. The town obtained official municipal status in 1945 and in 2001 it jointed with Uitenhage, Port Elizabeth and surrounding areas to form the

Notable residents

Johan Botha Johan Botha may refer to: * Johan Botha (athlete) (born 1974), South African middle distance runner * Johan Botha (cricketer) (born 1982), South African born Australian cricketer * Johan Botha (tenor) Johan Botha (19 August 1965 – 8 Septe ...

- cricketer * Rassie Erasmus - rugby coach *

Adri Geldenhuys Adrian Geldenhuys (born 11 July 1964) is a former South African rugby union player. Playing career Geldenhuys made his provincial debut for Northern Transvaal in 1987. He had a very successful first provincial season with Northern Transvaal, win ...

—rugby player * Danie Gerber - rugby player *

Rynard Landman Rynard Jaco 'Ligtoring' Landman (born 24 July 1986) is a South African rugby union player. He usually plays as a lock and occasionally as a flanker. Career Landman played his youth rugby with the and that's where he began his senior rugby car ...

- rugby player * Rudi Koertzen - cricket umpire * Charl Mattheus - Comrades Marathon runner * Elric van Vuuren - rugby player *

Evan van der Merwe Evan is both an English and Welsh male given name derived from "Iefan", a Welsh form for the name John. In other languages it could be compared to "Ivan", "Ian", and "Juan"; the name John itself is derived from the ancient Hebrew name Yəhôḥ� ...

- cricket umpire *

Sam Gerber Sam Gerber (born 5 February 1981 in Uitenhage) is a South African rugby union winger, currently playing for the Top 14 club Aviron Bayonnais, having previously only played for the Pumas, with whom he participated in the Currie Cup in 2005 and ...

- rugby player *

Daniel du Plessis Daniel du Plessis is a South African para-athlete from Pretoria, Gauteng where he competes for the IS Ability Sports Club. He is the current African record holder over 400m at 52.41 seconds in the T62 class. Du Plessis has limb deficiency in bo ...

- rugby player * Arnold Vosloo - Hollywood Actor * Elandrè Schwartz - Singer

References

External links

http://www.nelsonmandelabay.gov.za/
{{Authority control Populated places in Nelson Mandela Bay