Somerset East ( af, Somerset-Oos) is a town in the

Blue Crane Route Local Municipality Blue Crane Route Local Municipality ( af, Bloukraanroete Plaaslike Munisipaliteit) is an administrative area in the Sarah Baartman District of the Eastern Cape in South Africa. The municipality is named after the South African national bird, th ...

in the

Eastern Cape 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 ...

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 countri ...

. It was founded by

Lord Charles Somerset Lord Charles Henry Somerset PC (12 December 1767 – 18 February 1831), born in Badminton, England, was a British soldier, politician and colonial administrator.Charles Mosley, editor. Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, 2 volu ...

in 1825. The Blue Crane Route follows the national road R63 from

Pearston Pearston is a small town in the eastern Karoo, in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It lies between Graaff-Reinet and Somerset East at the foot of the Coetzeesberge, about north of Port Elizabeth. It falls within the Blue Crane Rout ...

, via Somerset East, to

Cookhouse A cookhouse is a small building where cooking takes place. Often found at remote work camps, they complemented the bunkhouse and were usually found on ranches that employed cowboys, or loggers in a logging camp. Prior to the 20th century, cookh ...

. Somerset East, at the foot of the Boschberg Mountains, is a small town that's known for its natural environment and for its provincial heritage sites and buildings. The forested, mountainous backdrop frames the town (which is within sight of 16 waterfalls). The wooded Boschberg Nature Reserve is in the area, and has a number of hiking trails - including a 15 km circular route to an overnight hut at the summit of the mountain. As the route's name suggest, Somerset East is a bird-watching destination - other outdoor adventures include trout fishing on five local dams, as well as

rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...

and

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...

fishing in the Glen Avon Waterfall pools, malaria free safari and hunting operations. There is also a 9-hole golf course. Notable buildings in the town include the

Old Wesleyan Chapel Old or OLD may refer to: Places * Old, Baranya, Hungary * Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, M ...

, which now houses the Somerset East Museum, and the officers' mess, which now houses the largest collection of paintings by the South African artist Walter Battiss. Annual events include the Biltong Festival, which was started in 1991, the Bruintjieshoogte Marathon, Bruintjieshoogte Cycle Tour (run between Pearston & Somerset East) and the

Spring Rose & Flower show Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a ...

. Somerset East is known for producing roses.

History

The first settler in this area was Willem Prinsloo. He settled under the Boschberg, close to where the Museum is today. Prinsloo was the unofficial field cornet of the district where at least 20 other families had settled by 1774. They send a petition to

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 ...

asking for the establishment of a Drostdy and a church in the area, which led to the establishment of Graaff-Reinet. At some stage, Prinsloo gave up parts of his farm and a farmer named Jakobus Cornelius Ismael Safanya Otto moved into the corner now known as Bestershoek. He was followed by the Trichardt and Bester families.

, taking up the ideas promulgated by Cradock and Caledon that there should be a settlement on the Eastern Frontier, initiated a plan for an experimental farm in the area. American botanist, dr. Mackrill, was given orders to find a suitable farm, and was told to look at three places, the Gamtoos Valley, the Swartkops Valley and Boschberg. He chose the latter. The farm was established in 1815, for the purpose of improving stockbreeding in the Cape Colony and providing produce for the soldiers at the Frontier. It was named "Somerset Farm". In 1825 the project was cancelled, a new Drostdy was declared, and the town of Somerset was established. The "East" suffix was only added on 30 years later in order to differentiate it from

Somerset West Somerset West ( af, Somerset-Wes) is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa. Organisationally and administratively it is included in the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality as a suburb of the Helderberg region (formerly called Hottent ...

, a town in the Western Cape.

Educational institutions

Gill College Gill College is a South African high school in Somerset East, Sarah Baartman District Municipality. It was founded in 1869 as a university. The school's namesake, Dr. William Gill, died in 1863 and left an estate equivalent to £23,000 () for th ...

is one of the oldest colleges in the Eastern Cape, founded in 1869, after a donation from Dr. William Gill. Aeroville School is a secondary school for grades 8 to 12, on the edge of Somerset East. It is twinned with

Golden Hillock School Ark Boulton Academy (formerly Golden Hillock School) is a coeducational secondary school located in Sparkhill in the south of Birmingham, England.'Golden Hillock . A Specialist College for Sport Inspection report (March 2011)', ''Ofsted'', 201 ...

in Birmingham, UK.

Provincial Hospital

Somerset East has a medium-sized government-funded hospital, the ''Andries Vosloo Hospital''.

Coat of arms

Somerset East established a municipality in 1884. By 1931, the town council had assumed a coat of arms. The shield was divided horizontally. The upper half depicted a bushbuck on a golden background. The lower half was divided vertically, depicting a swallow on a red background and a sunflower on a black background. The swallow was taken from the arms of

and the sunflower from the badge of a local school.'J.P.' 'Onze gemeentewapens' in ''NUZA'' (August 1971). The crest was a phoenix issuing from a golden crown, the supporters were a goat and a ram, and the motto was ''Foy pour devoir''.

References

External links

Official Somerset East Information GuideTourism information site for Somerset EastGill CollegeTimothy Training Institute
{{Authority control Populated places in the Blue Crane Route Local Municipality Populated places established in 1825