Cradock, Eastern Cape

Cradock
Cradock Cradock
Cradock  Cradock shown within Eastern Cape
Coordinates:
Country	South Africa
Province	Eastern Cape
District	Chris Hani
Municipality	Inxuba Yethemba
Established	1816
Area
• Total	125.96 km2 (48.63 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• Total	36,671
• Density	290/km2 (750/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
• Black African	61.8%
• Coloured	25.4%
• Indian/Asian	0.4%
• White	11.8%
• Other	0.5%
First languages (2011)
• Xhosa	55.9%
• Afrikaans	38.2%
• English	3.5%
• Other	2.4%
Postal code (street)	5880
PO box	5880
Area code	048

Cradock is a town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, in the upper valley of the Great Fish River, 292 kilometres (181 mi) by rail northeast of Port Elizabeth. The town is the administrative seat of the Inxuba Yethemba Local Municipality in the Chris Hani District of the Eastern Cape. The estimated population in 2005 is 28,689.

History

The original inhabitants of the region were the Khoi herders and hunter gatherers. In the first millennium CE, the iron-working Xhosa stock farmers arrived from the north-east.

Colonial history

Lieutenant Governor and war leader Andries Stockenström established this spot as the magisterial seat for the surrounding region in 1812. The area was chosen for being strategically located for the frontier wars. It was originally located in the Western Cape.

The town was founded on 27 August 1818 when a Dutch Reformed church was built; it is named after Sir John Cradock, governor of the Cape from 1811 to 1813. Its design was based on that of St Martin-in-the-Fields in London.

In the 1830s the Great Trek began, as Afrikaners 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 received a degree of independence in 1872 when "Responsible Government" was declared and, in 1877, the government of Prime Minister John Molteno began construction of the railway line connecting Cradock to Port Elizabeth on the coast. This was officially opened on 21 November 1880, and 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

The Cradock Four — Matthew Goniwe, Sparrow Mkhonto, Fort Calata and Sicelo Mhlauli — were abducted while travelling from Port Elizabeth to Cradock in 1985. They were then taken to Olifantshoek Pass and later to Port Elizabeth, where they were assaulted, killed and their bodies and the vehicle in which they were travelling burnt on 27 June 1985.

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 in 1989.

Economy and tourism

Cradock is one of the Cape's chief centres of the wool industry, and also produces beef, dairy, fruit, lucerne, and mohair.

A notable attraction is the Mountain Zebra National Park just 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from the town, where the once-endangered 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 was designed after the style of St Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square, London; and Schreiner House where the renowned author of The Story of an African Farm 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.

Notable people

• William Faulds, Victoria Cross recipient
• Douglas Gilfillan, lawyer and plant collector
• Olive Schreiner, author and human rights activist
• Guy Butler, author and poet
• Etienne van Heerden, author and poet
• Neville Alexander, author
• James Arthur Calata, cleric and activist

Coats of arms

Municipality — Cradock established a municipality in 1840. By 1902, the town council had assumed a coat of arms. The arms were formally granted by the provincial administrator in 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.

Divisional council — The Cradock divisional council (the local authority for the rural areas outside the town) also assumed a coat of arms. It was registered with the Cape Provincial Administration in October 1963 and registered at the Bureau of Heraldry in January 1972.

The arms were : Quarterly, per fess wavy; I, Or, a shovel and pick in saltire, handles uppermost, proper; II, Gules, three cogwheels Argent placed 2 and 1; III, Gules, a springbok head caboshed Or; IV, Or, a cross Gules. In layman's terms, this shield too was divided into quarters by means of a wavy horizontal line and a straight vertical line, and displayed (1) a crossed pick and shovel on a golden background, (2) three silver cogwheels on a red background, (3) a golden springbok head on a red background, and (4) a red cross on a gold background.

The crest was a protea flower; the supporters were a merino ram and an angora ram; and the motto was Diens – Service.

External links

• Cradock South Africa Guide
• Cradock history and other information
• Panoramas of Cradock and further information on the area

References

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: