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(Redirected from Graaff-Reinet)
'Graaff Reinet' is a town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is the fourth oldest town in South Africa.
The town lies 2463 ft. above the sea and is built on the, banks of the Sunday's River, which rises a little farther north on the southern slopes of the Sneeuberge, and here ramifies into several channels. The Dutch Reformed church in the town is a prominent stone building in the high street with seating accommodation for 1500 people. The college is an educational centre of some importance; it was rebuilt in 1906. Graaff Reinet is a flourishing market for agricultural produce, the district being noted for its mohair industry, orchards and vineyards.
South Africa's fourth-oldest town offers relaxed and safe living in old-world charm – nearly every third building is a national monument – amid all the amenities of a modern lifestyle. Nestling in the horseshoe of the Sundays River in a fertile valley, with mountains towering around it, Graaff-Reinet has many and diverse attractions: from the scenic outdoors of the Valley of Desolation, the Nqweba Dam and the Camdeboo National Park with its rich animal life to the magnificent night skies, Bushmen sketches, Cape Dutch and Victorian architecture, Karoo hospitality, sport and adventure, and shopping. The Old Yellowwood Tree property and townhouse development provides for an up-market, secure and relaxed lifestyle in the heart of historical Graaff-Reinet. Enjoy old-world charm and traditional Karoo tranquility within walking distance of shops and other amenities - in the shade of Graaff-Reinet’s oldest yellowwood tree.
The town was founded by the Cape Dutch in 1786, being named after the then governor of Cape Colony, Cornelis Jacob van de Graaff, and his wife. In 1795 the burghers, smarting under the exactions of the Dutch East India Company proclaimed a republic. Similar action was taken by the burghers of Swellendam. Before the authorities at Cape Town could take decisive measures against the rebels, they were themselves compelled to capitulate to the British. The burghers having endeavoured, unsuccessfully, to get aid from a French warship at Algoa Bay surrendered to Colonel (afterwards General Sir) JO Vandeleur.
In January 1799 Marthinus Prinsloo, the leader of the republicans in 1795, again rebelled, but surrendered in April following. Prinsloo and nineteen others were imprisoned in Cape Town castle. After trial, Prinsloo and another commandant were sentenced to death and others to banishment. The sentences were not carried out and the prisoners were released, March 1803, on the retrocession of the Cape to the Netherlands.
In 1801 there had been another revolt in Graaff Reinet, but owing to the conciliatory measures of General F Dundas (acting governor of the Cape) peace was soon restored. It was this district, where a republican government in South Africa was first proclaimed, which furnished large numbers of the Voortrekkers in 1835-1842.
★ Andries Pretorius, Great Trek Leader after whom Pretoria was named farmed in the district before the Great Trek.
★ Gerrit Maritz, Great Trek Leader after whom Pietermaritzburg was partly named was a wagon-maker in the town.
★ JLB Smith icthyologist famous for identifying the Coelecanth was born in Graaff-Reinet.
★ Dr. James Kitching paleontologist who proved theory of continental drift by finding particular fossil types in the Antarctic that were common in the Karoo.
★ Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe - First leader of the Pan Africanist Congress and jailed on Robben Island, was born here.
★ Dr. Beyers Naude anti-apartheid activist was schooled here.
★ Andrew Geddes Bain roadbuilder, geologist and palaeontologist lived here.
★ Francis Guthrie the Four Colour Theorem mathematician and botanist, lived here.
★ Harry Bolus botanist and founder of the Bolus Herbarium, lived here.
★ Anton Rupert SA industrialist and conservationist was born here.
★ Anthony "Dassie" Biggs a Springbok cricket player was born here
★ JC Voight, ''Fifty Years of the History of the Republic in South Africa 1795-1845'', vol. i. (London, 1899).
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350 px
'Graaff Reinet' is a town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is the fourth oldest town in South Africa.
| Contents |
| Background |
| What's Going on in Graaff-Reinet |
| History |
| Famous people |
| References |
Background
The town lies 2463 ft. above the sea and is built on the, banks of the Sunday's River, which rises a little farther north on the southern slopes of the Sneeuberge, and here ramifies into several channels. The Dutch Reformed church in the town is a prominent stone building in the high street with seating accommodation for 1500 people. The college is an educational centre of some importance; it was rebuilt in 1906. Graaff Reinet is a flourishing market for agricultural produce, the district being noted for its mohair industry, orchards and vineyards.
What's Going on in Graaff-Reinet
South Africa's fourth-oldest town offers relaxed and safe living in old-world charm – nearly every third building is a national monument – amid all the amenities of a modern lifestyle. Nestling in the horseshoe of the Sundays River in a fertile valley, with mountains towering around it, Graaff-Reinet has many and diverse attractions: from the scenic outdoors of the Valley of Desolation, the Nqweba Dam and the Camdeboo National Park with its rich animal life to the magnificent night skies, Bushmen sketches, Cape Dutch and Victorian architecture, Karoo hospitality, sport and adventure, and shopping. The Old Yellowwood Tree property and townhouse development provides for an up-market, secure and relaxed lifestyle in the heart of historical Graaff-Reinet. Enjoy old-world charm and traditional Karoo tranquility within walking distance of shops and other amenities - in the shade of Graaff-Reinet’s oldest yellowwood tree.
History
The town was founded by the Cape Dutch in 1786, being named after the then governor of Cape Colony, Cornelis Jacob van de Graaff, and his wife. In 1795 the burghers, smarting under the exactions of the Dutch East India Company proclaimed a republic. Similar action was taken by the burghers of Swellendam. Before the authorities at Cape Town could take decisive measures against the rebels, they were themselves compelled to capitulate to the British. The burghers having endeavoured, unsuccessfully, to get aid from a French warship at Algoa Bay surrendered to Colonel (afterwards General Sir) JO Vandeleur.
In January 1799 Marthinus Prinsloo, the leader of the republicans in 1795, again rebelled, but surrendered in April following. Prinsloo and nineteen others were imprisoned in Cape Town castle. After trial, Prinsloo and another commandant were sentenced to death and others to banishment. The sentences were not carried out and the prisoners were released, March 1803, on the retrocession of the Cape to the Netherlands.
In 1801 there had been another revolt in Graaff Reinet, but owing to the conciliatory measures of General F Dundas (acting governor of the Cape) peace was soon restored. It was this district, where a republican government in South Africa was first proclaimed, which furnished large numbers of the Voortrekkers in 1835-1842.
Famous people
★ Andries Pretorius, Great Trek Leader after whom Pretoria was named farmed in the district before the Great Trek.
★ Gerrit Maritz, Great Trek Leader after whom Pietermaritzburg was partly named was a wagon-maker in the town.
★ JLB Smith icthyologist famous for identifying the Coelecanth was born in Graaff-Reinet.
★ Dr. James Kitching paleontologist who proved theory of continental drift by finding particular fossil types in the Antarctic that were common in the Karoo.
★ Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe - First leader of the Pan Africanist Congress and jailed on Robben Island, was born here.
★ Dr. Beyers Naude anti-apartheid activist was schooled here.
★ Andrew Geddes Bain roadbuilder, geologist and palaeontologist lived here.
★ Francis Guthrie the Four Colour Theorem mathematician and botanist, lived here.
★ Harry Bolus botanist and founder of the Bolus Herbarium, lived here.
★ Anton Rupert SA industrialist and conservationist was born here.
★ Anthony "Dassie" Biggs a Springbok cricket player was born here
References
★ JC Voight, ''Fifty Years of the History of the Republic in South Africa 1795-1845'', vol. i. (London, 1899).
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