Cradock, South Africa
Cradock | ||
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PO box 5880 | ||
Area code | 048 |
Cradock is a town in the
The town is named after John Cradock, governor of the Cape Colony in early 19th century and commander of the forces.[3]
Pre-colonial history
For thousands of years
By the 4th century AD Bantu-speaking people had begun to migrate from central Africa down the east coast into southern Africa. The
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
After the
The official proclamation appeared in the
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".[4]
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
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
Three
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.[8]
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.
Of enormous importance to the economic development of Cradock was the construction of the
The construction of the tunnel also made possible the annual Fish River Canoe Marathon. From humble beginnings in 1982 the two-day, 80 km (50 mi) event now attracts in excess of 1 500 paddlers from around the world.
A notable attraction is the Mountain Zebra National Park just 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from the town, where the once-endangered zebra 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
People
- William Faulds, Victoria Cross 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, 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
- Mary Ngalo, anti-apartheid activist
- Clifford Isaacs, cricket umpire
- T. O. Honiball, cartoonist
- Abe Bailey, 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
- PW van Vuuren, rugby player
- George Weideman, poet and writer
- Leigh Julius, athlete
- Samantha Stander, author, poet and differently abled athlete[citation needed][9][10][11][12]
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.[13][14] The arms were formally granted by the provincial administrator in May 1966[15] 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.[16]
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.
See also
References
- hdl:2263/26503. Archivedfrom the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Sub Place Cradock". Census 2011. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
- ISBN 978-0-947464-04-2 – via Internet Archive.
- ISBN 9780620361637.
- ISBN 9780798117609.
- ISBN 978-1-77022-568-8.
- ^ STATEMENT BY THE TRC: AMNESTY APPLICATIONS FOR CRADOCK FOUR KILLINGS, 16 February 1998 Archived 30 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Spies, Derrick (7 April 2015). "Cradock Four memorial neglected, forgotten". News24. Archived from the original on 6 September 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- ^ "Samantha Stander". Archived from the original on 17 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
- ^ "Student determined not to let hip disorder grind her down". Archived from the original on 19 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
- ^ "Interview with Samantha Stander". 22 April 2016. Archived from the original on 17 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
- S2CID 239828874.
- ^ The arms were depicted on a medallion Archived 22 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine issued in 1902.
- ^ The arms were depicted on a cigarette card Archived 6 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine issued in 1931.
- ^ Cape of Good Hope Official Gazette 3348 (27 May 1966).
- ^ "Cradock". Heraldry of the World. Archived from the original on 10 September 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
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
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 7 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 360.