Adelaide, Eastern Cape

Province

Adelaide is a place in the district Amathole, Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. He belongs to the municipality Nxuba whose headquarters he is. It lies on the Koonap River south of winter mountains. Adelaide has about 6,126 inhabitants ( 2011).

History

The present territory of Adelaide was first inhabited by San; later, with the arrival of the Xhosa and then the Europeans, most San were displaced.

Adelaide's founding in 1834, goes back to the British officer Captain Alexander Boswell Armstrong, who built a military camp there, which he named Fort Adelaide. Already at the beginning of the 19th century, the British had established a military post on the south bank of the River Koonap here.

Armstrong's reverence for the wife of King William IV, Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, was so large that it a year later with the establishment of another military camp at the headwaters of the Kat River, the Camp Adelaide, used her name. This fortified post was later renamed Fort Armstrong.

In addition to the early English settlers, who were among the " settlers of 1820 ", and later migrated a large number of Scots and the Boers in this area. The Scots were the first who built a church there.

Economy and Transport

To Adelaide cattle and sheep are bred and produced wool and citrus fruits. The regional road R63 leads in west-east direction through Adelaide.

Museum

In Adelaide, a small museum preserves exhibits and photos from the settlement history of the region. It bears the name of Our Heritage Museum ( Ons Erfenis Museum) and was opened in 1967. The collection includes furniture from the 19th century and ceramic objects of Wedgwoodware and from Dresden and Staffordshire. Historic vehicles refer to the Voortrekkers and the events in the Ninth border war from 1877 to 1879. Historic Museum building was originally built for the Reverend George William Stegman in 1860 on Georgian style.