Beaufort West

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Beaufort West is a town in the Western Cape province in South Africa. It is the oldest and largest town in the arid Great Karoo region, and forms part of the Beaufort West Local Municipality, with 37 000 inhabitants in 2001.

The town was founded in 1818 and initially named Beaufort after Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort, who was the father of Lord Charles Henry Somerset, then governor of the Cape Colony. The town was renamed Beaufort West in 1869.

Today Beaufort West is the centre of an agricultural district based mainly on sheep farming, and is a significant town on the N1 national road.

Next door to Beaufort West is the Karoo National Park. Important fossils have been found in the area, initially by David Baird, son of the local magistrate in 1827.

As part of a drive to create employment opportunities, a hydroponics project was started and now supplies premium herbs and vegetables nationally.

The old Town Hall and the Dutch Reformed Church have been declared national monuments.

Christiaan Barnard, the pioneering heart surgeon, was born and grew up in Beaufort West. He is commemorated in the local museum.

The Municipal Manager and ex-mayor of Beaufort West, Truman Prince, made headlines in 2005 when he was filmed in a television documentary apparently soliciting underage prostitutes. He was subsequently expelled from the African National Congress.