Grahamstown
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Grahamstown is a city in the Eastern Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa and is the seat of the Makana municipality. The population of Grahamstown, as of 2003, was 124 758 (Rhodes University Journalism Department).
Located some 140 km from Port Elizabeth and 180 km from East London, Grahamstown is also the seat of Rhodes University, a diocese of the Church of the Province of South Africa (C.P.S.A. - Anglican) and a High Court. However it does not form part of the South African Cities Network (see List of cities in South Africa).
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[edit] History
Grahamstown was founded in 1812 as a military outpost by Lieutenant-Colonel John Graham as part of the effort to secure the eastern frontier of British influence in the then Cape Colony against the Xhosa. Grahamstown grew during the 1820s as many 1820 Settlers and their families left farming to establish themselves in more secure trades. In a few decades it became the Cape Colony's largest city after Cape Town. It became a bishopric in 1852.
In 1904 Rhodes University College was established in Grahamstown through a grant from the Rhodes Trust. In 1951 it became a fully-fledged University, Rhodes University. Today it provides world-class tertiary education in a wide range of disciplines to over 6,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students.
With the establishment of the Union of South Africa the Grahamstown High Court became a Local Division of the newly formed Supreme Court of South Africa (under Cape Town). However after several years the court was elevated to a Provincial Division and a Local Division was established in Port Elizabeth. In certain other areas of provincial government Grahamstown similarly served as a centre for the Eastern Cape.
In 1994 Grahamstown became part of the newly established Eastern Cape Province, while Bhisho was chosen as the provincial capital.
[edit] Religion - 'The City of Saints'
The Anglican Cathedral of St Michael and St George is a diocesan seat of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. Grahamstown also has Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Ethiopian Episcopal, Methodist, Baptist, Pinkster Protestante, Dutch Reformed (Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk), Charismatic, Apostolic and Pentecostal churches. There are also meeting places for Hindus, Scientologists, Quakers, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and Muslims.
For historic reasons, particularly the vibrancy of evangelism during Grahamstown's heyday, the City is home to more than forty religious buildings, and the nickname the "City of Saints" has become attached to Grahamstown. However, there is another story which may be the source of this nickname.
It is said that, in about 1846, there were Royal Engineers stationed in Grahamstown who were in need of building tools. They sent a message to Cape Town requesting a vice to be forwarded to them from the Ordnance Stores. A reply came back, 'Buy vice locally'. The response was, 'No vice in Grahamstown'. (Morton, 1948:161)
[edit] Education, Arts and Culture
Grahamstown is home to many schools as well as Rhodes University. It is also home to several institutes, most importantly the South African National Library for the Blind, the National English Literary Museum, the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (formerly the JLB Smith Institute), and the Institute for the Study of English in Africa.
The effects of Apartheid still affect the provision of secondary education in this former frontier town, where significant discrepencies in matric pass rates and general quality of education exist. Addressing this problem is one of the cities greatest challenges.
The Observatory Museum
In 1859, Henry Carter Galpin bought a simple double-storey establishment in Bathurst Street for £300. During the next 23 years he made extensive changes. The front was elegantly decorated, and a basement and three floors added to the back. Rooftop developments included an observatory, from which the building took its name, and the only Camera Obscura in the Southern Hemisphere.
Born in 1820 in Dorset, England, Galpin trained as an architect, surveyor and civil engineer, as well as a chronometer, clock and watchmaker. These skills, together with his keen interest in optics and astronomy, are reflected throughout The Observatory- the most unusual Victorian home and business premises in South Africa.
Galpin's thriving watchmaker and jeweller's shop was run by three of his seven sons after his death in 1886. They sold to Messrs Leader and Krummeck in 1939. Several businesses occupied the ground floor while the basement and upper floors were divided into flats and lodgings.
By the end of the 1970's the structure was dilapidated and unsound. The historic link with the identification of the Eureka diamond led to the purchase and restoration of the Observatory by De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited.
The building was subsequently proclaimed a National Monument and presented to the Albany Museum to form part of its History Division. Exhibits were arranged, and The Observatory Museum was opened by Mr. Harry F. Oppenheimer, the then Chairman of De Beers, on February 2, 1983.
Festivals
Two large festivals take place annually in Grahamstown: the National Arts Festival in June/July and the Sasol SciFest in March. The National Arts Festival is the largest Arts festival in Africa and sees some of the leading talent on the South African and international art scene arriving in Grahamstown for a celebration of culture and artistic expression. [1]
[edit] List of Schools
- Diocesan School for Girls (1878 - Anglican)
- Graeme College (1873 - Non-denominational, known variously before 1939 as Victoria Boys' High School and the Grahamstown Public School)
- Kingswood College (1894 - Methodist)
- Oatlands Preparatory
- P.J. Olivier (1956 - Afrikaans)
- St. Aidan's College (1875-1973 Jesuit - now defunct)
- St. Andrew's College (1855 - Anglican)
- St. Andrew's Preparatory (1885 - Anglican)
- Victoria Girls' High School (1897 - Non-denominational)
[edit] Press
Grahamstown is home to the oldest surviving independent newspaper in South Africa. Named the Grocott's Mail, it was founded in 1870 by the Grocott family, and bought out a pre-existing newspaper called the Grahamstown Journal, dating from 1831. It is presently a local newspaper operated by the School of Journalism and Media Studies at Rhodes University, and still retains its name. Grocott's Mail's main competitor is a weekly free-sheet called Grahamstown This Week, owned by Johnnic Communications. As a major centre for journalism training, Grahamstown also hosts two student newspapers, Activate, established in 1947, and The Oppidan Press.
[edit] Government
Grahamstown forms part of the Makana Local Municipality in the Cacadu District. Grahamstown is a seat of the High Court of South Africa (for the Eastern Cape), as well as the Magistrates Office for the Albany District. As a result of the presence of a High Court, several other related organs of state such as a Masters Office and a Director of Public Prosecutions are present in the city. A few other Government (mostly provincial) departments maintain branches or other offices in Grahamstown.
[edit] Trivia
- Grahamstown was the only settlement outside Cape Town to host a sitting of the Cape Colony legislature (a move to defuse a call for the creation of a separate colony).
- Grahamstown was the location of the testing of the first diamond find by Henry Galpin.
- Grahamstown has the "tallest toilet in the world" (housed in an abandoned chimney).
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Official Grahamstown website
- National Arts Festival website
- National English Literary Museum
- South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity
- Makana Municipality
- Grocott's Mail
- [1]
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[edit] References
- National Arts Festival: About
- South African Government Information: Arts and Culture
- Daily News: Tonight
- South Africa.info
- Rhodes University Outline
- Grocott's Mail Online
- Morton, H.V., 1948. In Search of South Africa. London: Methuen & Co. Ltd.
- Rhodes University Journalism
