Carnarvon, South Africa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Carnarvon is a small town in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. Originally established in 1860 as the village of Harmsfontein, it was located within the territory of Schietfontein, the only water source in the area and the site of the Rhenish mission station founded in 1847 by the missionary, Rev. Christian Wilhelm Alheit. Some of the original mission buildings are still in use. The name was changed in 1874 in honour of the British Colonial Secretary, Lord Carnarvon (1831 - 1890), whose son, also Lord Cararvon, was the famous Egyptologist.

The main agricultural activities are sheep-farming and the growing of wheat.

A site near Carnarvon has been chosen for the construction, by 2009, of twenty 15m radio dishes, which will be a pilot project for the Square Kilometre Array.