Port Alfred

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Port Alfred
Bridge in Port Alfred
Port Alfred
 Port Alfred shown within South Africa
Coordinates: 33°36′S 26°53′E / 33.600°S 26.883°E / -33.600; 26.883Coordinates: 33°36′S 26°53′E / 33.600°S 26.883°E / -33.600; 26.883
Country South Africa
Province Eastern Cape
District Cacadu
Municipality Ndlambe
Government
  Type Town Council
  Mayor Sipho Tandani
Area[1]
  Total 46.6 km2 (18.0 sq mi)
Population (2011)[1]
  Total 25,859
  Density 550/km2 (1,400/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)[1]
  Black African 75.8%
  Coloured 6.8%
  Indian/Asian 0.3%
  White 16.7%
  Other 0.4%
First languages (2011)[1]
  Xhosa 71.2%
  English 14.4%
  Afrikaans 11.4%
  Other 3.1%
Postal code (street) 6170
PO box 6170
Area code 046
Website http://www.portalfred.co.za/

Port Alfred is a small town with a population of just under 26,000[1] in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated on the eastern seaboard of the country at the mouth of the Kowie River, almost exactly half-way between the larger cities of Port Elizabeth and East London and 30 km West of Cannon Rocks.

Port Alfred is home to Southern Africa's largest air school, 43 Air School[2]

History

Port Alfred was established in the early 1820s by British settlers who were moved into the area by Lord Charles Somerset as a buffer between the Cape Colony and the Xhosa people. Originally it was two separate towns (settlers arriving on the west bank in 1820 named their settlement Port Kowie, and those arriving on the east bank named theirs Port Frances[3]).

Later, in 1860, when Queen Victoria’s son Prince Alfred visited, the name was changed in his honour.[4][5]

The port

In 1839, William Cock started to block the natural river mouth to the east and canalise the present opening to the sea. By 1841 South Africa's first man-made harbour was opened after completion of the stone lined channel between the ocean and the Kowie river.[6] This allowed high-masted sailing ships with their heavy cargo to dock at the wharf.

Transport

Port Alfred is located on the junction of the R67 and R72 roads. The R67 connects Port Alfred with the N2 at Grahamstown to the north, while the R72 joins the N2 near Colchester to the west and follows the coast to East London in the east.

Education

Port Alfred is home to Stenden South Africa, a subsidiary campus of Stenden University in the Netherlands. Port Alfred has one dual medium English and Afrikaans school, Port Alfred High School

Further reading

Turpin, Eric W (1964). Basket Work Harbour; The Story of the Kowie. Cape Town: Howard Timmins. p. 136. ISBN 0-86978-244-4. 

References

External links

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