Boesmansriviermond

Boesmansriviermond

Boesmansriviermond
Boesmansriviermond

 Boesmansriviermond shown within South Africa

Coordinates: 33°42′00″S 26°39′58″E / 33.7°S 26.666°ECoordinates: 33°42′00″S 26°39′58″E / 33.7°S 26.666°E
Country South Africa
Province Eastern Cape
District Cacadu
Municipality Ndlambe
Area[1]
 • Total 15.82 km2 (6.11 sq mi)
Population (2011)[1]
 • Total 6,147
 • Density 390/km2 (1,000/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)[1]
 • Black African 77.5%
 • Coloured 13.6%
 • Indian/Asian 0.2%
 • White 8.3%
 • Other 0.5%
First languages (2011)[1]
 • Xhosa 74.1%
 • Afrikaans 16.9%
 • English 6.6%
 • Other 2.3%
Postal code (street) 6190
PO box 6190

Boesmansriviermond (Bushman's River Mouth) is a town in Ndlambe in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.

The village is 25 km from Port Alfred,[2] on the west bank of the Bushman's River, just across the river from Kenton-on-Sea.[3]

A well-known holiday resort, it is the site of many shipwrecks, the best-known of them being the Volo, a Norwegian barque wrecked near the river mouth in 1896.[4]

It was established in 1897 by farmers from nearby towns (Paterson, Cookhouse, Somerset East and Cradock) when they were granted permission to camp along the banks of the Bushmans River during the Christmas holiday season. Land leases during the early 1900s led to private land ownership, and modern development, though electricity and running water only became available in the 1980s,[5]

The Dias Cross Memorial at nearby Kwaaihoek is a provincial heritage site erected to mark the location of the padrão, or stone pillar, planted by Portuguese sailors led by Bartolomeu Dias.[6]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Main Place Boesmansriviermond". Census 2011.
  2. ↑ "Boesmansriviermond". Pam Golding Properties. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  3. ↑ Ivor Whibley (2003). The South African Fisherman. Struik. p. 149. ISBN 978-1-86872-802-2.
  4. ↑ "Boesmansriviermond". Sunshine Coast Tourism. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  5. ↑ "Boesmansriviermond/Bushman's River Mouth & Riversbend". Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  6. ↑ "Diaz Cross Memorial". WhereToStay. Retrieved 27 January 2014.