Indwe

Indwe
Reformed Church in Indwe
Indwe Show map of Eastern Cape Indwe Show map of South Africa Indwe Show map of Africa  Indwe shown within Eastern Cape
Coordinates: 31°27′58″S 27°19′59″E / 31.466°S 27.333°E / -31.466; 27.333Coordinates: 31°27′58″S 27°19′59″E / 31.466°S 27.333°E / -31.466; 27.333
Country	South Africa
Province	Eastern Cape
District	Chris Hani
Municipality	Emalahleni
Established	1896
Area[1]
• Total	20.8 km2 (8.0 sq mi)
Population (2011)[1]
• Total	7,934
• Density	380/km2 (990/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)[1]
• Black African	95.7%
• Coloured	3.0%
• Indian/Asian	0.2%
• White	0.8%
• Other	0.4%
First languages (2011)[1]
• Xhosa	91.8%
• Afrikaans	3.6%
• English	1.8%
• Other	2.8%
Postal code (street)	5445
PO box	5445
Area code	045

Indwe is a town in Chris Hani District Municipality in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.

The town is situated between Dordrecht and Elliot on the R56 road. It was founded in 1896 as a centre for coal-mining activities which started in 1867, and attained municipal status in 1898. It takes its name from the Indwe River, named after the blue crane (Anthropoides paradiseus, Xhosa: iNdwe), which occurred there in great numbers.^[2]

History

Indwe was the fourth town after Johannesburg, Cape Town and Kimberley to have electricity. The “Indwe Railway Collieries and Land Company” was formed in Kimberley in late 1894. De Beers played a big part in it. The railway line was completed in March 1896. By 1899 the mine produced well over 100 000 tons of coal a year. By 1917 the coal mine closed down because meanwhile better quality coal had been discovered in the Transvaal.

References