Hofmeyr

Hofmeyr
Old Hofmeyr town hall built in 1907
Hofmeyr
 Hofmeyr shown within Eastern Cape
Hofmeyr
Hofmeyr (South Africa)
Hofmeyr
Hofmeyr (Africa)
Coordinates: 31°38′S 25°48′E / 31.633°S 25.800°E / -31.633; 25.800Coordinates: 31°38′S 25°48′E / 31.633°S 25.800°E / -31.633; 25.800
Country South Africa
Province Eastern Cape
District Chris Hani
Municipality Tsolwana
Established 1873
Government
 • Type Ward 5
 • Councillor Gredwill Van Heerden (African National Congress)
Area[1]
 • Total 16.9 km2 (6.5 sq mi)
Population (2011)[1]
 • Total 3,680 (Hofmeyr 326, Luxolweni 3,354)
Racial makeup (2011)[1]
 • Black African 80.3%
 • Coloured 15.8%
 • Indian/Asian 0.4%
 • White 3.2%
 • Other 0.2%
First languages (2011)[1]
 • Xhosa 78.3%
 • Afrikaans 18.2%
 • English 1.5%
 • Other 2.0%
Time zone UTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street) 5930
PO box 5930
Area code 048

Hofmeyr is a small Karoo town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, 20 km west of the Bamboesberg mountain range. It lies 64 km north-east of Cradock at an altitude of 1,252 metres. According to the 2011 census, the population of Hofmeyr proper is about 326 persons and the neighbouring township of Luxolweni is about 3354. In former times it lay at the centre of a flourishing sheep-farming district and managed some salt pans 10 km to its west.

Founded in 1873, the town was initially named Maraisburg. To avoid confusion with the Gauteng area of Maraisburg it was renamed Hofmeyr in 1911 [2] in honour of Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr (Onze Jan),[3] a campaigner for the equal treatment of Afrikaans and English and a prominent figure in the Eerste Taalbeweging.

The Hofmeyr Skull, belonging to a 36,000 year old anatomically modern human, was found in 1952 in the dry wash of the Vlekpoort River just outside Hofmeyr.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Sum of the Main Places Hofmeyr and Luxolweni from Census 2011.
  2. ↑ "Journal of the Australasian Universities Modern Language Association". Journal of the Australasian Universities Modern Language Association: 24. 2006.
  3. ↑ Raper 1989, p. 212.

  • Raper, P. E. (1989). Dictionary of Southern African Place Names. Jonathan Ball Publishers. ISBN 978-0-947464-04-2.

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