Bethelsdorp

Bethelsdorp is a town in Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, 20 km north-west of Port Elizabeth.

Bethelsdorp
Almshouses, Alms Street, Bethelsdorp
Bethelsdorp
Bethelsdorp
Coordinates: 33°53′S 25°30′E
CountrySouth Africa
ProvinceEastern Cape
MunicipalityNelson Mandela Bay
Established1803
Area
  Total36.62 km2 (14.14 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)[1]
  Total182,012
  Density5,000/km2 (13,000/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
  Black African34.1%
  Coloured64.4%
  Indian/Asian0.6%
  White0.2%
  Other0.8%
First languages (2011)
  Afrikaans57.8%
  Xhosa28.7%
  English11.2%
  Other2.3%
Time zoneUTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)
6059
PO box
6003
Area code+27 (0)41

History

Established in 1803 by Rev. J.T. van der Kemp on the farm Roodepas of Theunis Botha as a mission station of the London Missionary Society. The name is derived from the Hebrew word Baitheel, meaning 'House of God'.[2]

Under the previous political dispensation, Bethelsdorp was a township almost exclusively inhabited by coloureds (Afrikaans: Kleurlinge). This changed somewhat with the end of Apartheid in South Africa in 1994, as living and trading in the township is now freely open to all races.

References

  1. "Main Place Bethelsdorp". Census 2011.
  2. "Dictionary of Southern African Place Names (Public Domain)". Human Science Research Council. p. 78.


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