Place in Eastern Cape, South Africa
| Adelaide | |
|---|---|
 Dutch Reformed Church in Adelaide | |
  AdelaideShow map of Eastern Cape AdelaideShow map of South Africa AdelaideShow map of Africa | |
| Coordinates: 32°42′28″S 26°17′44″E / 32.70778°S 26.29556°E / -32.70778; 26.29556 | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Eastern Cape |
| District | Amathole |
| Municipality | Raymond Mhlaba |
| Area | |
| • Total | 40.0 km (15.4 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 600 m (2,000 ft) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 12,191 |
| • Density | 300/km (790/sq mi) |
| Racial makeup (2011) | |
| • Black African | 76.5% |
| • Coloured | 18.8% |
| • Indian/Asian | 0.5% |
| • White | 3.5% |
| • Other | 0.8% |
| First languages (2011) | |
| • Xhosa | 72.3% |
| • Afrikaans | 22.6% |
| • English | 3.0% |
| • Other | 2.1% |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
| Postal code (street) | 5760 |
| PO box | 5760 |
| Area code | 046 |
Adelaide is a rural town and farming area in the province of Eastern Cape, South Africa. Adelaide is situated at the foothills of the Great Winterberg mountain range, 22 kilometres (14 mi) east of Bedford and 37 kilometres (23 mi) west of Fort Beaufort.
History
Before European arrival
The first recorded settlement of the modern day area of Adelaide was during the late 18th and 19th centuries, when white farmers (known as trekboers) settled here and started productive farming. Before that time there may have been some dispersed groups of Bushmen, however they left no written records.
Colonial Adelaide
Adelaide's origins date back to 1835 when a British officer named Captain Alexander Boswell Armstrong (1787–1862) established a military encampment which he named Fort Adelaide after Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, wife of King William IV. Despite the earlier English settlers, who were part of the 1820 Settlers, later on a large number of both Scottish and Afrikaans people soon immigrated here too. The Scottish were also the first to erect a church in the local area.
Modern day Adelaide
Adelaide is an important centre for wool and sheep farming. Beef, mutton, venison, and citrus fruit are also important products. The specialised abattoir for venison (farm-hunted game meat) operating in the central town provides much needed employment to the local residents.
About 2,300 Coloureds reside in the Bezuidenhoutville township 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from the central town, and represent 19% of Adelaide's inhabitants. Lingelethu is the largest Black African township in Adelaide, with a census exceeding 6,000 and a population share of 77% of the municipal area.
References
- ^ Sum of the Main Places Adelaide and Lingelethu from Census 2011.
| Municipalities and communities of Amathole District Municipality, Eastern Cape | ||
|---|---|---|
| District seat: East London | ||
| Amahlathi | .svg) | |
| Great Kei |
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| Mbhashe |
| |
| Mnquma |
| |
| Ngqushwa | ||
| Raymond Mhlaba |
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