The Kat River Valley, Balfour and Hertzog
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21504/vhkswx72Keywords:
Kat River Valley, Kat River Settlement (1829-1851), Christiaan Groepe, Andries Botha, J W Bowker, War of Mlanjeni, Fort Armstrong, Hermanuskraal, Camp Adelaide, Balfour, Hertzog Village, Willem Frederik Hertzog (1792-1847), Tamboekiesvlei, James Read, Stockenström, Katberg, Robert Balfour, Glasgow Missionary Society, John Ross, William Porter, Robert RossAbstract
This article, The Kat River Valley, Balfour and Hertzog, compiled by Margaret Snodgrass, recounts a 2022 visit by historical society members to the Kat River Valley in the Eastern Cape. Drawing on sources by Blackbeard, McCracken, and Ross, it outlines the valley’s history from its early Khoikhoi and amaXhosa occupation to the establishment of the Kat River Settlement (1829–1851) under Sir Andries Stockenström’s plan to resettle Khoikhoi and discharged soldiers as a frontier buffer. The article highlights the settlement’s early prosperity, its leadership under figures like Christiaan Groepe and Andries Botha, and its decline following wars, floods, and rebellion. Key landmarks such as Fort Armstrong and the Hertzog Church reflect the area’s rich social and missionary heritage. The Kat River Settlement remains a significant example of early African landholding, resilience, and emerging political identity within South Africa’s colonial frontier history.
References
Blackbeard, S.I. (2017). Kat River Conversations. Cape Town: Self-published.
Eve, J. (2003). A Literary Guide to the Eastern Cape. Cape Town: Double Story Books.
McCracken, D.P. (1982). ‘The Kat River Settlement’, Annals of the Grahamstown Historical Society, 3(4), pp. 35–38.
Ross, R. (2014). The Borders of Race in Colonial South Africa: The Kat River Settlement, 1829–1856. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Margaret Snodgrass
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