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Queenstown Komani | |
|---|---|
   Clockwise from Top: Queenstown City Hall,Dutch Reformed Church, St Michael Anglican Church. | |
| Nickname: Rose Capital of South Africa | |
  Queenstown  Queenstown  Queenstown | |
| Coordinates:31°54′S26°53′E / 31.900°S 26.883°E /-31.900; 26.883 | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Eastern Cape |
| District | Chris Hani |
| Municipality | Enoch Mgijima |
| Established | 1853 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Madoda Pipiyana[citation needed] |
| Area | |
• Total | 71.3 km2 (27.5 sq mi) |
| Population (2011)[2] | |
• Total | 98,988 |
• Estimate (2025)[3] | 124,377 |
| • Density | 1,390/km2 (3,600/sq mi) |
| Racial makeup (2011) | |
| • Black African | 81.8% |
| • Coloured | 10.0% |
| • Indian/Asian | 1.1% |
| • White | 6.5% |
| • Other | 0.6% |
| First languages (2011) | |
| • Xhosa | 75.2% |
| • Afrikaans | 13.8% |
| • English | 7.3% |
| • Other | 3.7% |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
| Postal code (street) | 5320 |
| PO box | 5319 |
| Area code | 045 |
Queenstown, officiallyKomani,[4] is a town in the middle of theEastern Cape Province ofSouth Africa, roughly halfway between the smaller towns ofCathcart andSterkstroom on theN6 national route. The town was established in 1853 and is currently the commercial, administrative, and educational centre of the surrounding farmingdistrict.
Queenstown was founded in early 1853 under the direction of SirGeorge Cathcart, who named the settlement, and then fort, afterQueen Victoria. Work on its railway connection toEast London on the coast was begun by theCape government ofJohn Molteno in 1876, and the line was officially opened on 19 May 1880.[5]
The town war memorial was designed by SirRobert Lorimer in 1922 with its sculpture byAlice Meredith Williams.[6]
The town prospered from its founding up to the worldwide depression of the 1930s, and again thereafter. In the 1960s, the majority of the Black population were moved east to the township ofEzibeleni, as part of the attempt to move African people to so-called"homelands".
The area has in the past had very severe weather problems, luckily, often only affecting the surrounding areas. In 2002, heavy snowfall around Queenstown caused a severe disaster, especially since the area was not funded or ready for such a disaster.[7] Then, in 2004, the surrounding areas of the Eastern Cape were affected by strong winds and heavy rainfall,[8] although Queenstown once again escaped much flooding and some wind damage, power shortages soon followed. Other natural disasters includedroughts[9] and wildfires.[10]
In February 2016, the government changed the official name for the town from "Queenstown" to "Komani".[4]
Tertiary education institutions in Queenstown includeWalter Sisulu University andBoston City Campus and Business College.Queens College Boys' High School is also located in the town.
The city is the seat of theRoman Catholic Diocese of Queenstown, centred at the Cathedral of Christ the King. It is also the seat of theAnglican Church'sDiocese of Ukhahlamba, whose imposing Cathedral Church of St. Michael and All Angels stands adjacent to the town's public gardens.[11] Churches of all faith denominations are to be found in and around the town.
The town lies on theKomani River which forms part of theGreat Kei system of rivers and has a plentiful water supply from the surrounding rugged mountains. The water is collected in theBongolo Dam, set in the hills, used extensively for recreation andwatersports. Each year, around the beginning of June, the town holds an art exhibition with the emphasis on paintings and sculpture.
The layout of the town reflects its original objective as a defensive stronghold for the frontier area and has a most unusual design. There is a central hexagonal area where canon or rifle fire could be directed down six thoroughfares radiating from the centre. The canon sites have now been replaced with gardens and a central fountain. An abstract sculpture replaced the fountain as part of the town's 150th anniversary. Thehexagon still exists, with the outer road surrounding it namedRobinson Road, which encircles it. Surrounding the Hexagon to the east and west lies more commercial and administrative facilities.
Currently, formerly 'white suburbs' (Sandringham,Kingsway,Windsor, Bergsig, Blue rise, Balmoral, Madeira Park and a new suburb ofKomani Park) surround the hexagon to the north, east and west, however, one of the city's great townships (and squatter camps) lies to the south. It is a collection of black and coloured townships namedMlungisi,Aloevale, a new township,Victoria Park has been built to the south-east of the city. East of the town lies the much largerEzibeleni township, which although roughly the same surface area as the main town, has by far a larger population.
Queenstown has acold semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification:BSk), that borders on asubtropical highland climate (Köppen climate classification:Cfb), and ahumid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification:Cfa).
| Climate data for Queenstown | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 40.6 (105.1) | 40.0 (104.0) | 37.2 (99.0) | 34.0 (93.2) | 31.1 (88.0) | 26.1 (79.0) | 26.4 (79.5) | 31.1 (88.0) | 35.0 (95.0) | 37.8 (100.0) | 38.1 (100.6) | 40.0 (104.0) | 40.6 (105.1) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 29.3 (84.7) | 28.7 (83.7) | 27.0 (80.6) | 23.9 (75.0) | 20.6 (69.1) | 18.3 (64.9) | 18.2 (64.8) | 20.2 (68.4) | 22.9 (73.2) | 24.7 (76.5) | 26.4 (79.5) | 28.6 (83.5) | 24.2 (75.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 21.9 (71.4) | 21.7 (71.1) | 20.1 (68.2) | 16.6 (61.9) | 13.3 (55.9) | 10.6 (51.1) | 10.6 (51.1) | 12.4 (54.3) | 15.1 (59.2) | 17.1 (62.8) | 19.0 (66.2) | 21.1 (70.0) | 16.7 (62.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 14.5 (58.1) | 14.7 (58.5) | 13.3 (55.9) | 9.4 (48.9) | 6.0 (42.8) | 3.0 (37.4) | 2.9 (37.2) | 4.6 (40.3) | 7.3 (45.1) | 9.5 (49.1) | 11.6 (52.9) | 13.5 (56.3) | 9.2 (48.6) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 3.9 (39.0) | 3.9 (39.0) | 1.5 (34.7) | −1.1 (30.0) | −5.5 (22.1) | −6.7 (19.9) | −7.5 (18.5) | −6.7 (19.9) | −3.8 (25.2) | −1.7 (28.9) | 0.1 (32.2) | 3.0 (37.4) | −7.5 (18.5) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 77 (3.0) | 88 (3.5) | 83 (3.3) | 40 (1.6) | 24 (0.9) | 14 (0.6) | 13 (0.5) | 16 (0.6) | 26 (1.0) | 40 (1.6) | 58 (2.3) | 72 (2.8) | 551 (21.7) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.1 mm) | 10.6 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 7.3 | 5.4 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 8.2 | 8.6 | 9.0 | 85.2 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 64 | 68 | 68 | 66 | 62 | 58 | 54 | 52 | 56 | 61 | 64 | 62 | 61 |
| Source:Deutscher Wetterdienst[12] | |||||||||||||
The Queenstown area is in theBurgersdorp Formation of theTarkastad subgroup, in the upperBeaufort Group Triassic in age in thekaroo supergroup. The lithology is red mudstone 1 to 10 m rich layers and sub-ordinate 1 to 2 m rich sandstone layers deposited by meanderingrivers in theflood plain in an oxidising environment gradually filling the Karoo basin. The formation reaches a thickness of 600 m in the Komani (Queenstown) andLady Frere area. Numerous dolerite dykes and ring structures intruded the area creating localities for groundwater exploration.
The town has two newspapers,The Representative andThe Express. It has a community radio station, Lukhanji FM. The Eastern Cape newspaper,Daily Dispatch, is widely read in the area.
The Queenstown municipal council assumed a pseudo-heraldic coat of arms in October 1902.[13] The shield was quartered and depicted theUnion Jack, a landscape with Hangklip mountain in the background, a landscape with a mimosa tree in the foreground, and a portrait ofKing Edward VII. The crest was a demi-antelope, and the mottoUnity is strength.[14] The council later assumed a new coat of arms. The new shield displayed a golden royal coronet on a red background. The crest was the same as before, but the motto was translated into Latin asEx unitate vires.[15]
Queenstown has produced 2 Olympians and a plethora of musicians, sportsmen(national and international) and more. Some notable names hailing from the town are:
Municipalities and communities ofChris Hani District Municipality,Eastern Cape | ||
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District seat:Queenstown (Komani) | ||
| Intsika Yethu | .svg) | |
| Enoch Mgijima | ||
| Engcobo |
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| Emalahleni |
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| Inxuba Yethemba | ||
| Sakhisizwe | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
