Bethelsdorp

Place in Eastern Cape, South Africa

33°53′S 25°30′E / 33.883°S 25.500°E / -33.883; 25.500CountrySouth AfricaProvinceEastern CapeMunicipalityNelson Mandela BayEstablished1803Area

^[1]

• Total36.62 km² (14.14 sq mi)Population

(2011)^[1]

• Total182,012 • Density5,000/km² (13,000/sq mi)Racial makeup (2011)

^[1]

• Black African34.1% • Coloured64.4% • Indian/Asian0.6% • White0.2% • Other0.8%First languages (2011)

^[1]

• Afrikaans57.8% • Xhosa28.7% • English11.2% • Other2.3%Time zoneUTC+2 (SAST)Postal code (street)

6059

PO box

6003

Area code+27 (0)41

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.

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

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Main Place Bethelsdorp". Census 2011.
^ "Dictionary of Southern African Place Names (Public Domain)". Human Science Research Council. p. 78.