King William's Town, town in southeastern South Africa, in Eastern Cape Province, 50 km (31 mi) northwest of East London. King William's Town has a large textile mill, a tannery, and footwear industries. The surrounding area is used mainly for cattle grazing and subsistence farming. King William's Town is surrounded on three sides by the former bantustan, or black homeland, of Ciskei. Most of the town's workforce commutes from this area. The Kaffrarian Museum, which is considered to have the finest collection of stuffed African mammals in the world, is located in King William's Town. Grey Hospital (1859) and nearby Fort Murray are both national monuments.
King William's Town was founded as a missionary station in 1826 and named after King William IV of Britain. Beginning in 1835 it was the military headquarters for the colony of British Kaffraria. Population (1991) 18,609.Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. King Williams Information info
|
