History of Tarkastad

Tarkastad is located in the Winterberg Mountains, about halfway between Cradock and Queenstown. The town is known for its San rock paintings, its beautiful Karoo scenery, and its role in the Second Boer War.

The first people to occupy the area around Tarkastad were the San, who left an abundance of rock art paintings in Grootvlei just north of the town. The first farmers settled in Tarkastad in 1795 and built watermills, inns and both a Dutch Reformed and Presbyterian Church.

There are a couple of theories on where the name “Tarka” had its origin, but it cannot be determined with certainty. This name was originally given to the river, which has its source in the Winterberg, and flows near the town. The Field Cornetship later received the same name, and it was already known by this name before 1797. When the town was founded, the choice naturally fell on “Tarkastad”.

The Khoi were the first inhabitants of this region, and it is said that the word “Tarka” arose from the Khoi language. The original word was TARAXA ! AS: Taras – the woman; Taraxa (or also Taracha) – rich in women; ! AS – the place (or city). So a woman-rich place.

Another acceptable version is that the river was named “Tarka” by some very early traveller of English descent. In some parts of England, especially in Devonshire, the otter is called “tarka”. It could therefore have been that many years ago, an emigrant from the English countryside, finding otters in this river, gave the river that name.

One of the early permanent inhabitants of the area was Josias Alexander de Wit (1798 – 1883), the older brother of Voortrekker leader Andries Pretorius’ first wife. He arrived in the Tarka area around 1831, where he owned the farm Boschfontein, consisting of approximately 30,000 morgen of land. This farm was later subdivided into several farms. 

Two Great Trek leaders, Andries Potgieter and Piet Retief, farmed here for a short while. After the Dutch farmers decided to accompany their leaders on the Great Trek, the English 1820 settlers moved in.

The town of Tarkastad was established on the land purchased from Josias Alexander de Wit; however, the first Dutch Reformed Church hall was built on land he donated.  In 1862, Tarkastad was established as a church centre and became a municipality in 1864.

Elands River Poort is located 24 km to the NNW of Tarkastad, where the Battle of Elands River (1901) was fought during the Second Boer War. The 17th Lancers C Squadron was under the command of Captain Sandeman, a cousin of Winston Churchill. The War Cemetery at Modderfontein has the graves of British Soldiers killed in the Battle.

A family house in Tarkastad was the birthplace of anti-Apartheid activist Steve Biko.