Fraserburg

History

The earliest known inhabitants of the area were the San people and their artefacts and rock paintings can still be found in the area. The first Europeans to arrive in the region were Trekboers who arrived in 1759. The first settler to be recorded in these parts was Willem Steenkamp, after whom the Steenkampsberg is named. In 1851 Fraserburg was established on the farm Rietfontein and named after the Scottish immigrant Reverend Colin Fraser. A post office was established in 1858, seven years after the town's founding, this led to an era of development for the area. In 1859 a magistrates office was opened and in 1860 a police station was opened and the town's first medical doctor arrived. In 1861 a prison was opened in the town, it closed 107 years later in 1968. In 1870 the town's first attorney and noted Afrikaans author, H. W. A. Cooper, moved to the town where he wrote the "Boerebrieven" in the Afrikaans newspaper Het Volksblad, writing under the pseudonym Samuel Zwaartman. The town was declared a municipality on June 6, 1862. In 1870 a powder magazine, which still stands on the edge of town, was built by the British army in case of war with the neighbouring Griqua people and was used during the Anglo-Boer War. In 1938 the town's first power station was installed with 7 Lister Blackstone generators -still present- used to power the town at the time it was connected to the national grid in 1983.

Geography

Fraserburg is situated at an altitude of above sea level on a high Karoo plateau, north of the Nuweveld Mountains. Similar to -although not to the same extent as- nearby Sutherland, Fraserburg's arid climate and remote location make its night skies among the world's clearest and darkest. The telescopes of the South African Astronomical Observatory list located roughly 95 km to the west of the town just outside Sutherland. These include the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT), the largest single optical telescope in the southern hemisphere. Fraserburg has an average yearly temperature of 13.9 °C and an average annual minimum temperature of 6 °C; Snowfall is common in winter. On average the town's warmest month is January with an average temperature of 21.7 °C, the coolest month tends to be June, with an average temperature of 6.7 °C. Fraserburg has a Tropical and Subtropical Desert Climate (Köppen climate classification 'BWk').

Most-observed species

• Karoo Chat

  Emarginata schlegelii (Wahlberg, 1855) · Aves
  71
• Lark-like Bunting

  Emberiza impetuani A.Smith, 1836 · Aves
  60
• Cape Sparrow

  Passer melanurus (Statius Muller, 1776) · Aves
  59
• Rufous-eared Warbler

  Malcorus pectoralis A.Smith, 1829 · Aves
  55
• Karoo Bustard

  Eupodotis vigorsii (A.Smith, 1831) · Aves
  53
• Karoo Scrub Robin

  Erythropygia coryphoeus (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  45
• Karoo Long-billed Lark

  Certhilauda subcoronata A.Smith, 1843 · Aves
  44
• Jackal Buzzard

  Buteo rufofuscus (J.R.Forster, 1798) · Aves
  40