Mthatha

History

The settlement existed in the 1870s as a buffer-zone, in response to reported tensions between Mpondo and neighbouring Thembu groups, and in 1875 a magistrate's office was opened. The first magistrate, appointed that year, was a man named J F Boyes. The settlement developed during the next few years, becoming a military post for the British colonial forces in 1882. The town itself was founded in 1883, along the banks of the Mthatha River. Nearly a century later, the Mthatha Dam was constructed about eight kilometers upstream of the town. Mthatha became the leading administrative centre of the area, having both Anglican and Catholic cathedrals. The town became the headquarters of the Transkeian Territories General Council (known as the Bunga), and the building which served as a parliament was erected in 1903. This was followed by the construction of the town hall in 1908. A branch of the University of Fort Hare was established in the town, and after the independence of the Transkei in 1977 it became the University of Transkei. In 2005, the University of Transkei with the Border Technikon and Eastern Cape Technikon were merged to form the Walter Sisulu University for Technology and Science. The campus was the base for the region's first community radio station, UCRFM, which started in 1996 and has become a significant community broadcaster. On 1 August 1973, Mthatha High Court was opened. In 1973, a summit meeting of the black homeland leaders was held at Umtata, when they decided to federate their respective states after independence. In 1976, Transkei was granted independence as a bantustan, a nominally independent state not recognised outside South Africa. Mthatha served as the capital under the name "Umtata". Under the Transkei regime, an airport named after the…

Most-observed species

• Tree tobacco, Wild tobacco tree, Earleaf nightshade, Woolly nightshade, Bugweed, Tobacco weed, Tobacco bush, Wild tobacco, Kerosene plant, Wild tobacco bush, Wild tobacco plant

  Solanum mauritianum Scop. · Magnoliopsida
  73
• Black wattle

  Acacia mearnsii De Wild. · Magnoliopsida
  34
• Cattle Egret

  Bubulcus ibis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  21
• Chinaberry tree, Pride of India, Bead-tree, Cape lilac, Syringa berrytree, Persian lilac, Indian lilac

  Melia azedarach L. · Magnoliopsida
  21
• Castor-oil-Plant

  Ricinus communis L. · Magnoliopsida
  19
• Nightshade

  Solanum chrysotrichum Schltdl. · Magnoliopsida
  18
• Yellow bells

  Tecoma stans (L.) Juss. ex Kunth · Magnoliopsida
  18
• Largeleaf Lantana

  Lantana camara L. · Magnoliopsida
  17