Herschel, Eastern Cape

Herschel
Herschel Herschel Herschel  Herschel shown within Eastern Cape
Coordinates: 30°36′54″S 27°9′43″E / 30.61500°S 27.16194°ECoordinates: 30°36′54″S 27°9′43″E / 30.61500°S 27.16194°E
Country	South Africa
Province	Eastern Cape
District	Joe Gqabi
Municipality	Senqu
Established	1879
Area[1]
• Total	4.48 km^2 (1.73 sq mi)
Population (2011)[1]
• Total	2,189
• Density	490/km^2 (1,300/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)[1]
• Black African	99.9%
• Coloured	0.1%
First languages (2011)[1]
• Xhosa	87.5%
• Sotho	10.1%
• Other	2.3%
Postal code (street)	9756
PO box	9756
Area code	051-603

Herschel is a settlement in Joe Gqabi District Municipality in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.

The village is situated 19 kilometres (12 mi) north of Lady Grey, due east of Aliwal North. Founded in 1879, it was named after the astronomer Sir John Herschel who worked in the Cape Colony from 1834 to 1838, making observations of Halley’s Comet amongst his other astronomical work.^[2]

References

1. "Main Place Herschel". Census 2011.
2. Raper, P. E. (1989). Dictionary of Southern African Place Names. Jonathan Ball Publishers. p. 207. ISBN 978-0-947464-04-2 – via Internet Archive.