Prince Albert Road, Western Cape

Prince Albert Road
Prince Albert Road Prince Albert Road Prince Albert Road  Prince Albert Road shown within Western Cape
Coordinates: 32°59′04″S 21°41′13″E / 32.98444°S 21.687°ECoordinates: 32°59′04″S 21°41′13″E / 32.98444°S 21.687°E
Country	South Africa
Province	Western Cape
District	Central Karoo
Municipality	Laingsburg
Population [1]
• Total	103
PO box	6931
Area code	023

Prince Albert Road is a village located in Laingsburg Local Municipality, Western Cape.

History

The village of Prince Albert Road owes its existence to the route chosen by Prime Minister John Molteno, in 1872, for the Cape Government Railways's western main line and its stations, from Cape Town to the diamond fields at Kimberley.^[2][3]

A railway station was built at this particular point due partly to its location roughly halfway between Beaufort West and Laingsburg, and a road was run to service the town of Prince Albert, at the foot of the Swartberg mountains, 40 km to the south. This road was therefore named Prince Albert road (now the R407), and the railway station was likewise named "Prince Albert Road". Soon, a small hamlet developed around the station; from this, the modern village grew.^[4]

In 1886 a coach service connected Prince Albert Road to Oudtshoorn far to the south, and village's mud-walled kraals served as an occasional market and trading point for the farmers of the surrounding district.^[5]

Attractions

It is today known for its fossil trails in the surrounding Karoo. The artist Jan Schoeman ("Outa Lappies") was possibly the town's most famous resident. He was an artist, recycler, and philosopher, who was voted as the Western Cape Tourism Personality of the Year in 2000. ^[6][7] He died on July 7, 2011^[8]

References

1. Water Services National Information System - Community Report
2. Royal Colonial Society: Proceedings of the Royal Colonial Institute. Northumberland Avenue, London. 1898. p.26. "The Railway System of South Africa".
3. C. Schoeman: The Historical Karoo: Traces of the Past in South Africa's Arid Interior. Penguin Random House South Africa. 2013. ISBN 1770225684 p.39.
4. Burman, Jose (1984). Early Railways at the Cape. Cape Town. Human & Rousseau, p.59. ISBN 0-7981-1760-5
5. "Dictionary of Southern African Place Names (Public Domain)". Human Science Research Council. p. 306.
6. http://www.lifeinbalance.co.za/page/travel/447809-Outa-Lappies-philosopher-and-master-recycler
7. http://www.explorersclub.co.za/Things_to_do.html
8. Update: Outa Lappies remembered, Oudtshoorn Courant, July 6, 2012