Грааф-Рейнет: История и Знаменитые Личности

Graaff Reinet was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1786, after Cape Town in 1652, Stellenbosch in 1679, Paarl in 1687 and Swellendam in 1745. The town is named after then governor of the Cape Colony, Cornelis Jacob van de Graaff, and his wife. The town was originally established as a trading post to expand trading inland from the Cape Colony. In 1795, the town's burghers, who were annoyed by company taxation, proclaimed themselves to be the independent "Colony of Graaff Reinet". The burghers then requested guardianship from the government of the Netherlands. Similar action was subsequently taken by the burghers of Swellendam. Graaff Reinet became the centre of British military operations for the Eastern Cape during the Second Boer War. In 1901, a number of captured Boer rebels were tried in the town for crimes ranging from high treason, murder, attempted murder, arson and robbery. Nine were sentenced to death, with eight of these being executed by firing squad on the outskirts of the town, while the ninth sentence was carried out in Colesberg. A monument stands in the town to commemorate these fallen Boers.

The town lies above sea level and is built on the banks of the Sundays River, which rises a little further north on the southern slopes of the Sneeuberge, and splits into several channels here. The town is home to a number of tourist attractions, including the Dutch Reformed church in the town, which is a prominent stone building with seating to accommodate 1,500 people. The building is influenced by the architecture of Salisbury Cathedral in England. The town is also home to tourist sites such as The Valley of Desolation, Camdeboo National Park and the Reinet House Museum, a Cape Dutch building, formerly the Dutch Reformed Church parsonage.

Daniel François Malan (22 May 1874 – 7 February 1959), D. F. Malan, was a prime minister of South Africa. He is seen as the champion of Afrikaner nationalism, and his government started to legalise apartheid policies. An ordained Dutch Reformed minister in Graaff Reinet between 1912 and 1915. He is positioned 81st on the Top 100 Great South Africans list. Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe (5 December 1924 – 27 February 1978) was a South African political dissident, who founded the Pan Africanist Congress in opposition to the Apartheid regime. Sobukwe was born in Graaff Reinet. In 2004 Sobukwe was voted 42nd in the Top 100 Great South Africans. Dr Beyers Naude – anti apartheid activist matriculated in Graaff Reinet. In 2004, he was voted 36th in the Top 100 Great South Africans. Matthew Goniwe (1947–1985) Well known teacher and political activist in South Africa. His political involvement led to his arrest and conviction in 1977 under the Suppression of Communism Act and he was sentenced to four years in prison. He taught at a local school in 1982. On 27 June 1985 Goniwe and three other activists, Fort Calata, Sparrow Mkhonto and Sicelo Mhlauli who became known as "The Cradock Four" were killed and mutilated by unnamed members of the Security Forces. Cameron Dugmore (b. 16 September 1963)—was sworn in as MEC for Education in the Western Cape Province on 30 April 2004. He attended the Union Primary School in Graaff Reinet. His father was principal at Union High School. He has been a member of the Western Cape Provincial Executive of the African National Congress since 1993. Sir Andries Stockenström, 1st Baronet (6 July 1792, Cape Town – 16 March 1864, London) – lived in Graaff Reinet.

Francis Guthrie the Four Colour Theorem mathematician and botanist, lived here. Harry Bolus botanist and founder of the Bolus Herbarium, lived here. Andrew Geddes Bain (1797 – 20 October 1864), esteemed geologist, road engineer, palaeontologist and explorer. Lived in Graaff Reinet from 1822 for 13 years and worked as a saddle maker. He helped with the construction of the Ouberg Pass and supervised the construction of the Van Rynevelds Pass. In 1837 he was appointed superintendent of military roads by the Royal Engineers. He built eight mountain passes including Michell's Pass and Bain's Kloof Pass. He can rightly be called the father of South African palaeontology. His first fossil discovery was made in 1838. Famous for a fossil he discovered with a very impressive jaw filled with teeth which he named the "Blinkwater Monster". This fossil was later housed at the British Natural History Museum. Thomas Charles John Bain (29 September 1830 – 1893) became an even more famous road builder than his father and is the best known of the 19th century road builders. Famous for his 24 mountain passes. He was born in Graaff Reinet; the second son and seventh child of Andrew Geddes Bain. Prof James Leonard Brierley Smith (26 October 1897 – 7 January 1968) was a famous South African ichthyologist who was born in Graaff Reinet. He was the first to identify, in 1938, a captured fish as a coelacanth, at the time thought long extinct. Dr Sidney Henry Southey Rubidge (31 May 1887 – 1970) Farmer on "Wellwood" Farm in the district. His hobby of fossil collecting became so highly developed that it brought him worldwide recognition for his contribution to science in the field of palaeontology. In 1952 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of the Orange Free State for his work in this field. He built and maintained a fossil museum on "Wellwood". This has come to be recognised as the finest private collection of Karoo fossils in the world. A founder of the Merino Ram Breeders' Association of South Africa and of what today is the National Wool Growers Association of South Africa. Johannes Jacobus Brummer (Joe) was born in Graaff Reinet on 2 September 1921. He was an economic geologist and one of the most successful mine finders ever. He was responsible for finding copper in Zambia, nickel, copper and zinc deposits in Manitoba as well as zinc and uranium deposits in Saskatchewan. Recipient of the Barlow Gold Medal (CIM) in 1978 and in 1984 the GAC awarded him the Duncan R. Derry medal for his major contributions to economic geology. Prof James William Kitching (6 February 1922 – 24 December 2003) who grew up in the district was a South African vertebrate palaeontologist and regarded as one of the world's greatest fossil finders. He, together with James (Jim) Collinson, was the first person to identify and collect therapsid fossils in the Antarctic confirming the former continental link between southern Africa and Antarctica. Aubrey Sheiham (12 September 1936 – 24 November 2015) was a dental epidemiologist and professor at University College London. William Smith is South Africa's best known and most popular television science and mathematics teacher. He matriculated at Union High School in Graaff Reinet. In 2004, he was voted 86th in the Top 100 Great South Africans. The coelacanth "living fossil" was discovered by Smith's father, Professor James Leonard Brierley Smith, a renowned ichthyologist. Pierre Terblanche, born in 1956 in Graaff Reinet, was one of the designers of the Ducati 916. The Ducati 916 is an Italian sports motorcycle manufactured by Ducati from 1993 to 1999. He also worked on the Ducati 888 and the 916. He has been the director of design at Ducati since 1997. The British authorities discontinued the drostdy seals in 1814, and replaced them with the royal coat of arms.

In September 1911, the Graaff Reinet municipal council adopted the Van de Graaff arms, complete with crest (a double headed black eagle), supporters (two black eagles) and motto (Dieu mon conduise).

The coat of arms was re designed in the 1980s, and registered at the Bureau of Heraldry in May 1979. The arms were now: Argent, two bars embattled counter embattled Gules, on a canton Sable an anchor erect Or (i. e. the bars were changed from black to red, and the canton to a gold anchor on a black background). The crest was differenced by placing a golden anchor on the eagle's breast. The supporters and motto remained the same.

The divisional council, i. e. the local authority for the rural areas outside the town, assumed its own coat of arms, had it granted by the provincial administrator in July 1966 and registered it at the Bureau of Heraldry in January 1969. The arms were: Argent, on a chevron Vert. a pair of compasses expanded Argent, in base a spade erect Sable, on a chief embattled Sable a merino ram's head caboshed Or. In layman's terms, a silver shield displaying, from top to bottom, a golden merino ram's head on a black stripe with an embattled edge, a pair of silver compasses on a green chevron, and an upright black spade. The crest was a double headed black eagle, and the motto was Monemus et minimus.