История и природа города Джордж и перевала Монтагу

Prior to European settlement in the late 1700s the area was inhabited by the Khoekhoen tribes: the Gouriquas, Attequas and Outeniquas. Many places in the area, such as the surrounding Outeniqua Mountains, come from Khoekhoen names for these locations. The town's main street, York Street, was named after King George's second son Prince Frederick, Duke of York. One of Van Kervel's first acts as Landrost (Mayor), was to dig a furrow to supply the first thirty six plots in George with water. An 1819 map shows the original furrows and storage dam where they remain to this day in the Garden Route Botanical Garden. The first Furrow originated from the Rooirivier (Red river) and later a diversionary weir was built in the Camphersdrift River. George gained municipal status on 24 March 1837. ), found near water in the deep ravines of the mountain, and a variety of ericas and proteas thrive on the fern clothed slopes. Carpets of pink watsonias are a common sight during summer.

The historic Montagu Pass between George and Oudtshoorn was declared a National Monument in 1972. It is open to traffic and is a good gravel road, some 10 km in length. With many serpentine curves, this pass gradually winds its way through the fynbos covered Cradock's Kloof until it reaches the summit. The world traveller Anthony Trollope visited George in about 1878 and his comment on the Montagu Pass was: " equal to some of the mountain roads through the Pyrenees". Emma Murray was so enthralled by the Montagu Pass that she wrote in a letter to a relative in 1852: "One forgets everything in the beauty and grandeur of the scene. It was to me exquisite enjoyment". A traveller will notice that some parts of the stone wall along one side of the road are slightly protruding. The purpose of this was to prevent the axles of the wagons from scraping against the walls and thus becoming damaged.

The Civil Commissioner of George, Egbertus Bergh (1837–1843), campaigned tirelessly for a new road through the formidable Outeniqua Mountains to replace the notorious Cradock's Pass. Then came John Montagu, the new dynamic Colonial Secretary, who cleared the public debt, recognised the importance of good roads and set the wheels rolling. Work on the pass commenced in 1844 and H. O. Farrel was appointed superintendent of the project, but the task was beyond his ability. Henry Fancourt White, a qualified surveyor, newly appointed as Road Inspector by the Central Road Board, replaced him in 1845. On average, 250 convicts were employed at any given time on the construction of the pass. They were housed in two camps: South Station, remnants of the old brick chimneys can be seen on your right whilst going up the Outeniqua pass just before the 2nd Montagu Pass turn off, and North Station near the summit of the pass. The headquarters for the construction was sited where Blanco is situated today. The total expenses for the construction of the Montagu Pass amounted to £35,799 of which £1,753 was spent on gunpowder. Five and a half miles of the pass had to be blasted out of solid rock.

The building of the railway line over the Outeniqua Mountains, between George and Oudtshoorn began in December 1908 from the George side and in 1911 from the Oudtshoorn side. The track was blasted out of the rock, and seven tunnels were excavated. At one stage some 2 500 workers were employed. During April 1913 this most scenic railway line was completed. Sir David de Villiers Graaff performed the official opening on 6 August 1913. The line was built at the enormous cost of £465 000 (equivalent to £406,300,000 or R 7.75 billion in 2020 currency).

Henry Fancourt White, enchanted by Outeniqualand, bought a portion of the farm Modder River in 1848. He sold a portion to Frances Cook, who named his farm Oaklands, and subdivided the rest into erven. The little village was called "Whitesville" in honour of Henry Fancourt White, but at his suggestion the name was changed to Blanco, the Spanish term for white. In 1859 Henry White built a beautiful double storey thatched mansion, which he named Blanco House. In 1903 his son Ernest Montagu White renamed the house Fancourt – in honour of his father. Today Fancourt is a National Monument and a well known hotel. The main route from Mossel Bay to the Langkloof passed through Blanco, where a settlement of merchants was soon established. The village was also the main postal centre. This caused dissatisfaction among the businessmen of George, and so a direct link from George to the toll house was built in about 1882. This road was called Bain's Trace and was probably built by Thomas Bain, who surveyed the new route.

The lakes originated about 20 000 years ago during the Late Pleistocene at the end of the last era of ice ages which was largely centred in the Northern Hemisphere. Consequently, these lakes can be regarded as geologically relatively young. During that last glacial period, the sea level dropped to about 130 m lower than at present as a result of the accumulation of ice in the Northern Hemisphere. Rivers then extended into the newly exposed coastal areas, cutting deep valleys into them. At the end of the last glacial period the sea level rose again, drowning these newly formed valleys until, after a last slight rise and fall of sea level, a level of about one to three metres above the present level was reached some 6 000 years ago. The sea level then slowly receded to reach the present level about 4 000 years ago. The partial draining of these valleys exposed part of the coastal area, thereby forming all the present Wilderness Lakes except for Langvlei and Rondevlei. Martin (1962) postulates the Langvlei could have been formed by wave erosion preceding the last rise in sea level while Rondevlei, during the same time, probably originated as a wind deflating basin. Ruigtevlei, to the east of Swartvlei, was a lake that disappeared, leaving a large area that is only inundated after floods (Martin, 1960a). During this last change (drop) in sea level, the mouth of Swartvlei Estuary moved 2 km eastward to the present position at Sedgefield, Groenvlei lost its connection to the sea through the Swartvlei Estuary, and sand dunes now effectively covered any traces of a previous connection to the sea.

Annually the city of George plays host to several local, national and international events.

The George Old Car Show started in 1997 on Paul Fick's farm "Blackwood" near Victoria Bay. A total of 80 cars were on show and food stalls were provided by the George Lions Club. The 2nd show was held at the George Riding Club in 1998 and approximately 250 cars and tractors were on show. The new car dealers were invited to display their latest models and the show was well supported by the public. Various displays like dog shows, gymnastics, a horse parade and a drive by so that clubs could show off their cars, entertained the public. Arts in the park and food stalls as well as a well stocked beer garden entertained those who were tired of looking at cars. A model car show was also laid on. The George Old Car Show was held at the riding club until 2000 when it once again ran out of space and had to seek larger grounds. The 4th George Old Car Show was moved to the P. W. Botha College in York Street, George. Ample space for show cars, tractors and motorcycles was available on the site as well as large grounds for public parking. The hostels are available for accommodation to exhibitors and a full time arena program held the public's attention. The school provided food stalls and the income benefited the school fund. The 8th George Old Car Show was held in February 2004 and was by then rated as the 2nd largest motor show in South Africa and was supported by Car magazine. A total of 750 cars dated from 1901 to the latest models were on show. Forty restored tractors and a large variety of motorcycles were on show. The model car show proved to be more popular than ever and more than 5000 models were on display and for sale. The "arts in the park" had also evolved into a show of its own. Various motor clubs were in attendance. Cheese Makers, Wine Cellars & recently Chocolatiers have presented their cheese, wine & chocolate pairings to the public over a three day period.

Pacaltsdorp Church is the oldest in the Southern Cape and the 6th oldest in the country, completed in 1825. The Norman style church has thick stonewalls and features a tall square tower topped by battlements. Across the road is the little mud house in which the first missionary, Charles Pacalt of the London Missionary Society, lived after arriving in 1813. The Dutch Reformed Mother Church was consecrated in 1842 after taking 12 years to build with its 23 metre domed tower and 1 metre thick walls. It is the 7th oldest church house in South Africa. It was constructed by a supervisor and a number of skilled slaves who continued to work as 'apprentices' after the emancipation of slaves in 1834. In 1841, the Roman Catholic Church appointed its first priest in George; 1843 saw the completion of their church building. That building, St Peter & St Paul Catholic Church in Meade Street, is the oldest Roman Catholic building in South Africa. St Mark's Anglican Cathedral, designed by Sophy Gray and built in 1850, attained cathedral status in 1911. It was the smallest cathedral in the Southern Hemisphere until extensions in 1924–25. The nave is the oldest section. Its most distinctive feature is the number of stained glass windows in relation to its size.

Schools include the Afrikaans medium George High School established in 1947 and Hoërskool Outeniqua established in 1923. The English medium school is York High School and there is also a double medium technical school named Eden Technical High School (formerly PW Botha College). Several independent schools have been established such as Glenwood House, an English medium co ed school from Grade 000 to Grade 12.

George is the tertiary hub of the Southern Cape, with some public and private institutions providing education at various campuses. South Cape College is a public further education and training college. It has six campuses, one being in George. Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Saasveld, offers two centres of excellence – the Centre for Resource Management and the Centre for Business and Information Technology studies.

The N2 national route passes by George in an east–west along the coast; George is east of Cape Town and west of Port Elizabeth. The N9 and N12 national routes start in George and run concurrently north over the Outeniqua Pass; on the other side of the pass they divide, with the N12 continuing north to Oudtshoorn and then through Meiringspoort to Beaufort West, while the N9 runs northeast to Graaff Reinet and Colesberg.

There is no scheduled passenger service to George. Rovos Rail and the Union Limited however offer vintage train trips to the Garden Route. The Outeniqua Choo Tjoe steam train offered leisure rides between George and Mosselbay but closed in 2009.

George Airport (IATA code GRJ), situated approximately 7 km from the city centre, has scheduled flights to Cape Town International Airport, King Shaka International Airport (Durban), Bram Fischer International Airport (Bloemfontein) and OR Tambo International Airport (Johannesburg).

A public bus service branded Go George was launched in 2014. Routes now cover a significant portion of the city.

The majority of structures in George are limited to low mid rise development, most of which is in the commercial sector. The tallest structure in George is the Sentech Tower, which is a radio and television transmitter tower located at the foot of the Outeniqua mountains This is followed by the Telkom Tower located in the George CBD and the FAGG Radar Tower (55m) located at the George Airport. The tallest building in George is the airport radar tower. The concrete tower stands at 45m and 8 storeys (including the spherical radome, it stands at 55m). The George Medi Clinic building (previously Lamprecht Clinic) stands at 40m and 8 storeys.

The Executive Mayor of George is Alderman Leon van Wyk.

Municipality (1) – By 1931, the municipality had adopted a pseudo heraldic "coat of arms", which was depicted on a cigarette card issued in that year. The shield was quartered in sky blue and gold, the quarters separated by a white edged red cross and depicting (1) a mountain, (2) a Knysna loerie, (3) flowers and (4) an oak tree. A bushbuck stood above the shield. The motto was Semper amabile. Municipality (2) – On 30 April 1957, the council approved a new coat of arms, designed by Ivan Mitford Barberton and H. Ellis Tomlinson. The arms were granted by the College of Arms on 6 August 1958, and were later registered at the Bureau of Heraldry in April 1994. The arms are : Quarterly, Gules and Argent, a cross per cross counterchanged, between in the first quarter a horse courant of the second, in the second quarter a Knysna loerie perched upon a branch in bend sinister, in the third quarter a protea flower slipped and leaved, proper, and in the fourth quarter an oak tree fructed, the trunk couped, Argent. In layman's terms : the shield is quartered red and silver, the quarters are separated by a cross, and they depict (1) a running silver horse, (2) a Knysna loerie perched on a branch, (3) a protea flower with stem and leaves and (4) an oak tree. The crest is a bushbuck, and the motto remains Semper amabile. Divisional council arms – The George divisional council (the local authority which administered the rural areas outside the town) assumed a coat of arms in 1961, and registered them with the Cape Provincial Administration in June 1962. The arms, designed by Schalk Pienaar, were : Vert, on a chief dancetty Argent three apples slipped and leaved proper; a base barry wavy of six Argent and Azure. In layman's terms : a green shield displaying at the top three apples on a silver stripe with a zig zag edge and at the bottom six wavy silver and blue stripes. The crest was a protea flower, the supporters were two bushbuck, and the motto Regio melle dulcior.