The small town of Tarkastad is located between Cradock and Queenstown on the R61. It’s off the beaten track and most people passing through are traveling between the Transkei area and the Western Cape. Tarkastad has a PEP stores so it can be termed a town. Anything without I would call a village. It’s still very small though and I only got to visit it for the first time recently when my son moved there for his first job.
The first Dutch farmers settled in the district in 1795 and the town was established in 1862. The name is believed to come from the Khoi-San word Traka (meaning women) and the Afrikaans word Stad (meaning city)
The town has the most beautiful Dutch Reformed Church and I detoured past there for a glance before we even got to my son’s flat. I returned the next day with my camera but unfortunately, the gate was chained closed and I couldn’t get any nearer to it than the boundary fence. This obviously meant that I didn’t get to see the inside either, but it being the first week of the year it was understandable. Next time.
The Tarkastad Dutch Reformed Church congregation was founded in 1863 and the cornerstone for the church was laid on 1 June 1877. This church was first used on 12 February 1880. The first organ, for which the “Juffrouwen Commissie” paid £730, was commissioned in 1884. During the Anglo-Boer War, the church was damaged by enemy troops. Not sure if this refers to the Boers or the British. In 1903 the wire fence around the church was replaced with bars and gas lamps were installed, which were replaced by electric lights in 1931.
Over time, the church became too small for its growing congregation and between 1912 and 1915 major expansions took place. Among other things, three galleries were built to double the seats from 480 to 960, the floor was raised at the back so that it sloped down to the front and new benches were inserted. The second dedication of the church was held on 6 February 1915.
On the church grounds is a memorial erected during the centenary celebrations of the Great Trek in 1938. Two Great Trek leaders, Andries Potgieter and Piet Retief, both farmed near Tarkastad for a short while. Many Dutch farmers from the district accompanied their leaders on the Great Trek north. The 1938 Voortrekker Centenary Trek didn’t come through Tarkastad though.
A visit to the church is definitely on the cards for my next visit.