Oudtshoorn | |
---|---|
Nickname: Ostrich Capital of the World | |
Coordinates: 33°35′S 22°12′E / 33.583°S 22.200°E | |
Country | South Africa |
Province | Western Cape |
District | Garden Route |
Municipality | Oudtshoorn |
Established | 1857[1] |
Area | |
• Total | 37.6 km2 (14.5 sq mi) |
Population (2011)[2] | |
• Total | 61,507 |
• Density | 1,600/km2 (4,200/sq mi) |
Racial makeup (2011) | |
• Black African | 12.5% |
• Coloured | 70.9% |
• Indian/Asian | 0.4% |
• White | 15.3% |
• Other | 1.0% |
First languages (2011) | |
• Afrikaans | 87.8% |
• Xhosa | 7.4% |
• English | 2.6% |
• Other | 2.2% |
Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
Postal code (street) | 6625 |
PO box | 6620 |
Area code | 044 |
Oudtshoorn (/ˈaʊtshɔːrn/, Afrikaans pronunciation: [ˈəutsˌɦuərən]), the "ostrich capital of the world",[3] is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, located between the Swartberg mountains to the north and the Outeniqua Mountains to the south. Two ostrich-feather booms, during 1865–1870 and 1900–1914, truly established the settlement.[4] With approximately 60,000 inhabitants, it is the largest town in the Little Karoo region. The town's economy is primarily reliant on the ostrich farming and tourism industries.[5] Oudtshoorn is home to the world's largest ostrich population,[6] with a number of specialised ostrich breeding farms, such as the Safari Show Farm and the Highgate Ostrich Show Farm, as told by Mnr. Pierre D. Toit.
Bhongolethu is a township 10 km (6 mi) east of Oudtshoorn. Derived from Xhosa, its name means "our pride".[7]