Makhanda, Eastern Cape

On 22 April 1819, a large number of Xhosa warriors, under the leadership of Nxele (or Makana), launched an attack against the British colonial forces. The Xhosas had warned Colonel Willshire, the commanding officer, of their planned attack on Grahamstown.[9] It was one of countless attacks launched on the nascent colony by the Xhosas. During the course of the battle, the British were running low on ammunition. A woman, by the name of Elizabeth Salt, risked her life by walking into the battle carrying weapons and ammunition to the British troops. She disguised the weapons and ammunition as an infant whom she was cradling. The Xhosa warriors were reluctant to attack a woman and child and so allowed her to pass and resupply the troops . The Xhosas, with a force of 10,000 troops under the overall command of Ndlambe's warrior son Mdushane, were unable to overpower the colonial garrison of some 300 men. Nxele surrendered, was taken captive and imprisoned on Robben Island. On Christmas Day, 1819 he tried to escape, and drowned.

Grahamstown grew during the 1820s as many 1820 Settlers and their families left farming to establish themselves in more secure trades. In 1833, Grahamstown was described as having "two or three English merchants of considerable wealth, but scarcely any society in the ordinary sense of the word. The Public Library is a wretched affair".[10] As of 1833, it was estimated that the population of Grahamstown was approximately 6,000.[11] In a few decades it became the Cape Colony's largest town after Cape Town. It became a bishopric in 1852. It was traditionally the capital and cultural centre of the Albany area, a former traditionally English-speaking district with a distinctive local culture.

In 1872, the Cape Government Railways began construction of the railway line linking Grahamstown to Port Alfred on the coast, and to the developing national railway network inland. That was completed and opened on 3 September 1879.[12]

Grahamstown was the location of the testing of the first diamond find by Henry Carter Galpin.

In 1904, Rhodes University College was established in Grahamstown through a grant from the Rhodes Trust.[13] In 1951 it became a fully-fledged University, Rhodes University.

Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa announced the name change from Grahamstown in the Government Gazette no. 641 of 29 June 2018. The purpose of gazetting was to publicise the Minister's decision for objections or comments by 28 July 2018.[14]

Prompted by a Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommendation that geographic features, including geographical names, be renamed as a "symbolic reparation" to address an unjust past, it was proposed that the town be renamed after Makhanda, the prophet, philosopher and military man, who led a failed attack against the British garrison in Grahamstown in 1819. On 2 October 2018, Grahamstown was officially renamed Makhanda in memory of Makhanda ka Nxele.[15]

The following is a list of tower clocks in Makhanda, with their location and if they are in working order.

• St Michael and St George Cathedral, in working order, 33°18′37″S 26°31′36″E
• City Hall, not in working order, 33°18′34″S 26°31′39″E
• Rhodes University, not in working order, 33°18′48″S 26°31′14″E
• High Court, not in working order, 33°18′41″S 26°31′30″E
• Dutch Reformed Church, in working order, 33°18′54″S 26°31′49″E
• Observatory Museum, not in working order, 33°18′36″S 26°31′45″E
• St. Andrew's College, in working order, 33°18′26″S 26°31′10″E
• Kingswood College chapel, in working order, 33°18′16″S 26°31′51″E

Two large festivals take place annually in Makhanda: the National Arts Festival in June/July and SciFest Africa in the first term of the year and attracts some 50,000 people. The National Arts Festival is the largest Arts festival in Africa and sees some of the leading talent on the South African and international art scene arriving in Makhanda for a celebration of culture and artistic expression. South Africa's National Science Festival, was established in 1996 to promote the public awareness, understanding and appreciation of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and innovation. Makhanda is also host to the Puku Story Festival since 2013 presented by the Puku Children's Literature Foundation. The festival was created in partnership with the National Arts Festival and the African Studies Department at Rhodes University with the aim to facilitate access to literature and educational/recreational materials in Xhosa.[18]

Grahamstown had its own municipality until 2000. Since then, it has expanded into the Makana Local Municipality in the Cacadu District.

From 2012 the Makana Local Municipality was unable to reliably provide water to its citizens.[22] The crisis continued to grow during 2013.[23]

In 2013 South Africa's minister of water Edna Molewa was tasked with restoring the water supply of Grahamstown following protests over a nine-day water outage. Causes for the outage include financial mismanagement, with under-spending on infrastructure.[24] The task force established by Molewa had not solved the problem by 2014.[25]

In October 2015 more than 500 people were displaced and more than 300 shops looted during a wave of xenophobic violence.[26][27][28][29]

Some people use traditional African medicine because it is believed to be effective. There are some plants which are popular with the people of Makhanda.[30]

Municipality (1) — The first arms were assumed in September 1862. They quartered an incorrect version of the arms of Graham of Fintry with those of Jan van Riebeeck (in incorrect colours), with an ostrich as a crest. The supporters were a leopard and a giraffe, and the motto was Virtute et opera.

Municipality (2) — In response to a call by the Cape Provincial Administration for municipalities to have their coats of arms checked and, if necessary, re-designed, the city council had a new coat of arms designed by Ivan Mitford-Barberton and H. Ellis Tomlinson in 1950. It was granted by the College of Arms on 20 July 1950, and registered at the Bureau of Heraldry in September 1994.[31]

The new arms were : Or, on a pile Gules, three annulets placed 2 and 1 Or; on a chief Sable, three escallops Or (in layman's terms : a golden shield displaying, from top to bottom, three golden scallop shells on a black horizontal stripe, and three golden rings on a red triangle). The crest was changed to a plume of ostrich feathers issuing from a golden mural crown, and the supporters were differenced by placing an escallop on each shoulder.

In 2017, Makana Revive! an independent civil society organisation was formed. During the first quarter of 2018, Makana Revive made national news when it spearheaded an initiative to repair failing infrastructure and improve the security and hygiene in the CBD. Donations were received from both local and international citizens and alumni.[32]

The South African Unemployed Peoples' Movement has a strong presence in Makhanda.[33][34][35][29]

• Diocese of Grahamstown
• Grocott's Mail
• International Library of African Music
• National Arts Festival
• National English Literary Museum
• Rhodes University
• South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity
• South African Library for the Blind