Dr Beyers Naudé Local Municipality lies in the Sarah Baartman District of the Eastern Cape. The 2022 census counted 101,001 people across 28,653 km², making it the district’s largest municipality by area. Graaff-Reinet is the seat.
The municipality formed in August 2016 when Camdeboo, Ikwezi and Baviaans local municipalities merged into one. Its towns still carry that older three-way pattern: Camdeboo’s Karoo basin around Graaff-Reinet, Ikwezi’s rail junction at Jansenville, and Baviaans’ mountain towns toward Willowmore.
Towns and Villages in Dr Beyers Naudé
| Town | Type | 2011 population |
|---|---|---|
| Graaff-Reinet | Seat town | 62,896 |
| Willowmore | Town | 9,199 |
| Aberdeen | Town | 8,580 |
| Jansenville | Town | 6,723 |
| Steytlerville | Town | 4,812 |
| Klipplaat | Town | 3,554 |
| Nieu-Bethesda | Village | 1,845 |
| Rietbron | Village | 1,418 |
Smaller settlements and farm districts recorded by the national gazetteer:
- Adendorp
- Bestersdal
- Bluegum Grove
- Boxmoor
- De Vlakte
- De Weg
- Doornfontein
- Fullarton
- Glandale
- Grootrivierdrif
- Honeyville
- Hottentotspoort
- Kendrew
- Klipgat
- Koentekraal
- Kommandokraal
- Kroonvale
- Laughing Waters
- Miller
- Minnehaha
- Mount Stewart
- Petits Hill
- Quacha
- Sandkraalspoort
- Sandvlakte
- Sonop
- Spandau
- Studtis
- Tjoksville
- Uitkomst
- Volstruisleegte
- Vondeling
- Wapadspoort
- Waterford
- Welgerus
- Wolwefontein
Geography
The municipality spans the Great Karoo and the Camdeboo mountains, running from the Sneeuberg range near Graaff-Reinet south to the Baviaanskloof wilderness. It borders Blue Crane Route, Kouga and Kou-Kamma within Sarah Baartman District, and reaches into the semi-arid interior toward the Western and Northern Cape borders.
Demographics
The population rose from 79,292 in the 2011 census to 101,001 in 2022. Afrikaans is the dominant home language, spoken by roughly four in five residents; Xhosa is the main second language.
Economy and Local Life
Sheep and goat farming anchor the rural economy across the Karoo plains, alongside game farming and hunting on former stock farms. Graaff-Reinet, a well-preserved Cape Dutch and Victorian town, draws heritage tourism, and the Camdeboo National Park and Karoo Nature Reserve on its doorstep add visitor trade.
History
Graaff-Reinet was founded in 1786 as a Dutch East India Company frontier district seat, making it one of South Africa’s oldest towns. Its historic core still holds more than 200 protected Cape Dutch, Karoo and Victorian buildings along Church Street and around the Drostdy. Aberdeen and Willowmore grew later as 19th-century mission and trekboer stopover towns on the road between the Karoo and the coast, and Ikwezi and Baviaans, the two municipalities merged into Dr Beyers Naudé in 2016, took their names from Jansenville’s rail junction and the Baviaanskloof wilderness respectively.
Getting There
The N9 runs through Graaff-Reinet and Aberdeen, linking the municipality to Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) to the south and Middelburg to the north. The N12 gives Willowmore access west toward Oudtshoorn and east toward Steytlerville and the Gamtoos Valley. Gqeberha’s airport, about 160 km from Graaff-Reinet, is the nearest with scheduled flights.
Graaff-Reinet’s Kroonvale township houses much of the town’s workforce and has grown steadily as the municipal seat’s population has expanded. Willowmore and Steytlerville, further south toward the Baviaanskloof, remain smaller farming towns whose populations depend closely on seasonal stock-farming labour demand.
FAQ
What is the seat of Dr Beyers Naudé Local Municipality? Graaff-Reinet.
What was the municipality called before 2016? It formed from the merger of Camdeboo, Ikwezi and Baviaans local municipalities.
What is the population? 101,001 people at the 2022 census, over 28,653 km².
Which district does it belong to? Sarah Baartman District Municipality, Eastern Cape.
What are the main towns? Graaff-Reinet, Willowmore, Aberdeen, Jansenville and Steytlerville.
Who was Dr Beyers Naudé? An Afrikaner theologian and anti-apartheid activist the merged municipality is named after.
What is Graaff-Reinet known for? Its well-preserved Cape Dutch and Victorian architecture and the nearby Camdeboo National Park.
Is Willowmore part of the same municipality as Graaff-Reinet? Yes — it joined via the 2016 merger of Baviaans into Dr Beyers Naudé.