| Stutterheim is situated at the foot of the eastern
slopes of the Kologha mountains, a spur of the Amatola
range, in the area of the East Cape Province which the
British named "British Kaffraria". The first
Europeans to settle in the area were missionaries of the
Berlin Missionary Society who established the Bethel
Mission Station here in 1837. At about the same time a
fort was built and named Dohne Post after Dr. Dohne, the
first German Missionary. The Xhosa, who had slowly
migrated down the east coast of Southern Africa, were
already well established in this area by the 1800's. The
Missionaries would certainly not have chosen this site if
there were not a steady supply of potential converts.
Unfortunately, lack of written records means that events
prior to the Missionaries arrival are largely unknown.
In 1857 members of the 3rd regiment of the British
German Legion (A mercenary unit recruited to fight in the
Crimean War) were settled in the area, probably because
there had already been conflict between Xhosa and
Settler. It was decided to name the new settlement
"Stutterheim", after the Legions commanding
officer. Von Stutterheim commenced the construction of a
large mansion, which was never completed due to his
return to Germany on urgent private business, after only
eight months in this country. He never returned and died
in Wiesbaden, Germany in 1872, age 65.
This first German settlement was not a great success,
as most of the men were without families and many drifted
off to India or other parts of Southern Africa at the
first opportunity. In an attempt to alleviate this
"desertion", the British Government imported 34
German families in 1858 and 1859. These new families were
not soldier's, but farmers, and from that point the town
developed quickly. As the farmers gradually toiled
towards prosperity, English and Dutch settlers moved into
the area and steady development took place. On 20 May
1879 Stutterheim was proclaimed a Municipality.
The railway line from East London to Queenstown was
completed in 1880, and although it bypassed Stutterheim
by 3 or 4 miles, it made a tremendous difference to trade
in the area. Unfortunately, the nearest station at
Kubusie became inaccessible whenever the rivers flooded.
This difficulty was only solved in 1942 when the line was
upgraded and re-routed through Stutterheim. The town
received it's first piped water in 1906 and electricity
in 1929.
|
