Sutherland

Sutherland Tourism Information Bureau

Sutherland Business Directory

This town was established in 1855 and named after a prominent Worcester cleric, Reverend Henry Sutherland. The town is situated on the Roggeveld Plateau, 1600m above sea level and known for its brilliant night skies and cold, biting winters.

Trekboers settled as early as 1746 in the area, built the thatch-roofed “Tuinplaas (garden farm) Church” and its antique pedal organ, which is still in use today! The church can be seen 50 km along the Matjiesfontein road.

Birthplace of famous Afrikaans author and poet N. P. van Wyk Louw, the town is said to produce the finest mutton in the country and is home to the world-renowned South African Astronomical Observatory.
The Dutch Reformed Church was built in 1898 and in 1901 the town was taken by the British during the Anglo Boer War. Graffiti by them are still legible in the church. Old graves of Jewish and British with handmade gravestones can be seen in the cemetery – with one British soldier having two graves!

Far from the glare of the night lights and industrialized pollution of the large cities are the futuristic telescopes of the South African Astronomical Observatory. Namaqualand’s clear, dark skies and evenly distributed weather patterns ensure that most nights are suited to the most exacting astronomical measurements and recordings. A quarter of the year, the evenings are suited to less demanding observations.

Astronomers, both professional and amateur, are extremely excited about the building of the Southern African Large Telescope, (SALT) which, when completed, will host the largest telescope in the Southern Hemisphere and, with proposed changes to its optics, it may become the largest in the world.

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