Victoria West, Northern Cape

Victoria West is a town in the central Karoo region of South Africa's Northern Cape province. It is situated on the main N12 route, at an elevation of. It is the seat of the Ubuntu Local Municipality within the Pixley ka Seme District Municipality.HistoryThe town was laid out on the bank of the Brakrivier watercourse in 1843, when the Dutch Reformed Church bought the farm Zeekoegat from the estate of J.H. Classens. It was named Victoria in 1844, after Queen Victoria, though amended to Victoria West in 1855 to distinguish it from an Eastern Cape district.. In 1859, did the town acquire municipal status.Dutch Reformed ChurchThe first services of the Dutch reformed Church were led by Rev. Colin Fraser of Beaufort West in the “Kerkhuis” on the farm Kapoksfontein. The congregation in Victoria West separated from that in Beaufort West during October 1843 when the first local preacher, Rev. W.E. Krige was ordained. For various practical reasons, they decided not to establish the town on the farm Kapoksfontein but rather Zeekoegat. Church services were temporarily held in a house on Zeekoegat. There was a need for a comfortable church building and fund raising was started. 10 March 1850 - Consecration of the unfinished church took place. 8 October 1922 - The restored and improved building was reconstructed. 29-30 April 1967 - The restored building was consecrated. The history of the Dutch Reformed Church is set out in a display at the Victoria West Regional Museum, consisting of documents, photographs, maps, Bibles, items of the first Communion Service and the church's first organ. The church was declared a National Monument in 1992.