History
As with much of the Eastern Cape, this area was once occupied by the Khoi people. These were a nomadic people that lived off the produce of the land. Later, it became Zuurveld farm. In 1813, the farm was surveyed and was handed over to Piet Retief, who would go on to become a prominent political leader for the Dutch farmers. These farmers had moved away from the coastal areas to escape British rule in the 18th and 19th centuries.
However, as the farmers moved into the area, major conflicts arose between them and the existing Xhosa tribes, who felt that their homelands were being invaded by foreigners. This led to the Frontier Wars, which characterised most of the first half of the 1800’s. In response, the South African government of the time stationed troops in the area. Thus was born Grahamstown, as it was the chosen site for the Military Headquarters. In 1820, the British Government encouraged the English to immigrate to South Africa to alleviate the resulting unemployment and crippling poverty being experienced in Europe after the Napoleonic Wars. This led to the arrival of over 4000 English Settlers in the coastal city of Port Elizabeth. These ones were given farms in the Albany region. Today, this area is the home of Pumba Private Game Reserve.
Over time, Kariega was subdivided into a number of smaller properties so that farmers’ sons could have their own farms. The remaining pieces of land were incorporated into the reserve. However, Pumba is working hard to reverse this process by re-incorporating the surrounding smaller farms. This initiative is being executed with the aim of restoring the indigenous plant- and animal species that were found in this area hundreds of years ago.
