A brief description
Carnarvon is a small town located in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It was established in 1860 as the town of Harmsfontein.
It was renamed to Carnarvon in 1874 in honour of Colonial Secretary, Lord Carnarvon (1831-1890). What most people don't know about Carnarvon is
that it was the only water source for the Rhenish mission station founded in 1847 by the missionary, Rev. Christian Wilhelm Alheit, and strangely
enough some of the buildings the missionaries built are still being used to this date. The San-Bushman also roamed the area for hundreds of years
before the first missionary came to the area, this of course also caused some trouble for the British when they tried to colonise the area.
Carnarvon is a sleepy little farming town surrounded by Karoo koppies (hills) that forms part of the Karee Mountains. The town of Carnarvon has a
charm that attracts people from across the world, its good hospitality, good traditional food, a history steeped in land conflict and mission work
makes it a perfect location for everyone from Historians to a welcome vacation user. A location close to Carnarvon has also been chosen for the
Construction of the MeerKAT (2009). This will be an array of 50 or more radio dishes all of them 12 meters in diameter. The project falls part of
the massive Square Kilometer Array telescope; building will start in 2010 or 2011. The Carnarvon Museum was built in 1907 and houses one of the
articles of the old hearse that belonged to the Dutch Reformed Church that was donated to the museum when it was no longer in use.