Piketberg

Piketberg
Church in Piketberg
Piketberg Show map of Western Cape Piketberg Show map of South Africa Piketberg Show map of Africa  Piketberg shown within Western Cape
Coordinates: 32°54′S 18°46′E / 32.900°S 18.767°E / -32.900; 18.767Coordinates: 32°54′S 18°46′E / 32.900°S 18.767°E / -32.900; 18.767
Country	South Africa
Province	Western Cape
District	West Coast
Municipality	Bergrivier
Established	1840
Area
• Total	13.27 km2 (5.12 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• Total	12,075
• Density	910/km2 (2,400/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
• Black African	8.1%
• Coloured	76.4%
• Indian/Asian	0.5%
• White	14.3%
• Other	0.7%
First languages (2011)
• Afrikaans	92.7%
• Xhosa	1.9%
• English	1.8%
• Sotho	1.2%
• Other	2.4%
Postal code (street)	7320
PO box	7320
Area code	022

Piketberg is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa, located about 50 miles east of Saldanha Bay. The original spelling of the name was "Piquetberg". The town is in the foothills of the Piketberg mountains, a range of low mountains formed from Table Mountain Sandstone.

The area around the mountains is conducive to the farming of wheat, while the area on top of the mountains, being cooler and generally frost-free, is suited to the farming of fruit and Rooibos Tea.

Piketberg possesses a large Dutch Reformed Church designed by the architect Carl Otto Hager in his trademark neo-Gothic style.

The area was inhabited by the Khoikhoi and the San before the arrival of settlers of European extraction and there is still well-preserved San rock art in the mountains. There was once a small military post in the town to protect the livestock of farmers against depredations by the Khoikhoi.

Cannon

The Picquet commandos fired the cannon. The cannon-fire protected the European-descended farming community from the attacks of the indigenous groups, the "Gonjemans".

The community used its cannon to signal the arrival of ships in Cape Town. Piketberg's farmers would load their carts with produce and wares. Then head to Cape Town to do business. The cannon also fired on special occasions like Queen Victoria's birthday and the arrival of the town's first telephone line. It fired for the last time in the 1960s. A misfire left the school's windows aflame. Hereafter, the canon was filled with cement. Until recently, the Piketberg cannon stood in front of Piketberg High School, aimed East, in the direction of Porterville High School, its rival.

Jewish Heritage

The many Jewish surnames in Piketberg's historic graveyard bear witness to its once-vigorous Jewish community. Most had Lithuanian roots. They were entrepreneurs and raised themselves out of poverty by wheeling and dealing from farmstead to farmstead.

Lodewyk Ando Simon, of Hungarian Jewish descent, moved from nearby Redelinghuys to Piketberg and built the synagogue in 1925. It is estimated that 30 Jewish families lived in Piketberg at this time. Rabbi Moses Beraitzer, was the first rabbi. He was a strict shepherd to his flock. Though blind in his later years, the Rabbi served undaunted, and preached the Talmud from memory. It is unsure when the congregation disbanded.

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Wikipedia