Mamre, South Africa

Mamre
Clockwise from Top: De Kleine Post in Mamre, Moravian Mission Church, Mamre Mill, Traditional shop in Mamre.
Mamre Show map of Western Cape Mamre Show map of South Africa
Coordinates: 33.517°S 18.467°E / -33.517; 18.467
Country	South Africa
Province	Western Cape
Municipality	City of Cape Town
Area [1]
• Total	1.87 km^2 (0.72 sq mi)
Population  (2011)[1]
• Total	9,048
• Density	4,800/km^2 (13,000/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011) [1]
• Black African	3.0%
• Coloured	94.6%
• Indian/Asian	0.3%
• White	0.3%
• Other	1.8%
First languages (2011) [1]
• Afrikaans	92.3%
• English	6.0%
• Other	1.6%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)	7349
PO box	7347

Mamre is a small rural town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is situated on the northernmost border of the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality. It is situated approximately 55 kilometres (30 mi) north of central Cape Town, and 5–6 km to the neighbouring industrial town of Atlantis.

History

Mamre was established as a village and mission station in 1808 by Moravian missionaries. It was at first known as Groene Kloof (Green Gorge) after the Dutch East India Company post was established there in 1701 and abandoned in 1791. It was subsequently renamed after the biblical Mamre (Gen. 13:18), a name said to mean "fattiness".[2]

In December 1962, Looksmart Ngudle and Denis Goldberg helped to organise an Umkhonto we Sizwe training camp at Mamre, later recognised as the first MK training centre inside South Africa; however, it had to be abandoned early due to Security Police interest.[3]

References

1. "Main Place Mamre". Census 2011.
2. "Dictionary of Southern African Place Names (Public Domain)". Human Science Research Council. p. 295.
3. Goldberg, Denis (2016). A Life for Freedom. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 71–26. ISBN 9780813166858.