It developed from a place to which farmers migrated when the pans were full, after rains. It was originally named Prieschap, the name is derived from Korana and means ‘place of the lost she-goat’.[2][3]: 41 It was administered by a village management board from 1882 and attained municipal status in 1892. In 2011 the town had a population of 14,246.
Many residents, historically, worked at the nearby Koegas mine which extracted and processed blue asbestos.[4]
The town is 240 km south of Kimberley and lies on the R357 road.