A Town with a Remarkable Past

Long before Griekwastad became the farming town we know today, this valley was home to the Griqua people. In the early 1800s, missionaries William Anderson and Cornelius Kramer established a mission station here, and the settlement became known as Klaarwater — “clear water”.

In 1813, the community adopted the name Griqua, and Klaarwater became Griquatown, later known in Afrikaans as Griekwastad. Under Griqua leaders such as Andries Waterboer, the town became an important centre of Griqua life and one of the earliest permanent settlements north of the Orange River.

The town also holds a special place in missionary history. Mary Moffat, daughter of Robert and Mary Moffat and future wife of David Livingstone, was born here in 1821. The historic mission church where the Moffats worshipped still stands today as the Mary Moffat Museum.

The discovery of diamonds in the region in the late 1860s brought a new chapter, placing Griquatown within the rapidly changing territory of Griqualand West.

Today, Griekwastad carries all of these layers of history — Griqua heritage, missionary history, diamond-country history and generations of farming — making it a small town with a remarkably big story.