Bethelsdorp is a town in Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, 20 km north-west of Port Elizabeth.

Bethelsdorp
Almshouses, Alms Street, Bethelsdorp
Bethelsdorp Show map of Eastern Cape Bethelsdorp Show map of South Africa
Coordinates: 33°53′S 25°30′E
Country	South Africa
Province	Eastern Cape
Municipality	Nelson Mandela Bay
Established	1803
Area [1]
• Total	36.62 km2 (14.14 sq mi)
Population  (2011)[1]
• Total	182,012
• Density	5,000/km2 (13,000/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011) [1]
• Black African	34.1%
• Coloured	64.4%
• Indian/Asian	0.6%
• White	0.2%
• Other	0.8%
First languages (2011) [1]
• Afrikaans	57.8%
• Xhosa	28.7%
• English	11.2%
• Other	2.3%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)	6059
PO box	6003
Area code	+27 (0)41

History

Established in 1803 by Rev. J.T. van der Kemp on the farm Roodepas of Theunis Botha as a mission station of the London Missionary Society. The name is derived from the Hebrew word Baitheel, meaning 'House of God'.[2]

Under the previous political dispensation, Bethelsdorp was a township almost exclusively inhabited by coloureds (Afrikaans: Kleurlinge). This changed somewhat with the end of Apartheid in South Africa in 1994, as living and trading in the township is now freely open to all races.

References

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