Adelaide is a town some 25 km east of Bedford, 40 km west of Fort Beaufort and 95 km north of Grahamstown. Founded as a military post in 1834, it gradually developed until it achieved municipal status in 1896. It was named after Queen Adelaide, wife of William IV of England. Adelaide is a rural town and area in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Adelaide is situated near the Great Winterberg Mountain range.
The Koonap River a tributary of the Great Fish River, which rises in the Winterberg and flows south-west past Adelaide and then south-east to enter the mother stream 35 km north of Grahamstown. The name, of Khoekhoen origin, may mean ‘murder hole’. The incident to which the name refers has been forgotten.
The Winterberge mountain range extending east and west, about halfway between Tarkastad in the north and Bedford, Adelaide and Fort Beaufort in the south. Afrikaans for ‘winter mountain’, the name is derived from the climate in that season, when the peaks are covered with snow for three months. Also known as Thaba Yamoya, ‘mountain of wind’.
Key Statistics 2011
| Total population | 6,126 |
| Young (0-14) | 31,6% |
| Working Age (15-64) | 61,5% |
| Elderly (65+) | 6,9% |
| Dependency ratio | 62,5 |
| Sex ratio | 89,6 |
| Population density | 164 persons/km2 |
| No schooling aged 20+ | 4,7% |
| Higher education aged 20+ | 7,4% |
| Matric aged 20+ | 19,4% |
| Number of households | 1,688 |
| Average household size | 3,4 |
| Female headed households | 48,5% |
| Formal dwellings | 99,2% |
| Housing owned/paying off | 45,4% |
| Flush toilet connected to sewerage | 97,8% |
| Weekly refuse removal | 90,3% |
| Piped water inside dwelling | 73,4% |
| Electricity for lighting | 88,9% |
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