Bushman's River Mouth

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2015}} {{Use South African English|date=January 2015}} {{Infobox settlement | name = Bushman's River Mouth | other_name = Boesmansriviermond | image_skyline = Graham Maclachlan - View from Oom Pietie., Boesmansriviermond.jpg | image_caption = Bushman's River Mouth | pushpin_map = South Africa Eastern Cape#South Africa | coordinates = {{coord|33.7|S|26.666|E|region:ZA|display=inline,title}} | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = [[South Africa]] | subdivision_type1 = Province | subdivision_name1 = [[Eastern Cape]] | subdivision_type2 = District | subdivision_name2 = [[Sarah Baartman District Municipality|Sarah Baartman]] | subdivision_type3 = Municipality | subdivision_name3 = [[Ndlambe Local Municipality|Ndlambe]] | subdivision_type4 = Main Place | established_title = Established | area_footnotes = <ref name="census2011">{{cite web |url=http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/265011 |title = Main Place Bushman's River Mouth |work=Census 2011}} </ref> | area_total_km2 = 15.82 | population_footnotes = <ref name="census2011" /> | population_total = 6147 | population_as_of = 2011 | population_density_km2 = auto  | demographics_type1 = Racial makeup (2011) | demographics1_footnotes = <ref name="census2011" /> | demographics1_title1 = [[Bantu peoples of South Africa|Black African]] | demographics1_info1 = 77.5% | demographics1_title2 = [[Coloureds|Coloured]] | demographics1_info2 = 13.6% | demographics1_title3 = [[Indian South African|Indian]]/[[Asian South African|Asian]] | demographics1_info3 = 0.2% | demographics1_title4 = [[White South African|White]] | demographics1_info4 = 8.3% | demographics1_title5 = Other | demographics1_info5 = 0.5%  | demographics_type2 = [[First language]]s (2011) | demographics2_footnotes = <ref name="census2011" /> | demographics2_title1 = [[Xhosa language|Xhosa]] | demographics2_info1 = 74.1% | demographics2_title2 = [[Afrikaans]] | demographics2_info2 = 16.9% | demographics2_title3 = [[South African English|English]] | demographics2_info3 = 6.6% | demographics2_title4 = | demographics2_info4 = | demographics2_title5 = Other | demographics2_info5 = 2.3%   | timezone1 = [[South African Standard Time|SAST]] | utc_offset1 = +2 | postal_code_type = [[List of postal codes in South Africa|Postal code]] (street) | postal_code = 6190 | postal2_code_type = [[Post-office box|PO box]] | postal2_code = 6190 | area_code_type = [[Telephone numbers in South Africa|Area code]] }} '''Bushman's River Mouth''' ([[Afrikaans]] ''Boesmansriviermond'', which is its official name) is a town in [[Ndlambe Local Municipality]] in the [[Eastern Cape]] province of [[South Africa]].

The village is 25 km from [[Port Alfred]],<ref name=pgp>{{cite web|title=Boesmansriviermond|url=http://www.pamgolding.co.za/real-estate/bushmans-river/property-sales-rentals|publisher=Pam Golding Properties|accessdate=27 January 2014}}</ref> on the west bank of the [[Boesmans River (Eastern Cape)|Bushman's River]], just across the river from [[Kenton-on-Sea]].<ref name="Whibley2003">{{cite book|author=Ivor Whibley|title=The South African Fisherman|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WApE74PvEGgC&pg=PA149|year=2003|publisher=Struik|isbn=978-1-86872-802-2|page=149}}{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> ==Background== A well-known holiday resort, it is the site of many shipwrecks, the best-known of them being the ''[[Volo (barque)|Volo]]'', a Norwegian barque wrecked near the river mouth in 1896.<ref name=ssct>{{cite web|title=Boesmansriviermond|url=http://www.sunshinecoasttourism.co.za/boesmansriviermond.htm|publisher=Sunshine Coast Tourism|accessdate=27 January 2014}}</ref>

The town was established in 1897 by farmers from nearby towns ([[Paterson, Eastern Cape|Paterson]], [[Cookhouse (village)|Cookhouse]], [[Somerset East]] and [[Cradock, Eastern Cape|Cradock]]) when they were granted permission to camp along the banks of the Bushman's River during the Christmas holiday season. Land leases during the early 1900s led to private land ownership, and modern development, though electricity and running water only became available in the 1980s.<ref name=brmrs>{{cite web|title=Boesmansriviermond/Bushman's River Mouth & Riversbend |url=http://bushmans.org/ |accessdate=27 January 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203094925/http://bushmans.org/ |archivedate=3 February 2014 |df=dmy }}</ref>

The [[Dias Cross Memorial]] at nearby [[Kwaaihoek]] is a provincial heritage site erected to mark the location of the ''[[padrão]]'', or stone pillar, planted in 1488 by Portuguese sailors led by [[Bartolomeu Dias]].<ref name=wtss>{{cite web|title=Diaz Cross Memorial|url=http://www.wheretostay.co.za/information/topic/3555|publisher=WhereToStay|accessdate=27 January 2014}}</ref>

Boesmansriviermond has an active ratepayers association known as BRRAG (Bushman's River Ratepayers' Organisation) with website www.[http://bushmansratepayers.co.za bushmansratepayers.co.za]

==References== {{reflist}}

[[Category:Populated places in the Ndlambe Local Municipality]] [[Category:Populated places established in 1897]] [[Category:Populated coastal places in South Africa]]