Prince Albert
History of Prince Albert
The village of Prince Albert started as the loan farm Queekvalleij, settled by Zacharias and Dina de Beer in 1762. In the 1820's the farm was surveyed and divided to form the nucleus of the present Village.
In 1845 the parishioners suggested that the village be named Albertsburg after "Naar zijne Hoogheid" - his Royal Highness, Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's consort. The Governor's approval was granted in July and the village became known as Prince Albert.
By 1855 our weekly market had been established and Bishop Robert Gray - the first Anglican Bishop of Cape Town, visited the village and found it "very beautifully situated at the foot of the Zwart-berg mountains."
In 1857 a reading room was established, leading to the opening of our library in 1862 - one of the earliest in the Cape Colony. Queen Victoria sent a book of Prince Albert's speeches to the village in 1867, this can now be seen at the Fransie Pienaar Museum.