King William's Town

Qonce (formerly King William's Town) is a town of 35,000 people (2011) in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The town is the birthplace of Steve Biko the famous anti-Apartheid activist who died in police custody.

Understand
The city was renamed "Qonce" in Feb 2021. The city and surrounding townships has a population of around 100,000.

The area's economy has depended on cattle and sheep ranching, and the town has a large industrial base producing textiles, soap, candles, sweets, cartons and clothing. Its proximity to the new provincial capital city of Bhisho has brought much development to the area since the end of Apartheid in 1994.

The town is also home to Huberta, one of the farthest-travelling hippopotami in South Africa. It is preserved in the Amathole Museum in the Qonce CBD.

Get in
Qonce is about 60 km from East London, along national route N2. Driving takes about 50 minutes, depending on traffic.

There's no railway station but intercity buses to and from East London usually makes a stop in Qonce/King William's Town, meaning that the city is well-connected with many other larger South African cities.