Maclear Eastern Cape

Maclear is a small town situated in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, near the Mooi River (a tributary of the Tsitsa River), 172 km north of East London and 80 km north-east of Elliot. It was founded in 1876 as a military camp, called Nqanqaru Drift and developed rapidly, reaching municipal status in 1916. Was named after Sir Thomas Maclear (1794-1879), a famous astronomer who laid the foundation for a trigonometrical survey of the Cape Colony. It lies just north-east of Ugie. The land to the east and south was part of the former homeland of Transkei.