Early history John Bailie, one of the
1820 Settlers, surveyed the
Buffalo River mouth and founded the town in 1836. There is a memorial on
Signal Hill commemorating the event. The city formed around the only river port in South Africa and was originally known as Port Rex. Later it was renamed London in honour of the capital city of the
United Kingdom, hence the name East London. This settlement on the West Bank was the nucleus of the town of East London, which was elevated to city status in 1914. During the early to mid-19th century frontier wars between the
British settlers and the local
Xhosa inhabitants, East London served as a supply port to service the military headquarters at nearby
King William's Town (now Qonce), about away. A British
fort, Fort Glamorgan, was built on the West Bank in 1847, and annexed to the
Cape Colony that same year. This fort is one of a series of British-built forts, including Fort Murray,
Fort White,
Fort Cox,
Fort Hare, Fort Jackson and
Fort Beaufort, in the border area that became known as
British Kaffraria. With later development of the port came the settlement of permanent residents, including German settlers, most of whom were bachelors. These settlers were responsible for German names of some towns in the vicinity of East London such as
Stutterheim and
Berlin. Today, German surnames such as Gehring, Salzwedel and Peinke are still common in East London, but the descendants of the settlers rapidly became Anglicised. The existing port, in the mouth of the
Buffalo River, adjoining the
Indian Ocean, began operating in 1870. In 1872, the Cape Colony, under the leadership of its first Prime Minister
John Molteno, attained a degree of independence from Britain. The new government merged the three neighbouring settlements of East London, East London East and Panmure in 1873, forming the core of the current municipality, and in 1876 it began construction on the region's
railway lines, commencing on the river's east bank. At the same time, it began construction of the
East London harbour. This new infrastructure rapidly accelerated development of the area into today's thriving city of East London. The unusual
double-decker bridge over the Buffalo River was completed in 1935, and to this day is the only bridge of its type in South Africa. Modern day attractions include the Gately House, City Hall, Cape Railways, Nahoon Museum,
East London Museum housing the
coelacanth, a prehistoric fish, thought to be extinct, discovered live at the
Chalumna River mouth near East London by fishermen in 1938, and numerous memorial statues.
Apartheid era In 1948, the
National Party came to power in South Africa, and began to implement the policy of
apartheid. Apartheid as a
doctrine envisaged the total
segregation of races in South Africa, and East London was no different. In 1950, the
Group Areas Act was placed upon the statute books making absolute segregation in all urban areas mandatory. In 1951, the Land Tenure Advisory Board, the body created to enforce the act, conducted initial investigations into the reallocation of space along racial lines in East London. Residential segregation had long been practised in East London prior to the advent of apartheid. In 1941, the East London Municipality moved residents from East Bank townships to the newly built township of
Duncan Village. In 1951, all inter-racial property exchanges were prohibited in East London. In 1955, the Amalinda area was zoned as a White Group Area by Government Gazette Proclamation number 21. This meant that the municipality's plans to extend the area in order to accommodate the Black African population were abandoned. In February 1966, the South African government defined Mdantsane as a separate
homeland township. In 1956, Prime Minister
Hendrik Verwoerd, forbade the East London municipality from extending the existing Duncan Village township and sanctioned the building of Mdantsane. The name was not accepted due to the city already having a neighbourhood named
Gompo. It was proposed again in 2020 and 2024 for the city to be renamed. In January 2026,
Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie approved changing East London's official name to KuGompo City after public consultations. The name change became official in February 2026. The name is said to be derived from the sound of waves crashing against the Gompo Rock, a sacred site for the
Xhosa. Adding the word 'city' is what was used to distinguish the name of the city from the neighbourhood of Gompo, thereby resolving the issue that previously led to the name change being rejected. == Geography and climate ==