A superior court was first established at
Grahamstown in 1864, as the Court of the Eastern Districts of the
Cape of Good Hope, to ease access to justice for the residents of what is now the Eastern Cape. The Eastern Districts Court was subordinate to the
Supreme Court of the Cape of Good Hope in
Cape Town, which had concurrent jurisdiction over the eastern districts. When the
Union of South Africa was created in 1910, the Eastern Districts Court became the Eastern Districts Local Division of the
Supreme Court of South Africa. Initially decisions could still be appealed from the court to the Appellate Division of the
Supreme Court of South Africa, but in 1979 an Appellate Division was established in the Supreme Court of Transkei. A similar process took place in the
Ciskei, which received nominal independence and established its own Supreme Court at
Zwelitsha in 1981. and the court moved to new buildings in
Bhisho. When the Transkei and Ciskei were reincorporated in South Africa on 27 April 1994, their Supreme Courts remained in existence, but three months later their Appellate Divisions were abolished and their jurisdiction transferred to the South African Appellate Division. When the final
Constitution came into force the remaining General Divisions became High Courts of South Africa, known as the Transkei Division ==Seats==