Hofmeyr is located at the junction of the R401, R390 and R391 and is 65 km’s from Tarkastad. Hofmeyr is a very small town in the Karoo, just below the Bamboes Mountain Range about 20 km west of the Bamboesberg mountain range. The Karoo – has the largest variety of succulents found anywhere on earth. Hofmeyr is located 64 km’s north-east of Cradock and 48 km south of Steynsburg. It was laid out on the farm Boorfontein in 1873-74 and attained municipal status in 1913. Originally it was named Maraisburg, after Daniel Marais, who played a leading role in its establishment. To avoid confusion with Maraisburg in Transvaal it was renamed Hofmeyr in 1911, after Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr (Onze Jan), who achieved recognition of Dutch as an official language of South Africa. In former times it lay at the centre of a flourishing sheep-farming district and managed some salt pans 10 km to its west.

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Key Statistics 2011

Total population 326
Young (0-14) 20,6%
Working Age (15-64) 69%
Elderly (65+) 10,4%
Dependency ratio 44,9
Sex ratio 106,3
Population density 21 persons/km2
No schooling aged 20+ 3,5%
Higher education aged 20+ 18,6%
Matric aged 20+ 31,2%
Number of households 120
Average household size 2,5
Female headed households 44,2%
Formal dwellings 98,3%
Housing owned/paying off 65,8%
Flush toilet connected to sewerage 16,8%
Weekly refuse removal 90,8%
Piped water inside dwelling 90,8%
Electricity for lighting 95,8%