Good Hope for the purposes of refreshment and repairs. Britain agreed on 13 August 1814 to pay five million sterling to the United Netherlands for the Dutch possession at the Cape. The Cape Colony received a degree of independence in 1872 when "Responsible Government" was declared in South Africa. In 1877, the government of Prime Minister John Molteno began construction of the railway line connecting Graaff-Reinet to Port Elizabeth on the coast. This railway was officially opened on 26 August 1879. Graaff Reinet became the centre of British military operations for the Eastern Cape during the Second Boer War. In 1901, a number of captured Boer rebels were tried in the town for crimes ranging from high treason, murder, attempted murder, arson and robbery. Nine were sentenced to death, with eight of these being executed by firing squad on the outskirts of the town, while the ninth sentence was carried out in Colesberg. A monument stands in the town to commemorate these fallen Boers. Geography The town lies above the sea and is built on the banks of the Sundays River, which rises a little further north on the southern slopes of the Sneeuberge, and splits into several channels here. The town is home to a number of tourist attractions, including the Dutch Reformed church in the town, which is a prominent stone building with seating to accommodate 1,500 people. The building is influenced by the architecture of Salisbury Cathedral in England. The town is also home to tourist sites such as The Valley of Desolation, Camdeboo National Park and the Reinet House Museum, a Cape Dutch building, formerly the Dutch Reformed Church parsonage. Demographics In the South African National Census of 2011, the population of Graaff-Reinet and the township of uMasizakhe was recorded as 35,672, which included 8,393 households. 62.2% of these residents described themselves as "Coloured" an identity that Khoi communities were coerced into accepting, 28.2% as "Black African", and 8.7% as "White". The dominant language was Afrikaans, which was the first language of 76.0% of the population. 18.9% spoke Xhosa, and 3.6% spoke English. Notable people Great Trek and Boer Republics Andries Pretorius, born Andries Wilhelmus Jacobus Pretorius (27 November 1798 – 23 July 1853) Great Trek leader after whom Pretoria was named, farmed in the district before the Great Trek. Also instrumental in the creation of the Transvaal Republic. Andries Hendrik Potgieter, Great Trek leader was