" The Karoo breeds few atheists, perhaps this is an accident, and its plant and animal world, so bizarre yet so methodical, plays no part in this at all. Or, perhaps, unguessed by its people  the pressure of a great plan is about them." 

Many travellers, rush through the Karoo to get to their destination, little knowing that carefully scattered in these plains are treasures telling stories of prehistoric times, of travellers hundreds of years ago, of pioneers who settled here and people who treasured what this wonderful land gave them in hard times and in happy times.

If we want to learn something about ourselves and the amazing history locked up in little towns all our country, we need to stop and listen

At the foot of the Coetzee Mountains in the Karoo, lies the town of Pearston.

Like many towns in the Eastern Cape, the church played a pivotal role in the establishment of the town.  Since 1850 church services were held in the open under a large pear tree on the farm Rustenburg, then the property of Mr Casper Lötter. The services were held and Communion celebrated by the minister of the parish of Somerset East.

On 11 September 1858 the following notice was published in the Kerkbode, the official publication of the Dutch Reformed Church: " Men is voornemens aan de Vogelrivier, halfweg tuschen Graaff-Reinett en Somerset een dorpen the stichten, waaraan reeds the naam Pearston is gegeven. Die verkopen van erven ten behoewe van de kerk, heeft ongeveer £10,000 sterling opgebracht, waaruit na betaling van den koopschat van der plaats, man in staat sal zyn ene kerk en pastorie te bouwen."

Thus Pearston was founded on the 21st of September 1859 by the church following the pattern of many pioneer churches. The church would buy a suitable farm, subdivide it into lots, reserve some for its own purposes and then offer the rest for sale to defray the cost of purchasing the land and build a church.

The town was managed by the church but in 1861 the town management board acquired all the rights from the church for the sum of £1,000.

On the 3rd of April 1894 the town was proclaimed a municipality

The district of Pearson, originally 2473 sq km was proclaimed on 8 June 1911.

Today, Pearston is part of the Blue Crane Route Municipality.

To experience the plains of the Camdeboo, you need to get into the hearts and minds of the people and see beyond this desert like exterior. It is a treasure trove of people, plants and animals, with lots of stories to be told!