Williston, Northern Cape 4.52

Williston is a town in Northern Cape, South Africa. Town 103 km north-east of Calvinia and 140 km south-west of Carnarvon.HistoryWilliston was originally known as Amandelboom due to the presence of a large almond tree planted in 1768 by Johan Abraham Nel to honour his son's birth. By the time a station was founded at the site by Rhenish mission under Johann Heinrich Lutz in 1845 the tree had grown into a significant landmark in the dry and largely treeless area. A town grew around the station and it was declared a municipality in 1881. It was renamed in 1919 after Colonel Hampden Willis, Colonial Secretary in 1883.