Gochas

The village has been the main settlement of the ǃKharakhoen (Fransman Nama), a subtribe of the Nama people,{{cite book |last=Malan |first=Johan S |title=Die Völker Namibias |trans-title=The Tribes of Namibia |year=1998 |publisher=Klaus Hess |location=Windhoek, Göttingen |language=German |pages=120–125}} since 1889.{{cite web |title=Biographies of Namibian Personalities, K |last=Dierks |first=Klaus |authorlink=Klaus Dierks |url=http://www.klausdierks.com/Biographies/Biographies_K.htm |accessdate=9 July 2011}}

Gochas was a flashpoint in the colonial Herero Wars in German South West Africa. It was used as a military post and camel station under Imperial German rule. In January 1905 the Germans defeated the Nama chief Simon Kooper here. The final battle of the war, the Battle of Seatsub, was fought in Bechuanaland in March 1908. Capt. Friedrich von Erckert was killed in action, and a memorial was built in Gochas.{{cite journal |title=The Kalahari Expedition, March 1908: The Forgotten Story of the Final Battle of the Nama War |last=Haacke |first=Wulf D | journal=Botswana Notes and Records | volume=24 | pages=1–18 | year=1992 |jstor=40979912 }}

Gochas is located {{convert|110|km}} southeast of Mariental{{cite news |title=Ministry takes up probe of problems at Gochas |last=Cloete |first=Luqman |newspaper=The Namibian |url=http://www.namibian.com.na/index.php?id=28&tx_ttnews%5btt_news%5d=18786&no_cache=1 |date=24 November 2005}} and {{convert|64|km}} southwest of Stampriet on the way to the Mata Mata border post to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.{{cite web | url=http://www.namibweb.com/gochas.htm | title=Gochas | publisher=Namibweb | accessdate=10 July 2011}} It lies on the banks of the Auob River {{convert|1,150|m}} above sea level. The area is at the center of a set of Kalahari Desert dune farms on which cattle and sheep graze.Potgieter, D.J. (ed.) 1972. Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa. Cape Town: Nasionale Opvoedkundige Uitgewery (Nasou).

In 1960, the population was reported as 205 whites, 108 mixed-race, and 224 blacks.

{{Historical populations|1960|537|2011|1,347|2023|1,868|percentages=pagr|align=none|footnote=Sources:{{cite web | title=4.5 Population by town and census years (2011 and 2023) | url=https://nsa.org.na/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2023-Population-and-Housing-Census-Main-Report-28-Oct-2024.pdf | work=Namibia 2023 - Population and Housing Census. Main Report | publisher=Namibia Statistics Agency | access-date=2 November 2024 | pages=33–34}}}}

Gochas receives an average of {{convert|176|mm}} of rainfall per year. During the 2010s drought a low of {{convert|31|mm|abbr=on}} was recorded.{{Cite news | title=Khomas faces worst drought in 90 years | last1=Menges | first1=Werner | last2=Oliveira | first2=Yokany | newspaper=The Namibian | date=23 May 2019 | page=1 | url=https://www.namibian.com.na/78826/read/Khomas-faces-worst-drought-in-90-years}}

Gochas is governed by a village council, established in 1958, that {{As of|November 2015|alt=currently}} has five seats.{{Cite news | title=Know Your Local Authority | publisher=Institute for Public Policy Research | newspaper=Election Watch | year = 2015 | issue=3 | page=4}}

The 2015 local authority election was won by the SWAPO party which gained three seats (326 votes). One seat each was won by the Congress of Democrats (CoD, 96 votes) and the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA, 36 votes).{{cite web | title=Local elections results | publisher=Electoral Commission of Namibia | page=2 | url=http://www.ecn.na/documents/27857/218731/LA+results+%28press+release%29+2015.pdf/870a030b-8547-487f-ad18-b22713b16d4c?version=1.0 | date=28 November 2015 | access-date=2 September 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151210194328/http://www.ecn.na/documents/27857/218731/LA+results+%28press+release%29+2015.pdf/870a030b-8547-487f-ad18-b22713b16d4c?version=1.0 | archive-date=10 December 2015 | url-status=dead }} The 2020 local authority election was won by the newly formed Landless People's Movement (LPM) which scored well all over Hardap. LPM gained 347 votes and three seats in the village council. SWAPO gained only one seat (147 votes), and the likewise new Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) won the remaining seat with 108 votes.{{Cite web | title=2020 Local Authority Elections Results and Allocation of Seats | page=2 | date=29 November 2020 | publisher=Electoral Commission of Namibia | url=https://www.ecn.na/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Media-Release-on-LA-Results_2020.pdf | accessdate=3 December 2020 | archive-date=24 January 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210124162938/https://www.ecn.na/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Media-Release-on-LA-Results_2020.pdf | url-status=dead }}

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Category:Populated places in the Hardap Region

Category:Villages in Namibia

Category:Herero Wars