Alexander Bay is a town in the extreme north-west of
South Africa, also known as the region of Little
Namaqualand. It is located on the southern bank of the
Orange River mouth. It was named for
Sir James Alexander, who was the first person to map the area whilst on a
Royal Geographical Society expedition into
Namibia in 1836. (It is mistakenly believed by many locals that it was he who first established commercial copper mining in the area.) With diamonds being discovered along the West Coast in 1925, Alexander Bay was established to service the mining industry.