Maclear

Maclear is a town in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It sits in a high-altitude area and serves as a local service center for surrounding rural communities.

The town was named after Sir Thomas Maclear (1799–1879), a British Army surgeon and geodesist who directed the Cape Colony’s geodetic surveys in the 19th century and contributed to the establishment of the Cape Observatory.

Maclear’s Beacon, a historic trigonometrical beacon on Table Mountain, was erected as part of the same geodetic program and bears his name.

Beyond the town, Maclear is also a surname used by various individuals. The name appears in different contexts and regions, reflecting its historical origins in the British colonial era.