Named after the town of Fort Beaufort, the seat covered a rural area in the centre of the Eastern Cape.
The first challenge to the Cape Qualified Franchise came with the Women's Enfranchisement Act, 1930 and the Franchise Laws Amendment Act, 1931, which extended the vote to women and removed property qualifications for the white population only – non-white voters remained subject to the earlier restrictions.
[1] Fort Beaufort was established by British “1820 Settlers”, and like most of the Eastern Cape, was a largely English-speaking region.
This made it a stronghold of the Unionist Party, whose leader Sir Thomas Smartt represented the seat throughout his leadership.
In 1966, with parts of the seat having been carved out to form the Ciskei bantustan, it was abolished and largely merged with the neighbouring constituency of Cradock.