Tarkastad is a Karoo semi-urban settlement situated on the banks of Tarka River in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.

[1] The first people to occupy the area around Tarkastad were the San who left an abundance of rock art paintings in Grootvlei just north of the town.

After the Dutch farmers decided to accompany their leaders on the Great Trek,[3] the English 1820 settlers moved in, and in 1862 Tarkastad was established as a church centre and became a municipality in 1864.

[5] The grave of Lt. Sheridan, cousin of Winston Churchill, who was killed in the Battle of Elands River can be found on the Modderfontein farm just outside Tarkastad.

Victorian cast iron lamp posts, old water mills and broekie lace adornments indicate the British colonial influence.