Swellendam, a town in the Western Cape province, is the fifth oldest town in South Africa (after Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Simon’s Town, and Paarl). The town has over 50 provincial heritage sites, the majority of which are Cape Dutch-style buildings. Swellendam is located on the N2, about 220 kilometers from both Cape Town and George.
History
Swellendam, the third-oldest magisterial district in South Africa, was established in 1743 and named after Governor Hendrik Swellengrebel, the first South African born Governor, and his wife, Helena Ten Damme. This outlying settlement quickly became a gateway to the interior, and many famous explorers and travelers, including François Le Vaillant (1781), Lady Anne Barnard (1798), William John Burchell (1815), and Thomas William Bowler, visited it (1860). A village was eventually established beyond the Drostdy, where artisans, including many wainwrights and traders, settled. Swellendam was the last outpost of Dutch civilisation on the eastern frontier, so the town’s residents’ services were critical.
By 1795, the Dutch East India Company’s maladministration and inadequacies had prompted the long-suffering burghers of Swellendam to revolt, and on June 17, 1795, they declared themselves a republic. President of the Republic of Swellendam Hermanus Steyn was appointed. Swellendam’s burghers began to refer to themselves as “national burghers” in the style of the French Revolution. The Republic, however, was short-lived, ending on November 4, 1795, when the Cape was occupied by the Kingdom of Great Britain. With the arrival of British settlers in the early nineteenth century, the Overberg boomed, and Swellendam quickly became the heart of Joseph Barry’s mercantile empire, which dominated trade in the area until 1870. The Breede River is South Africa’s only navigable river, and ships sailed 35 kilometers upriver to Malgas to unload and load cargo.
The eastern districts had been colonized by British settlers by the middle of the nineteenth century, and Swellendam was a thriving metropolis. On the long, slow journey up the coast, the town served as a useful refreshment stop. Swellendam is now a thriving agricultural area with many attractive and historic buildings that serve as reminders of its past. Swellendam’s first known sketch was of the Drostdy by Johannes Schumacher in 1776, when he accompanied Governor Swellengrebel’s son to the town. The Drostdy is now part of a museum complex that includes several heritage sites, including the Drostdy, the old Gaol, and Mayville. The population was 3,784 people according to the 1936 census.
Swellendam is located in which province?
Province of Western Cape
Swellendam is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is located 120 miles (190 kilometers) east of Cape Town in the Breede River valley. The town is located at the foot of the Langeberg mountains, inland from the Indian Ocean.
Is Swellendam located in the Karoo?
Swellendam’s location at the beginning of the Garden Route and close proximity to the Tradouw Pass, which leads to the famous R62 road and the Little Karoo, makes it an ideal starting point for tourists looking to explore this part of the country.
In Swellendam, what do they farm?
Swellendam is surrounded by three nature reserves and has a Mediterranean climate. Wheat, canola, sheep, and dairy farming are common in the area.
