History of Wellington
History of Wellington
Wellington, steeped in history and tradition, has a magical atmosphere that will captivate you once you discover the town, its people and its myriad of attractions. Originally known as Limiet Vallei (border or frontier valley), the area became known as Val du Charron or Wagenmakersvallei (Valley of the Wagon Maker) towards the end of the 17th century when the French Huguenots settled here.
After the eventual establishment of the town in 1840, the name was changed to Wellington in honour of the renowned soldier and conqueror of Napoleon at the battle of Waterloo.
Established old Cape families have lived in Wellington for much of its existence and their lives and works are woven into the fabric of its history. Yet, it is still relatively undiscovered, despite its significant past that began when the first settlers were granted land in this fertile valley.
Wellington’s place on the map was guaranteed when a railway station was built there in 1863, as part of the British Government’s first railway line to the North. It was the terminus at which the early locomotives turned, allowing fresh produce from the interior to be brought into Wellington by wagon to meet buyers from Cape Town who had travelled by train.
Wellington’s rich heritage spans more than three centuries, from the first title deeds signed by Willem Adriaan van der Stel in 1699, to the present day.
Human occupation dates back to Stone Age groups like the Khoikhoi and the San, to the settlement of Free Burghers and Huguenot refugees.
The first European settlers were mainly French Huguenots who arrived in the valley as early as 1688. Simon van der Stel, governor of the Cape Colony, granted them farms to meet the growing need for agriculture and to provide a buffer against the Khoi and San.
Free Burghers from the Netherlands and Huguenot refugees establish the first farms and formal industries
Pioneers, such as Andrew Geddes Bain, builds the first road to the interior across the Limiet Mountains and Andrew Murray revolutionizes education for girls by the establishment of the Huguenot Seminary.
Murray’s far sighted and pioneering approach to higher Christian education for girls, based on the Mount Holyoke principle of head and hand and heart, made him immortal. His vision for providing tertiary education for girls laid the foundation for many schools throughout the Boland and the Eastern Cape. Through his influence Wellington became a well-known centre for education in South Africa. His vision for winning Africa for Christ also led him beyond the borders of Wellington. Missionaries from Wellington penetrated into the heart of Africa.
He was the minister at the Dutch Reformed Church of Welllington from 1871 to 1906, and lived here until his death in 1917.
In the 1840s Andrew Geddes Bain was working on the Michell’s Pass, when he began to contemplate a pass through the Wellington’s mountains. At the time there was only a bridal path through the mountains.
He asked Johannes Retief to act as his guide through the mountains. Other members of the group were the sons of Daniel Malan and Septimus du Toit. Horses were provided by Field Cornet Rousseau. They followed a cattle track, then left their horses at the neck (now Bainskloof village or Eerste Tol), and then walked eastwards down into the kloof.
Bain completed the Michell Pass in 1848 and moved his team to Wellington where he built a construction village at Eerste Tol. The settlement included the usual storerooms and workshops, as well as a hospital, a church/school building, recreation area and stables.
Work started in February 1849 on the easier western approach. This section required little blasting, and two timber bridges and four stone culverts. He also had 300 oaks planted for shade.
Most of the work was done by convict labour – between 300 and 350 people at a time. Sometimes the figure went up to 450. About 1,000 convicts could claim that they were involved in building the 30 km pass.
The pass was opened in September 1853 and is still in use today – with a few minor improvements like getting a tarred surface in 1934. It became a national monument in 1980
The French Huguenots came from the wine regions of France and therefore had a marked influence on the development of viticulture in the Valley.
Although quiet, almost laid-back, Wellington has produced famous sons such as Abraham Izak Perold, who produced the Pinotage red wine varietal in 1925, Pieter Cillié (Piet California), the fruit pioneer, and rugby star, Schalk Burger jnr.
Among the old families are the Retiefs’, of whom an ancestor was the famous Voortrekker leader, Piet Retief; the Cillié family and Malans’ – and many others. The old farms remain: Olyvenhout, Kromme Rivier, Versailles, Groenfontein, Vrugbaar, Onverwagt and Doolhof. These are recorded in Title Deeds dated 1700. Amazingly the eight generation family farms, Groenfontein and Lelienfontein, still owned by the Bosman family, is the home of Bosman Family Vineyards wines.
The second-oldest co-operative wine cellar in the country, Bovlei Cellar, was founded in 1907 and Sedgwick’s Distillery established in 1886. These gave added impetus to the economy of what was by now a prosperous centre for commerce and agriculture.
The South African Dried Fruit industry was founded here in 1890, and still has its headquarters in the town. The South African Dried Fruit Board (co-operative) was started in 1908 by a group of prune farmers for the selling of their dried fruits.
Wellington has also brought us great authors like Breyten Breytenbach, Adam Small, PH Nortjé, to name a few.
The house Breytenbach grew up in is today a cultural centre,The Breytenbach Centre, that opened in 2007 after extensive restoration work. The house was built roughly 150 years ago and was first a hotel, Commercial Hotel, before it was sold in the late 1890s as a student boarding house. Early in 1940 it was the base for the Wellingtonse Voortrekkerkommando before it was sold to Hans and Kitty Breytenbach in 1953 that used it as a boarding house, Grevilleas. In 1974 the Breytenbachs sold the house to the Wellington municipality that used it as a day hospital.
Wellingtonners generally have a lively interest in the arts. Amateur theatre, music productions and art exhibitions are held regularly. Until recently, Wellington had the only piano factory in the Southern Hemisphere. Quite astonishing, as the founder, Mr Dietman, a German immigrant, was a mere piano tuner. Another successful enterprise established by a foreigner in the last century is the Western Tanning Company. Mr J.H.Coaten, a Yorkshireman, began the leather Tannery in 1871. The tannery is the second oldest in the country and still situated on the same spot.
The culture-rich history of Wellington survives in the townsfolk. Mr Francois Malan, first curator of the museums’s roots go back eight generations to his Huguenot forebear, Jacques Malan. Miss Ella Malan, interviewed in 1988, at the age of 96, witnessed the birth of the Afrikaans Language. She recalls her uncle, the first Dutch Reformed Minister, Rev S.J.du Toit translating the Bible from Dutch to Afrikaans. The Malans, Hofmeyrs, Jouberts and Retiefs have stayed in Wellington in an unbroken line.