Riversdale, South Africa

Riversdale (Afrikaans: Riversdal) is a town located along the N2 highway, within the Hessequa region between Cape Town and George on the Agulhas Coastal Plain of the southern Western Cape province of South Africa. It is an agricultural service oriented town, being a hub for shopping and other services for surrounding farming communities, smaller towns, and coastal resorts, like Witsand and Stilbaai. It is located beneath the imposing Langeberg Mountains to the north, with Sleeping Beauty Mountain Peak overlooking the town. The town is home to the second largest collection of Thomas Bowler paintings within South Africa and is also the only town in the country, in which you would find a Ukrainian Museum of Culture. Riversdale links with the Klein Karoo, via the tarred Garcia's Mountain Pass, which offers traditional Karoo landscapes and wide open spaces for motorcyclists.

Riversdale
Approaching the town of Riversdale on the N2 highway
Approaching the town of Riversdale on the N2 highway
Riversdale is located in Western Cape
Riversdale
Riversdale
Riversdale is located in South Africa
Riversdale
Riversdale
Riversdale is located in Africa
Riversdale
Riversdale
Coordinates: 34°05′49″S 21°15′44″E
CountrySouth Africa
ProvinceWestern Cape
DistrictGarden Route
MunicipalityHessequa
Established1838[1]
Area
[2]
 • Total100.45 km2 (38.78 sq mi)
Elevation
110 m (360 ft)
Population
 (2011)[2]
 • Total16,176
 • Density160/km2 (420/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
[2]
 • Black African8.9%
 • Coloured75.2%
 • Indian/Asian0.3%
 • White15.3%
 • Other0.3%
First languages (2011)
[2]
 • Afrikaans92.3%
 • Xhosa3.7%
 • English2.2%
 • Other1.8%
Time zoneUTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)
6670
PO box
6670
Area code028

The Old Jail dates back to the 1800s, and is one of the most visited tourist facilities in town. The Bali Trading Complex, along the N2, is arguably one of the most visited N2 facilities in the country.

The Riversdal Landbouskou is a popular agricultural festival, taking placed annually in February. Riversdale as a popular tourist town, has many coffee shops, restaurants, accommodation facilities and traveller experiences like wineries, horse riding and fishing at the Korentepoort Dam Resort.

The region in which Riversdale is located, is branded as The Explorer's Garden Route.

History

The town was founded as a church on the farm, Doornkraal, and was subsequently named after Harry Rivers, the then incumbent Civil Commissioner of Swellendam. It was proclaimed a town on 30 August 1838. Riverdale is the seat of the Hessequa Local Municipality. It is also sometimes considered the westernmost point in the Garden Route region.

Notable residents
  • Willem Botha, singer
  • Dyan Buis, Paralympic athlete
  • Dalene Matthee (13 October 1938 – 20 February 2005), writer who matriculated here at Hoërskool Langenhoven
  • Dr Cecil Moss, Springbok rugby player and coach
  • Jack Simons, academic and anti-apartheid activist
  • Jan Ernst Abraham Volschenk (20 August 1853 Riversdale – 22 January 1936 Riversdale), painter noted for his majestic landscapes of the Langeberg Range in the Western Cape Province
  • Vera Volschenk (1899-1987), painter born in 1899; eldest of nine daughters of Jan Ernst Abraham Volschenk[3]

See also

References
  1. Robson, Linda Gillian (2011). "Annexure A" (PDF). The Royal Engineers and settlement planning in the Cape Colony 1806–1872: Approach, methodology and impact (PhD thesis). University of Pretoria. pp. xlv–lii. hdl:2263/26503.
  2. "Main Place Riversdale". Census 2011.
  3. "Biography of Vera Volschenk - BLOUIN ARTINFO, the Premier Global Online Destination for Art and Culture | BLOUIN ARTINFO". Archived from the original on 2016-08-18. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
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