Swellendam - The Third Oldest Town in South Africa

 

Early Travellers and Explorers who visited the Cape in the 1500’s traded with the Khoikhoi people who lived on these shores.

When the Dutch East India Company established a refreshment centre at the Cape in 1652, trade continued inland as far as Swellendam.

 

In 1743 Swellendam was declared a magisterial district, the third oldest in South Africa, and was named after

Govenor Hendrik Swellengrebel and his wife, Helena Ten Damme.

This outlying settlement soon became a gateway to the interior,

and was visited by many famous explorers and travelers including Le Vaillant (1781),

Lady Anne Barnard (1798), Burchel (1815) and Bowler (1860).

 

Commercial Hotel	Dutch Reformed Church	DM Tomlinson
Voortrekstreet in front of Dutch Reformed Church	Kom Nader Home of MER and her daughter Anna Rothmann	Swellengrebel Street