Villiersdorp | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 33°59′27″S19°17′22″E / 33.99083°S 19.28944°E | |
Country | South Africa |
Province | Western Cape |
District | Overberg |
Municipality | Theewaterskloof |
Established | 1841 [1] |
Area | |
• Total | 2.89 km2 (1.12 sq mi) |
Population (2011) [2] | |
• Total | 10,004 |
• Density | 3,500/km2 (9,000/sq mi) |
Racial makeup (2011) | |
• Black African | 40.3% |
• Coloured | 44.7% |
• Indian/Asian | 0.2% |
• White | 12.5% |
• Other | 2.3% |
First languages (2011) | |
• Afrikaans | 56.5% |
• Xhosa | 24.6% |
• Sotho | 12.8% |
• English | 3.4% |
• Other | 2.7% |
Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
Postal code (street) | 6848 |
PO box | 6848 |
Area code | 028 |
Villiersdorp is a town of approximately 10,000 people located in the Western Cape province of South Africa in the Overberg region.
Unlike most of the geographical region which specialises in wheat and canola farming, the Villiersdorp Valley is now agriculturally and in micro-climate more similar to the Elgin Valley and Grabouw since the building of the Theewaterskloof Dam, and thus also specialises in deciduous fruit farming and viticulture. The Theewaterskloof Dam, the largest dam in the Western Cape and seventh largest in South Africa and important water supply to Cape Town fills the majority of the valley floor. The Villiersdorp Co-Op is also the only place in South Africa that processes and dries persimmons. The three big packsheds in Villiersdorp, Betko, Arbeidsvreugd and Ideafruit, as well as the Villiersdorp Co-Op process the fruit grown in the area for export and transport to other parts of South Africa. The town is named after Field Cornet Pieter de Villiers, a local farmer who founded the settlement in 1843. There is a lot more packsheds that developed over the years like Fruitways , Provider farming, Vilbo Fruit, Fruit Affair, Kaaimansgat boerdery, Bo Radyn Boerdery, that are not mentioned.
The Eastern Cape is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Port Elizabeth.
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Theewaterskloof Municipality is a local municipality located within the Overberg District Municipality, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. As of 2007, the population was 108,790. Its municipality code is WC031. The enormous Theewaterskloof Dam, which provides water for Cape Town and the surrounding areas, is located in this municipality.
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Sir De Villiers Graaff, 2nd Baronet, known as Div Graaff, was a South African politician who succeeded his father, Sir David Pieter de Villiers Graaff, 1st Baronet, to his baronetcy in 1931. He died in 1999 and was succeeded by his son, Sir David de Villiers Graaff, 3rd Baronet. He was the leader of the centrist United Party which was the official opposition in the then all-white South African Parliament from 1956 to 1977.
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Elgin is a large, lush area of land, circled by mountains, in the Overberg region of South Africa. This broad upland valley lies about 70 km southeast of Cape Town, just beyond the Hottentots Holland Mountains.
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Sir David Pieter de Villiers Graaff, 1st Baronet was a South African cold storage magnate and politician. Graaff revolutionized the cold storage industry in Africa. He founded the Imperial Cold Storage and Supply Company in 1899, and aggressively ran it until he left to serve in government. Graaff grew the company into one of the largest in Africa. Graaff's wealth soared, at the turn of the century. During World War I he personally part financed the South African war effort and for this he was knighted as well as for services at the Paris Peace Conference 1919.
The Hottentots Holland Mountains are part of the Cape Fold Belt in the Western Cape, South Africa. The mountain range forms a barrier between the Cape Town metropolitan area and the southern Overberg coast.
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Elandskloof Dam is a gravity type dam located on the Elandskloof River, near Villiersdorp, Western Cape, South Africa. It was established in 1976. The primary purpose of the dam is for irrigation and domestic water supply. Its hazard potential has been ranked high (3).
Theewaterskloof Dam is an earth-fill type dam located on the Sonderend River near Villiersdorp, Western Cape, South Africa. Administratively it is located within Theewaterskloof Local Municipality. It was established in 1978 and is the largest dam in the Western Cape Water Supply System with a capacity of 480 million cubic metres, about 41% of the water storage capacity available to Cape Town, which has a population of over 4 million people. The dam mainly serves for municipal and industrial use as well as for irrigation purposes. The hazard potential of the dam has been ranked high (3).
Johannes de Villiers Graaff was a neoclassical South African welfare economist. Graaff is noted for his work on optimal savings rates, contributions to the creation of the social welfare function and for his 1957 magnum opus Theoretical Welfare Economics.
Imperial Cold Storage and Supply Company (ICS) was one of the largest meat processing, storage, distribution and marketing companies in South Africa, dominating the South African packaged food sector for almost a hundred years. The company was formally registered and listed as ICS in 1899, originally it grew out of Combrinck & CO. which was founded in 1830 in Cape Town. Combrinck & CO. was then merged into ICS. ICS was one of the largest meat processing and distribution companies in the world. The company originally concentrated on supplying ships, but would go on to develop the first cold-storage enterprise in South Africa in conjunction with the Union and Castle shipping lines. Sir David Graaff, 1st Baronet was a founder, chairman and major shareholder.
Theewaterskloof may refer to:
Sir Jacobus Arnoldus Combrinck Graaff, also known as 'Sir James', was a South African cabinet minister, Senator, businessman, and South African Party whip.
De Villiers Graaff High School is an academic state secondary school in Villiersdorp, a small town approximately 150 km from Cape Town, South Africa. It was founded in 1872 and is also known by the acronym "DVG".