Riversdale, Western Cape

Riversdale
Approaching the town of Riversdale on the N2 highway
Riversdale
 Riversdale shown within Western Cape
Riversdale
Riversdale (South Africa)
Riversdale
Riversdale (Africa)
Coordinates: 34°05′49″S 21°15′44″E / 34.09694°S 21.26222°E / -34.09694; 21.26222Coordinates: 34°05′49″S 21°15′44″E / 34.09694°S 21.26222°E / -34.09694; 21.26222
Country South Africa
Province Western Cape
District Garden Route
Municipality Hessequa
Established 1838[1]
Area[2]
 • Total 100.45 km2 (38.78 sq mi)
Elevation 110 m (360 ft)
Population (2011)[2]
 • Total 16,176
 • Density 160/km2 (420/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)[2]
 • Black African 8.9%
 • Coloured 75.2%
 • Indian/Asian 0.3%
 • White 15.3%
 • Other 0.3%
First languages (2011)[2]
 • Afrikaans 92.3%
 • Xhosa 3.7%
 • English 2.2%
 • Other 1.8%
Time zone UTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street) 6670
PO box 6670
Area code 028

Riversdale (Afrikaans: Riversdal) is a town located on the N2 highway 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 overlooking the town.

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

  • Dyan Buis, Paralympic Athlete
  • JT Jackson, Blue Bulls rugby
  • Dr Cecil Moss, Springbok
  • Jack Simons, academic and anti-apartheid activist
  • Jan Ernst Abraham Volschenk (20 August 1853 Riversdale – 22 January 1936 Riversdale), was a South African painter, noted for his majestic landscapes of the Langeberg Range in the Western Cape Province
  • Vera Volschenk (1899-1987) was a South African painter who was born in 1899. Eldest of nine daughters of Jan Ernst Abraham Volschenk[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Chronological order of town establishment in South Africa based on Floyd (1960:20-26)" (PDF). pp. xlv–lii.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Main Place Riversdale". Census 2011.
  3. ↑ http://www.blouinartinfo.com/artists/vera-volschenk-190688/
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