Beaufort West, Cape Town

A Town 573 km from Cape Town, established in 1818 on the Farm: ''Hooyvlakte''. It is currently the name of one of the Suburbs in which a section of Beaufort West's "coloured" community resides. The larger Beaufort West community which is in focus here, is also referred to as the "Hooyvlakte" community. Named by Lord Charles Somerset, Governor of the Cape, 1814-1826. After his father, the fifth Duke of Beaufort. It became a municipality on the 3 February 1837 and therefore the oldest Municipality in South Africa!

John Molteno bought some land in the arid, Beaufort area and successfully introduced Saxon Merino Sheep, building up the vast Nelspoort Estate. Nelspoort Estate has links with the Anglo-Boer War.  That was: 1901,' in an effort to prevent the Northbound Rail Link from being destroyed, the British built hundreds of blockhouses. Two were erected to guard the bridges over the Krom River, near Nelspoort.' In 1980, however, one was totally destroyed in a flash flood. Among his many other business ventures, he founded the region's first bank, Airport & Co.- in Beaufort West. Molteno had been elected to the Cape Colony's first parliament in 1854, representing Beaufort, the first Municipality. From his first entry into parliament, he began a long political battle to make the government 'Responsible' as it became known! Thus gave the Country a little independence from Britain.