Paarl

(prior to 1910)

The division of Paarl was originally part of the district of Stellenbosch, and was proclaimed a separate division in 1839. Like Stellenbosch its economy was based upon the production of wine, although in some areas good yields of grain were also obtained. The district surrounding Wellington, also known as Wagonmaker's Valley, was renown for the manufacture of carts and wagons, many of which found a ready market in territories north of Cape Colony. The area also included two breweries and a large tanning works.

The following census figures are available for the division:

1865 census: 15,583 residents, of whom 5,209 were literate

1875 census: 18,076 residents, of whom 6,489 were literate

1891 census: 21,363 residents, of whom 8,961 were literate

1904 census: 30,423 residents, of whom 14,176 were literate.

The Paarl valley was first colonised in 1687 when land was allocated to 23 families from Stellenbosch. The district was initially known as Drakenstein, after its church congregation, but when a village was founded at the foot of Paarl Rock in 1690, it was named Paarl. The name in Dutch means "a pearl", and was derived from the fact that the granite rocks which crown the hillside above it glisten after a rainfall like pearls or diamonds. It was visited by John Barrow in 1797 when he reported that: "The village of the Paarl is situated at the foot of a hill that shuts in the Valley of Drakenstein on the west side. It consists of about thirty habitations disposed in a line, but so far detached from each other, with intermediate orchards, gardens and vineyards, as to form a street from half a mile to a mile in length. About the middle of this street, on the east side, stands the church, a neat octagonal building covered with thatch; and at the upper end is a parsonage house, with garden, vineyard, and fruit-groves; and a large tract of very fine land."

In April 1862 Mrs Ross, an English visitor to the Cape, described Paarl as having a "main street nearly six miles long ... bordered all down its dusty length by fine capacious houses, standing in their own green compounds, and well sheltered by avenues of oak and fir ..."

Just over forty years later, in 1903, Mrs Alys Fane Trotter commented that: "... at the entrance to Paarl is an avenue of pines noble enough for the approach to any Greek city. Ciccalas shrill under the aromatic branches, brown labourers pass to and fro with baskets of melons and grapes, or a long ox team ploughs through the soft white dust."

The 1865 census indicated that Paarl had a population of 4,929. In 1875 this number had risen to 5,760, and in 1891 it was 7,668. By 1904 it stood at 11,293, of whom 5,971 were literate.

Prepared by Franco Frescura.