Villiersdorp

Villiersdorp
View of Villersdorp from the surrounding mountains
Nickname(s): The Pearl of the Overberg
Villiersdorp Location in the Western Cape
Villiersdorp  Villiersdorp shown within South Africa
Coordinates: 33°59′S 19°17′E
Country	South Africa
Province	Western Cape
District	Overberg
Municipality	Theewaterskloof
Established	1841
Area
• Total	2.87 km2 (1.11 sq mi)
Population (2001)
• Total	7,568
• Density	Bad rounding here2,600/km2 (Bad rounding here6,800/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2001)
• Black African	36.8%
• Coloured	42.9%
• Indian/Asian	0.2%
• White	20.1%
First languages (2001)
• Afrikaans	60.7%
• Xhosa	25.2%
• Sotho	8.9%
• English	4.2%
• Other	1%
Time zone	SAST (UTC+2)
Postal code	6848
Area code(s)	028

Villiersdorp is a small town located in the Western Cape province of South Africa in the Overberg region; population 15,678.

Unlike most of the geographical region which specialises in wheat and canola farming, the Villiersdorp Valley is now agriculturally and micro-climatatically 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 7th 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 2 big packing sheds in Villiersdorp, Betko and Arbeidsvreugde, 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.

Notable people

David Graaff and his bother Jacobus Graaff presenting a £100,000 donation to the De Villiers Graaff High School in 1907. David Graaff is making a speech, Jacobus Graaff is sitting to the right and Jan Smuts is seated in the extreme right.

• Sir David Graaff, 1st Baronet and his younger brother Jacobus Arnoldus Graaff were born in Villiersdorp. After making their fortune in Cape Town they went on to found the De Villiers Graaff High School in Villiersdorp in 1907 with an endowment of £100 000 (equivalent to £41,100,000 or R471,195,167 in 2010)