Swellendam

Swellendam
Swellendam with the Clock Peaks (1710m) of the Langeberg in the background
Swellendam Show map of Western Cape Swellendam Show map of South Africa Swellendam Show map of Africa  Swellendam shown within Western Cape
Coordinates: 34°2′S 20°26′E / 34.033°S 20.433°E / -34.033; 20.433Coordinates: 34°2′S 20°26′E / 34.033°S 20.433°E / -34.033; 20.433
Country	South Africa
Province	Western Cape
District	Overberg
Municipality	Swellendam
Established	1746
Area
• Total	58.14 km2 (22.45 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• Total	17,537
• Density	300/km2 (780/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
• Black African	15.4%
• Coloured	63.1%
• Indian/Asian	0.3%
• White	19.5%
• Other	1.8%
First languages (2011)
• Afrikaans	81.3%
• Xhosa	9.5%
• English	4.8%
• Sotho	1.1%
• Other	3.4%
Postal code (street)	6740
PO box	6740
Area code	028

Swellendam is the 3rd oldest town in the Republic of South Africa, a town with 17,537 inhabitants situated in the Western Cape province. The town has over 50 provincial heritage sites most of them buildings of Cape Dutch architecture. Swellendam is situated on the N2, approximately 220 km from both Cape Town and George.

Early travellers and explorers who visited the Cape in the 16th century traded with the Khoikhoi people who lived on these shores and in the interior. When the Dutch East India Company established a replenishment station at the Cape in 1652, trade continued inland as far as Swellendam.

In 1743 Swellendam was declared a magisterial district, the fourth oldest in South Africa, and was named after Governor Hendrik Swellengrebel, the first South African born Governor, and his wife, Helena Ten Damme. This outlying settlement soon became a gateway to the interior, and was visited by many famous explorers and travellers including François Le Vaillant (1781), Lady Anne Barnard (1798), William John Burchell (1815) and Thomas William Bowler (1860). In time, a village was established beyond the Drostdy, where artisans including numerous wainwrights and traders settled. Swellendam was the last outpost of Dutch civilisation on the eastern frontier and thus the services of the residents of the town were of utmost importance.

By 1795 maladministration and inadequacies of the Dutch East India Company caused the long-suffering burghers of Swellendam to revolt, and on 17 June 1795 they declared themselves a Republic. Hermanus Steyn was appointed as President of the Republic of Swellendam. The burghers of Swellendam started to call themselves "national burghers" – after the style of the French Revolution. But the Republic was short-lived due to the occupation of the Cape by the Kingdom of Great Britain. With the arrival of British settlers in the early 19th century the Overberg boomed, and Swellendam was soon the heart of the mercantile empire of Barry and Nephews, created by Joseph Barry, which dominated trade in the area up until 1870. The Breede River is the only navigable river in South Africa and ships sailed 35 km up river to Malgas to unload and load merchandise.