Touws River (town)

Touws River Touwsrivier
Street in Touws River
Touws River Show map of Western Cape Touws River Show map of South Africa Touws River Show map of Africa  Touws River shown within Western Cape
Coordinates: 33°20′16″S 20°02′01″E / 33.33778°S 20.03361°E / -33.33778; 20.03361Coordinates: 33°20′16″S 20°02′01″E / 33.33778°S 20.03361°E / -33.33778; 20.03361
Country	South Africa
Province	Western Cape
District	Cape Winelands
Municipality	Breede Valley
Established	1877
Area
• Total	21.62 km2 (8.35 sq mi)
Elevation	770 m (2,530 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	8,126
• Density	380/km2 (970/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
• Black African	7.5%
• Coloured	84.9%
• Indian/Asian	0.3%
• White	6.6%
• Other	0.7%
First languages (2011)
• Afrikaans	93.1%
• English	2.6%
• Xhosa	1.0%
• Other	3.3%
Postal code (street)	6880
PO box	6880
Area code	023

Touws River (Afrikaans: Touwsrivier) is a small railway town of 6,800 people in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is located on the river of the same name, about 160 kilometres (100 mi) north-east of Cape Town.

The town of Touws River owes its existence to the Cape Government Railways, and to the route that their founder, Cape Prime Minister John Molteno, chose for a railway line over the Hex River Mountains.

A railway was needed from the port at Cape Town, to service the newly discovered diamond fields in Kimberley. However, several seemingly impregnable ranges of mountains separated Cape Town from the hinterland of the Cape. The Royal Commonwealth Society (1898) records how the route was chosen:

When Mr. Molteno formulated his railway scheme he sent for his consulting engineer, who asked him what was the route he desired. Mr. Molteno asked for a map of South Africa, which was brought to him. Taking a ruler he drew his pen along it, in a direct line from Cape Town to Beaufort West. "But," said the engineer, "that means you go slap bang through the Hex River Mountains." "Never mind," said Mr. Molteno, "that is the way I want it to go." And that is the way it did go.

In 1875 the engineers of the Cape Government Railways arrived to survey the region and found that, at the exact spot indicated, there was indeed a viable route through the formidable Hex River Mountains, starting from Worcester and descending on the other side, to a spot where the town of Touws River now stands. On 7 November 1877, the Worcester–Matjiesfontein section of the Cape Government Railways' Cape Town–Kimberley main line was opened to traffic. The line included a station, originally named "Montagu Road", where the line bridged the Touws River. The name was given in reference to the town of Montagu, which lies about 90 kilometres (56 mi) to the south by road. In 1883 the station was renamed "Touwsrivier".