Matjiesfontein is a settlement in Central Karoo District Municipality in the

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

province of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

History

The original inhabitants of the region were the

Khoikhoi Khoekhoen (singular Khoekhoe) (or Khoikhoi in the former orthography; formerly also ''Hottentot (racial term), Hottentots''"Hottentot, n. and adj." ''OED Online'', Oxford University Press, March 2018, www.oed.com/view/Entry/88829. Accessed 13 ...

herders and the San hunter gatherers. Following the arrival of the early European colonists, the area was settled by

Afrikaner Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from Free Burghers, predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: ...

Trekboer The Trekboers ( af, Trekboere) were nomadic pastoralists descended from European settlers on the frontiers of the Dutch Cape Colony in Southern Africa. The Trekboers began migrating into the interior from the areas surrounding what is now Cape ...

s and

Griqua Griqua may refer to: * Griqua people * Griqua language or Xiri language * Griquas (rugby) Griquas (known as the Windhoek Draught Griquas for sponsorship reasons since April 2022) are a South African rugby union team that participates in the an ...

people.

Railway origins

The town itself owes its existence to the

Cape Government Railways The Cape Government Railways (CGR) was the government-owned railway operator in the Cape Colony from 1874 until the creation of the South African Railways (SAR) in 1910. History Private railways The first railways at the Cape were privately own ...

, and to the route that their founder,

Cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

Prime Minister

John Molteno Sir John Charles Molteno (5 June 1814 – 1 September 1886) was a soldier, businessman, champion of responsible government and the first Prime Minister of the Cape Colony. Early life Born in London into a large Anglo-Italian family, Molten ...

, chose for a railway line that would connect

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

's port to the diamond fields of Kimberley. The Royal Commonwealth Society (1898) records that in a meeting with his consulting engineers, the Prime Minister called for a map of Southern Africa to be brought to him and, taking a ruler, drew his pen along it from Cape Town all the way inland. He then handed the map to the engineers, telling them to build the railway accordingly. The line rapidly extended inland, and a station was built on 1 February 1878, that was named "Matjiesfontein". The name was derived from a type of sedge, '' Cyperus textilis'', used by Khoekhoen to make mats (matjies) employed in the construction of their huts.

Logans refreshment station

Originally, Matjiesfontein was only a small depot and farm, however a Scotsman by the name of James Douglas Logan, who was superintendent of this stretch of railway, bought land at Matjiesfontein, moved there because of his weak chest, and opened a refreshment station for the passing trains. This was so successful that the business soon formed the nucleus of a growing village. Logan was unintentionally very influential in South African history as he had secured the catering contract for the railways through his friend in

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

James Sivewright Sir James Sivewright K.C.M.G. (1848–10 September 1916) was a businessman and politician of the Cape Colony, South Africa. He was a strong political ally of Cecil Rhodes and, as his cabinet minister, was implicated in the "Logan" corruption ...

, and discovery of the corruption involved led to the fall of the first government of Prime Minister

Cecil Rhodes Cecil John Rhodes (5 July 1853 – 26 March 1902) was a British mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896. An ardent believer in British imperialism, Rhodes and his Br ...

in 1893. Logan was also considered to be one of the founding fathers of South African cricket.

Development and layout

A town was laid out in the 1880s, and formally purchased in 1968 to be preserved for its Victorian charm. The whole town was declared a National Monument on 12 September 1975, the railway station on 15 December 1989 and the cemetery on 23 September 1994. The cemetery houses the graves of British Army Major-General

Andrew Wauchope Major-General Andrew Gilbert Wauchope (5 July 1846 – 11 December 1899) was a British Army officer, killed commanding a brigade at the Battle of Magersfontein in the South African War. Life Andrew Gilbert was the second son of Andrew Wauc ...

(1846–1899) and English cricketer

George Lohmann George Alfred Lohmann (2 June 1865 – 1 December 1901) was an English cricketer, regarded as one of the greatest bowlers of all time. Statistically, he holds the lowest lifetime Test bowling average among bowlers with more than fifteen wicke ...

(1865–1901). In 2022, a new ground station for

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

's lunar exploration program was announced to be under construction in Matjiesfontein, scheduled to come online in 2025.

Location and surrounds

The town of Matjiesfontein is located 27 km west of Laingsburg and 54 km east of Touwsrivier. The surrounding

Karoo The Karoo ( ; from the Afrikaans borrowing of the South Khoekhoe !Orakobab or Khoemana word ''ǃ’Aukarob'' "Hardveld") is a semi-desert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its ext ...

region is a flat, sparsely populated semi-desert. Matjiesfontein has a healthy climate for people with lung complaints, and was once home to a Victorian spa and health resort.http://www.essentialtravelinfo.com/route2.html

References