HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Malmesbury is a town of approximately 36,000 inhabitants 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 202 ...
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 coun ...
, about 65 km north of
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 ...
. The town is the largest in the Swartland (‘black land’) which took its name from the
Renosterbos ''Elytropappus rhinocerotis'' (commonly known as renosterbos or "rhinoceros bush") is a species of flowering plants in the daisy family, Asteraceae, endemic to South Africa. It is a very obvious component of the unique Renosterveld Vegetation Typ ...
('rhino bush'), an indigenous plant that turns black in the warm, dry summers. The area is especially known for its grain and wine cultivation as well as sheep and poultry farming. Malmesbury was named after
Sir Lowry Cole Hon. Sir Galbraith Lowry Cole, (1 May 1772 – 4 October 1842) was an Anglo-Irish British Army general and politician. Early life Cole was the second son of an Irish peer, William Willoughby Cole, 1st Earl of Enniskillen (1 March 1736&ndas ...
's father-in-law, the Earl of Malmesbury.
Settlers A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. Settle ...
were encouraged to make their homes here because of a tepid sulphur chloride mineral spring that was renowned for curing
rheumatism Rheumatism or rheumatic disorders are conditions causing chronic, often intermittent pain affecting the joints or connective tissue. Rheumatism does not designate any specific disorder, but covers at least 200 different conditions, including ar ...
. The first farms were allocated in 1703. When the fifth Dutch Reformed congregation in the Cape was established here, it became known as Zwartlands-kerk (Swartland Church) but was renamed Malmesbury in 1829. The town acquired municipal status in 1860. The town no longer attracts the ailing because this aspect was never developed by the local authority, and today a shopping centre is located on top of the site with only a decorative fountain marking the location of the original spring.


Notable people from Malmesbury

*
McNeil Hendricks McNeil Hendricks (born 10 July 1973), also known as "Maccie", is a former South African rugby union player who played primarily as a wing. He starred in the movie ''Invictus'', in which he played the role of Chester Williams. Early life Hendri ...
*
Maggie Laubser Maria Magdalena Laubser (; 14 April 1886 – 17 May 1973) was a South African painter and printmaker. She is generally considered, along with Irma Stern, to be responsible for the introduction of Expressionism to South Africa. Her work was ini ...
*
Pieter-Steph du Toit Pieter Stephanus du Toit (born 20 August 1992) is a South African professional rugby union player. Du Toit plays as a lock or a flanker for the South Africa national team and the in Japan Rugby League One. After winning the 2019 Rugby World ...
* Johan du Toit


Demographics

In 1911 the Encyclopædia Britannica recorded the population of the town at 3,811, however this may refer to a white population, as a census of 1849 recorded a total of 8,520 residents. The 1939 edition of the official statistical Year Book of South Africa records a total population of 4,856, with roughly half the population recorded as white (2,574) and half recorded as coloured (2,221). The following statistics describing Malmesbury are from the 2011 census. * Area: * Population: 35,897: * Households: 9,473:


Coats of arms

Municipality — Malmesbury was a municipality in its own right from 1860 to 2000. By 1931, the council had adopted an emblem depicting a plough in front of a sheaf of wheat, surrounded by a buckled strap inscribed ''Deo frumentoque vires''. This device was depicted on
cigarette card
issued in 1931. In 1963, the council assumed a coat of arms, designed by
Cornelis Pama Cornelis Pama (1916 - 1994) was a Dutch bookseller, publisher, heraldist and genealogist, who spent the second half of his life in South Africa. He was born in Rotterdam. During World War II, when the Netherlands were under German occupation, he ...
. It registered the arms with the Cape Provincial Administration in December 1963,Cape of Good Hope ''Official Gazette'' 3217 (20 December 1963). had them formally granted by the provincial administrator on 8 July 1966Cape of Good Hope ''Official Gazette'' 3354 (8 July 1966). and registered them at the
Bureau of Heraldry Bureau ( ) may refer to: Agencies and organizations *Government agency *Public administration * News bureau, an office for gathering or distributing news, generally for a given geographical location * Bureau (European Parliament), the administrat ...
in September 1969.National Archives of South Africa : Data of the Bureau of Heraldry
/ref> The arms were : ''Per chevron Sable and Gules, a chevron ermine between in chief two garbs and in base a sea-lion Or''. In layman's terms : the shield was divided by an ermine chevron, the upper half displaying two golden sheaves of wheat on a black background and the lower half a golden heraldic sea-lion on a red background. The sea-lion was evidently derived from the arms of Gustaaf Willem van Imhoff, who established the church from which the town developed. The crest was an upright spade between two rhenosterbos branches, and the motto, once again, was ''Deo frumentoque vires''. Divisional council — The Malmesbury divisional council, which administered the rural areas of the district outside the town, assumed a coat of arms, designed by
Ivan Mitford-Barberton Ivan Mitford-Barberton (1896–1976) was a sculptor, writer and authority on heraldry. Early life and education Mitford-Barberton was born in Somerset East, in Cape Colony, in 1896. He was a descendant of several 1820 Settler families. His g ...
, on 24 June 1958.Western Cape Archives : Swartland Divisional Council Coat of Arms (4/SWL 4/1/5). The arms were : ''Per fess Sable and Azure, a fess wavy Gules fimbriated Argent between in chief an eagle displayed between two ears of wheat palewise Or and in base a sea-lion naiant per pale Or and Argent''. In layman's terms : the shield was divided horizontally into black and blue and displayed, from top to bottom, a golden eagle between two sheaves of wheat, a red wavy stripe edged in silver, and a gold and silver heraldic sea-lion.


Sport

Mother City SkyDiving operates out of a private airfield 12 km to the north of Malmesbury and provides a service for experienced sport
skydivers Parachuting, including also skydiving, is a method of transiting from a high point in the atmosphere to the surface of Earth with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or parachutes. For ...
, and offers Tandem Introductory Skydiving. Malmesbury has a variety of Sports Facilities including a Golf, Rugby & Bowling Club. The international organisation
Parkrun Parkrun (stylised as parkrun) is a collection of events for walkers, runners and volunteers that take place every Saturday morning at more than 2,000 locations in 23 countries across six continents. Junior Parkrun (stylised as junior parkrun) ...
hosts a regular 5 km run for anyone to join for free.


References

{{Authority control Populated places established in 1745 Populated places in the Swartland Local Municipality 1745 establishments in the Dutch Empire