Olivedale, Buffeljagsrivier on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Situated halfway between 
Establishment of the Farming District
The Trek Boers started expanding from the Cape Colony and the governing body of the VOC in the early 1700s. The first farm to be established in the wider Swellendam/Buffeljags area was Jan Harmse in 1723 (now Nooitgedacht) and Roelof Olofsz at Grootvadersbosch. In 1731 Andre Schutte established himself at Potteberg and Dirk Cornelius Uys was the first Farmer in Bufflejagsriver. Reasons for leaving the secure vicinity of Cape Town and Stellenbosch included the need for independence from the VOC.
Until 1743 the farmers from the "verre afgeleegene districten" (as it was known by the VOC) lived very much in isolation as the nearest church and landdrost from Olivedale, Buffeljagsriver, was in Stellenbosch, which was not only a far way to travel but also very dangerous.
In January 1743 the Baron Gustaf William van Imhoff visited the Cape Colony on his way to Netherlands-East-Indie. He inspected the "Colonie in de verre afgeleegene districten" and recommended that it must be proclaimed as a district under the VOC. So the nearby town of Swellendam was born.
Olivedale, Buffeljagsrivier district was mainly livestock based including cattle and fat tailed sheep, which were later cross bred with Spanish Marinos to produce wool for export.
As early as 1803 the Buffeljagsriver area was known for the pure bred horses. Landdrost Faure owned a pure bred horse farm, named Rotterdam. Horse breeding led to the establishment of the Swellendam Farmsers Association in 1838.
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 ...
, 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 ...
and George
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...
, you will find Olivedale. It is a small farming community located at the foot of the Langeberg Mountains and marks the spot where the Buffeljagsriver and the Breede River
The Breede River ( af, Breederivier), also known as Breë River, is a river in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Travelling inland north from the city of Cape Town, the river runs in a west to east direction. The surrounding western mou ...
meet. The entrance to Olivedale (turning right on the N2 after passing Swellendam
Swellendam is the fifth oldest town in South Africa (after Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Simon's Town, and Paarl), a town with 17,537 inhabitants situated in the Western Cape province. The town has over 50 provincial heritage sites, most of them b ...
direction George) has a display of farm implements from the days of yore, with cattle roaming free and fruit orchards turning the area into different shades of pink and purple from September.
The Olivedale, (Buffeljagsriver) area is a fertile region producing vegetables, citrus
''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as Orange (fruit), oranges, Lemon, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and lim ...
, persimmon
The persimmon is the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus ''Diospyros''. The most widely cultivated of these is the Oriental persimmon, ''Diospyros kaki'' ''Diospyros'' is in the family Ebenaceae, and a number of non-pers ...
s, canola
Close-up of canola blooms
Canola flower
Rapeseed oil is one of the oldest known vegetable oils. There are both edible and industrial forms produced from rapeseed, the seed of several cultivars of the plant family Brassicaceae. Historically, i ...
, milk and even lavender
''Lavandula'' (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is native to the Old World and is found in Cape Verde and the Canary Islands, and from Europe across to northern and easte ...
and peppers
Pepper or peppers may refer to:
Food and spice
* Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plant
** Black pepper
* ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae
** Bell pepper
** Chili ...
. Olivedale has its own local cheese factory, wine cellar and a rich history of old folk tales.
Establishment of the Farming District
The Trek Boers started expanding from the Cape Colony and the governing body of the VOC in the early 1700s. The first farm to be established in the wider Swellendam/Buffeljags area was Jan Harmse in 1723 (now Nooitgedacht) and Roelof Olofsz at Grootvadersbosch. In 1731 Andre Schutte established himself at Potteberg and Dirk Cornelius Uys was the first Farmer in Bufflejagsriver. Reasons for leaving the secure vicinity of Cape Town and Stellenbosch included the need for independence from the VOC.
Until 1743 the farmers from the "verre afgeleegene districten" (as it was known by the VOC) lived very much in isolation as the nearest church and landdrost from Olivedale, Buffeljagsriver, was in Stellenbosch, which was not only a far way to travel but also very dangerous.
In January 1743 the Baron Gustaf William van Imhoff visited the Cape Colony on his way to Netherlands-East-Indie. He inspected the "Colonie in de verre afgeleegene districten" and recommended that it must be proclaimed as a district under the VOC. So the nearby town of Swellendam was born.
Olivedale, Buffeljagsrivier district was mainly livestock based including cattle and fat tailed sheep, which were later cross bred with Spanish Marinos to produce wool for export.
As early as 1803 the Buffeljagsriver area was known for the pure bred horses. Landdrost Faure owned a pure bred horse farm, named Rotterdam. Horse breeding led to the establishment of the Swellendam Farmsers Association in 1838.
See also
*Buffeljags River
Buffeljagsriver (Afrikaans for "buffalo hunt") is a river that originates where two other rivers meet, one being the Grootvadersbos River (Afrikaans for ''Grandfather's woods'') and the other the Tradou River. The confluence is just east of a sm ...
* Antonie se klip
References
Populated places in the Swellendam Local Municipality {{WesternCape-geo-stub