Wolseley is a small town in the upper

Breede River Valley Breede River Valley is a region of Western Cape Province, South Africa known for being the largest fruit and wine producing valley in the Western Cape, as well as South Africa's leading race-horse breeding area. It is part of the Cape Winelands, B ...

region of 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 ...

. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 1,528 people. It is located northeast 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 ...

, in the

Land van Waveren Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various isla ...

valley between the

Waterval Mountains Waterval is a residential township in front of Elim Hospital, it is situated in the Hlanganani district of the former Tsonga homeland of Gazankulu, alongside the R578 road to Giyani in the Limpopo province of South Africa. Waterval includes ...

to the west and the

Witzenberg Mountains Witzenberg Municipality is a local municipality located within the Cape Winelands District Municipality, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. it had a population of 115,946. Geography The municipality covers an area of which include ...

to the east.

Geography

Wolseley lies at an altitude of on the watershed between the

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...

s of 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 ...

, which flows south to the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

, and the

Berg River The Berg River (also called Great Berg River or in Afrikaans: Bergrivier) is a river located just north of Cape Town in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. It is approximately 294 km (183 mi) long with a catchment area of 7,715& ...

, which flows north to the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. It is south of

Tulbagh Tulbagh, named after Dutch Cape Colony Governor Ryk Tulbagh, is a town located in the "Land van Waveren" mountain basin (also known as the Tulbagh basin), in the Winelands of the Western Cape, South Africa. The basin is fringed on three side ...

, southwest of

Ceres Ceres most commonly refers to: * Ceres (dwarf planet), the largest asteroid * Ceres (mythology), the Roman goddess of agriculture Ceres may also refer to: Places Brazil * Ceres, Goiás, Brazil * Ceres Microregion, in north-central Goiás ...

, and northwest of

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

Government

Wolseley is divided between wards 2 and 7 of the

Witzenberg Local Municipality Witzenberg Municipality is a local municipality located within the Cape Winelands District Municipality, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. it had a population of 115,946. Geography The municipality covers an area of which include ...

, which has its headquarters at Ceres.

Transport

Wolseley is located just off the R46 regional route, which runs north to Tulbagh and the Nuwekloof Pass to the

Swartland The Swartland is a region of Western Cape Province that begins some north of Cape Town and consists of the area between the towns of Malmesbury in the south, Darling in the west, Piketberg in the north, Moorreesburg in the middle and the Riebee ...

, and east over Michell's Pass to Ceres. The R43 regional route begins nearby at a junction with the R46, and runs south to the N1 national route at Worcester. The R43 also connects to the R301 over

Bain's Kloof Pass Bainskloof Pass ( af, Bainskloofpas) is a mountain pass on the R301 regional road between Wellington and Ceres in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The 18-kilometer (11-mile) pass, opened in 1854, was constructed by road engineer Andrew ...

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

. It is also situated on the main railway line from Cape Town to the interior. Wolseley railway station is served by

Metrorail METRORail is the light rail system in Houston, Texas (United States). In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . METRORail ranks as the second most-traveled light rail system in the Southern United States and the 12th ...

's "Boland Blitz" service, with one train per day in the morning from Worcester to Cape Town, and one in the evening in the other direction. Wolseley is also the junction for the now-closed branch line to Ceres.

In popular culture

In the novel ''Wolseley'' (2014) by South African author John J le Grange, the town is home to the family of three who travel to Cape Town looking for a better fortune, as well as being the title to the book.Wolseley (novel) listed on www.amazon.com
Retrieved on 2016-07-02.

References

External links

Wolseley at Western Cape Tourism
{{Cape Winelands District Municipality Populated places in the Witzenberg Local Municipality